I usually get the hiccups a couple times a week. Sometimes it doesn’t bother me too much, other times it drives me completely crazy – especially when they will just not go away. Usually when I’m in public, they’ll go away pretty quickly (I have a theory that embarrassment is a hiccup cure-all), but at home, they can sometimes last 20 minutes. Luckily, I have a surefire trick to get rid of them that has worked for me every single time since I’ve learned about it. Interested to learn more?

To be fair, I can’t take credit for this trick. I learned it back in 2007 when I was in college and working at a video store. One of my friends/coworkers had the hiccups while we were working and he taught me this trick, saying that it worked for him every single time. I was skeptical, but he’s right – it really does work! So now, 8 years later, I continue to use it when I have a particularly nagging case of the hiccups. Guess what the best part is? I can almost guarantee that you have everything you need to get rid of them within just a few feet of you.

Ok, enough rambling, right? Here’s all you have to do: get a glass of water, plug (or cover) your ears, and swallow the water slowly. Now, I realize that it’s hard to hold a glass and plug your ears at the same time, so you can either have someone else cover your ears while you drink or just take a gulp of water, hold it in your mouth, and start to swallow once you’ve plugged your own ears. Usually one big gulp with slow swallowing does the trick for me. And really, that’s it – it always works. I don’t know the reasoning, or even if there is one, but it works, and that’s all that matters to me!

Do you have a trick for getting rid of the hiccups? Have you ever tried this trick?