A hiccup (scientific name singultus, from a Latin word meaning "to catch ones breath while sobbing"; also spelled hiccough) is an involuntary contraction (myoclonic jerk) of the diaphragm that may repeat several times per minute. The hiccup is an involuntary action involving a reflex arc. Once triggered, the reflex causes a strong contraction of the diaphragm followed about a quarter of a second later by closure of the vocal cords, which results in the "hic" sound. Hiccups may occur individually, or they may occur in bouts. The rhythm of the hiccup, or the time between hiccups, tends to be relatively constant. A bout of hiccups generally resolves itself without intervention, although many home remedies are often used to attempt to shorten the duration. Medical treatment is occasionally necessary in cases of chronic hiccups. Incidence
Hiccups affect people of all ages, even being observed in utero. They become less frequent with advancing age. Intractable hiccups, lasting more than a month, are more common in adults. While males and females are affected equally often, men are more likely to develop hiccups lasting more than 48 hours. Dogs may also get hiccups. Signs and symptoms
A hiccup consists of a single or a series of breathing diaphragm spasms, of variable spacing and duration, and a brief (less than one half second), unexpected, shoulder, abdomen, throat, or full body tremor. Hiccups may present as an audible chirp, squeak, "hupp", or if controlled, a quick inhaling gasp, sigh, or sniff.
This study supports the use of FISST as an option to stop transient hiccups, with more than 90% of participants reporting better results than home remedies. HiccAway stops hiccups by forceful suction that is being generated by diaphragm contraction (phrenic nerve activity), followed by swallowing the water, which requires epiglottis closure. Society and culture
The word hiccup itself was created through imitation. The alternative spelling of hiccough results from the association with the word cough. American Charles Osborne (December 14, 1892 – May 1, 1991) had hiccups for 68 years, from 1922 to February 1990,  and was entered in the Guinness World Records as the man with the longest attack of hiccups, an estimated 430 million hiccups. In 2007, Florida teenager Jennifer Mee gained media fame for hiccuping around 50 times per minute for more than five weeks. Christopher Sands, a Briton, hiccupped an estimated 10 million times in a 27-month period from February 2007 to May 2009. His condition, which meant that he could hardly eat or sleep, was eventually discovered to be caused by a tumor on his brain stem pushing on nerves causing him to hiccup every two seconds, 12 hours a day. His hiccups stopped in 2009 following surgery.In  Baltic, German, Hungarian, Indian, Romanian, Slavic, Turkish, Greek, Albanian and among some Tribes in Kenya, for example the Luos folklore, it is said that hiccups occur when the person experiencing them is being talked about by someone not present. See also
Getting the wind knocked out of you
Mr.