Some "facts" that I think I should quote:
"Hic!" You've just hiccuped for what seems like the tenth time since you finished your big dinner. Wonder where these funny noises are coming from? The part to blame is your diaphragm (say: die-uh-fram). This is a dome-shaped muscle at the bottom of your chest, and all hiccups start here.
The diaphragm almost always works perfectly. It pulls down when you inhale to help pull air into the lungs, and it pushes up when you exhale to help push air out of the lungs. But sometimes the diaphragm becomes irritated, and when this happens, it pushes up in a jerky way that makes your breath come out differently from how it normally does. When this irregular breath hits your voice box, you're left with a big hiccup.
Some things that irritate the diaphragm are eating too quickly or too much, an irritation in the stomach or the throat, or feeling nervous or excited. Almost all cases of the hiccups last only a few minutes. Some cases of the hiccups can last for days or weeks, but this is very unusual, and it's usually a sign of another medical problem.
You've probably heard lots of suggestions for how to get rid of hiccups, and maybe you've even tried a few. Holding your breath and counting to 10 is one way some people can get rid of their hiccups; other people say that drinking from the "wrong" side of a glass of water is the way to become hiccup-free. Putting sugar under your tongue might work, too. And maybe the most famous treatment - having someone jump out and scare you when you're not expecting it - helps some people wave good-bye to their hiccups.
Now my expirience:
I get hipccups when I do things that irritate the diaphragm
(it's a muscle that separetes the torax from the abdomen and is one of the muscles involved in the respiration), (The hipccups itself is a reflex).
You can irritate the diaphragm is several ways:
1)If you eat too much your stomach will dilate and will put pressure on the diaphragm.
2)If you are eating too fast the passage of the food from the esophagous to the stomach can irritate it because A) the food pieces are too big; B) you are nervous.
3)If you are nervous you don't even need to be eating because everybody is most of the time using its esophagous-> saliva is produced and it must go somewhere; other stuff is also produced
4)
Medical conditions:
If you do have hipccups for no appearent reason, or if you do have them very often you should seek medical attention ASAP.
Some times its due to an inate situation that can't be improved and is benign.
But most of the times is due to a life threating situation
->Cancer.
Althought it doesn't usually is cause for alarm if you are under 50 because it is very very rare before that age.
Cancer causes hipccups because it creates a mass (the cancer) the irritates the diafragm. [Either esophagous cancer or stomach cancer can do it but if it is stomach is far worse because it only causes it in a very late part of its evolutions (=you are in deep trouble)].
How to improve a crisis of hipccups if you happen to have it.
To my expirience this is the best way:
Every method that works follows the same principle :
Relax the nerveous path ways that control the diaphragm.
So hiperventilate for 4-5 minutes.
And hold your breath for 40-50 seconds.
(you might need to do this a couple of times, the deep and fast inspirations-expirations [hiperventilation] is only required fo you to be able to hold your breath for a period over 30 seconds, after 1 or 2 sequences you shouldn't need it for the remain of the process. If after holding your breath 10 times for a period over 30 seconds doens't work them you might have a real medical problem, P.S never took me that many times . usually 2-3 )
Why is that ?
If you hiperventilate you can hold your breath for a longer period of time.
If you hold the respiration sequence you are resting the diaphragm so the irritation can pass easier.
[Note to attention: some people shouldn't hiperventilate because they will loose consciousness just because of it (a normal person might take over 1 hour of heavy hiperventilation before he passes out therfore most people shouldn't so it either unless they have a goal for it).
I hope this helps you.