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Treatments and drugs
By Mayo Clinic staffMost cases of hiccups go away on their own, without medical treatment. If an underlying medical condition is causing your hiccups, treatment of that illness may eliminate the hiccups. The following treatments may be considered for hiccups that have lasted longer than two days.
Medications
Drugs most commonly used to treat long-term hiccups include:
- Chlorpromazine, a powerful antipsychotic
- Metoclopramide (Reglan), an anti-nausea drug
- Baclofen (Lioresal), a muscle relaxant
Surgical and other procedures
- Nasogastric (NG) tube. If your stomach is distended, a thin, flexible tube inserted through your nose and into your stomach (nasogastric tube) may stop hiccups.
- Nerve block. If less invasive treatments aren't effective, your doctor may recommend an injection of an anesthetic to block your phrenic nerve to stop hiccups.
- Vagus nerve stimulation. A battery-operated device that's surgically implanted into your chest can be programmed to deliver mild electrical stimulation to your vagus nerve. This procedure is most commonly used to treat epilepsy, but has also helped control persistent hiccups.
- Pollack MJ. Hiccups. In: Rakel RE, et al. Conn's Current Therapy 2008. 60th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2008. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/126185871-3/816916385/1621/10.html#4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-4435-2..50006-6_54. Accessed March 16, 2009.
- Fishman MB. Overview of hiccups. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed March 17, 2009.
- Picco MF (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. April 18, 2007.
- Noble J. Hiccup. In: Noble J, et al. Textbook of Primary Care Medicine. 3rd ed. St. Louis, Mo.: Mosby; 2001. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/126410452-3/817465929/959/142.html#4-u1.0-B0-323-00828-3..50028-5_565. Accessed March 17, 2009.
- Syndromes of inappropriate respiratory muscle contraction. In: Mason RJ, et al. Murray and Nadel's Textbook of Respiratory Medicine. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2005. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/126411821-5/817480731/1288/752.html#4-u1.0-B0-7216-0327-0..50085-9--cesec97_4678. Accessed March 17, 2009.
- Neurological diagnostic tests and procedures. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/misc/diagnostic_tests.htm. Accessed March 17, 2009.
- Dahlin C. Management of symptoms other than pain. Anesthesiology Clinics of North America. 2006;24:39.
- Schachter SC, et al. Vagus nerve stimulation therapy. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed March 17, 2009.
