Reasons for frequent hiccups in a 3 year old child. Hiccups in a child - causes and methods of treatment

Hiccups are an involuntary contraction of the diaphragm, the waves of which are transmitted to the intercostal muscles. The process occurs suddenly with respiratory dysfunction, completely stopping breathing for a short period of time. The appearance of hiccups in a child occurs for various reasons. If it occurs frequently and causes severe discomfort, the baby needs to consult a specialist.

Types and forms of hiccups

Hiccups can be physiological or pathological. The first type occurs in healthy children. Contractions of the diaphragm occur for 5 to 15 minutes without significant discomfort. The phenomenon disappears on its own.

Pathological hiccups have different durations. It can last from several minutes to several hours and even days. The causes of its occurrence are various diseases.

Based on their origin, hiccups are divided into several types:

• toxic, attacks of which occur due to poisoning with drugs, mushrooms, poor-quality food, etc.;
• reflected, characteristic of intestinal pathologies - enteritis, enterocolitis, ascariasis and other conditions;
• central, the appearance of which signals damage to the brain and spinal cord, mental disorders and oncological tumors in parts of the nervous system;
• peripheral, associated with damage to the phrenic and vagus nerves.

Attacks of hiccups in a child are recognized by two symptoms. The main one is a specific strangled sound caused by a sharp release of air through a closed glottis. An additional sign is short-term inhalations with protrusion of the abdomen, provoked by an unexpected contraction of the diaphragm.

Classification

Based on the etiological factor, the following forms of hiccups are distinguished:

In addition, there are the following types of this symptom:

• referred hiccups – manifests itself as a symptom of gastroenterological diseases;
• toxic – is a consequence of poisoning with drugs, chemicals, toxins;
• central – indicates pathological processes in the brain, central nervous system;
• peripheral - the occurrence of this form of hiccups is caused by damage to the vagus and phrenic nerves.

Only a doctor can determine exactly what form of the symptom occurs after examination and diagnosis.

Causes of hiccups

One-time cases of hiccups have the following causes:

1. thirst;
2. binge eating;
3. hypothermia;
4. diet with a predominance of dry food;
5. nervous overexcitation of the child's psyche.

Also, episodes are provoked by air entering the stomach if the child cried or laughed for a long time. The appearance of hiccups after eating may indicate consumption of carbonated drinks or expired foods.

Frequent and prolonged hiccups in a child are an alarming sign that requires parental attention. Dr. Komarovsky warns: in some cases, attacks hint at the development of diabetes, intestinal pathologies, and pneumonia. Sometimes hiccups are a consequence of chest injuries.

Hiccups in a child. Causes. How to get rid of hiccups? | Children's health

Hiccups in a child are an uncontrolled convulsive contraction of the diaphragm that causes breathing problems.

This is not a disease; it occurs in completely healthy people, as well as children , even the smallest. Hiccups appear in the presence of contributing factors, but this is not a pattern.

It can occur spontaneously and unexpectedly ; the reasons for its appearance are not fully understood.

Causes of hiccups in children

There is no child who has not had hiccups at some point. To one degree or another, it is inherent in all people; it is harmless , although unpleasant. Most often, hiccups in children can occur under the following circumstances:

• Hiccups can be triggered by a disruption in the absorption process of food , for example, swallowing too often. In this case, food gets stuck in the esophagus, causing muscle contractions where the esophagus meets the stomach. Most often, this process is provoked by too dry food;
• Sometimes hiccups in a child may appear due to cooling the body , and especially when drinking cold carbonated drinks;
• Hiccups can also occur due to nervous irritation of the diaphragm . Uncontrollable spasms have the character of a nervous tic. The exact causes have not been established;
• One of the causes of children's hiccups may be severe excitement or a state of stress , for example, fear ;
• Oddly enough, even prolonged laughter can cause a contraction of the diaphragm in children.

There are also other reasons for the appearance of this unpleasant phenomenon, but they relate more to adults.

In children, hiccups most often go away on their own within a maximum of 20 minutes.

Hiccups in babies

Newborns are most often susceptible to hiccups due to overeating . To get rid of an attack of hiccups in a baby, one of the parents needs to hold the baby in an upright position until he burps. Afterwards you need to give the little one something to drink.

Another cause of hiccups in infants is hypothermia . In order to check if the baby is not freezing, just touch his nose - it should not be cold.

When to see a doctor?

The reason for visiting the clinic is hiccups combined with heartburn, difficulty breathing and chest pain. The appearance of regular attacks over a long period of time also requires the participation of doctors.

If parents notice constant hiccups after eating, a consultation with a pediatric gastroenterologist is needed. Depending on the situation, other specialists - a neurologist, a psychiatrist, a surgeon - join in solving the problem. The method for diagnosing the condition will be chosen after the specialist puts forward the suspected cause.

How to “calm” the diaphragm

Occasional hiccups after eating should not be a cause for concern. You can stop contractions of the diaphragm by drinking warm drinks in quick sips. Holding your breath for a few seconds helps get rid of hiccups. As an option, you can try the game of divers. The child is asked to inhale and exhale deeply, and when repeating the procedure, hold his breath for 15 seconds.

Hiccups at the age of 2 - 3 years are common. If the baby gets cold while walking, he will begin to make characteristic sounds. A cup of warm tea or a slice of lemon will help relax the diaphragm. Many children love sweets, so when they have hiccups they can easily eat 1 tsp. Sahara.

As for medicinal treatment of hiccups, it is not carried out. Doctors consider it a consequence of the disease, so therapy, if necessary, is aimed at eliminating the causative factor.

1. Hiccups in themselves are not dangerous to the body. It is only important to prevent and promptly treat diseases that provoke contractions of the diaphragm.
2. To prevent your child from having hiccups after eating, teach him the rules of healthy eating from an early age. Do not allow snacking on the run, eating dry food, overeating and talking at the table. Talking while eating encourages air swallowing.

To stop hiccups, never frighten children, otherwise such self-medication will lead to stuttering. Distract your child's attention, surprise him, or find something to do that requires active action. These simple methods can handle hiccups quite well.

The question that worries most first-time mothers is: why does the newborn hiccup and what to do about it? A child's hiccups begin when the diaphragm contracts and the vocal cords rapidly close. Rapid closing of the vocal cords is the cause of the sound of hiccups.

Since hiccups usually bother adults, many people find that they also bother babies. However, children usually do not experience discomfort. In fact, many newborns can sleep through bouts of hiccups without being disturbed, and the hiccups rarely impede or have any effect on the baby's breathing.

Most hiccup episodes last from a few minutes to an hour. In any case, there is nothing to worry about. In fact, many babies find hiccups quite funny. Hiccups in a baby are normal body reflexes and parents should not worry at all.

What to do if hiccups don't go away?

Typically, diaphragm spasm lasts from a few minutes to an hour . Sometimes hiccups can last longer. Parents should be especially concerned about an attack that lasts more than two days. In this case, it is necessary to examine the child by a doctor.

The most common causes of prolonged hiccups in children:

• Helminth infestation of parasites is one of the main childhood diseases, a clear symptom of which is hiccups;
• Increased nervous excitability - to diagnose this disease you need to visit a neurologist;
• Inflammation of the respiratory organs - this can be tonsillitis , bronchitis or even pneumonia ;
• Gastrointestinal diseases - gastritis , peptic ulcer and other pathologies.

The following diseases that cause hiccups in children are less common: aortic aneurysm, pathologies of the nervous system and diabetes .

Medicines do not usually treat hiccups; The doctor prescribes medications that relieve the cause of its occurrence. For example, if a doctor has diagnosed increased excitability of the nervous system in a child, he will prescribe antihistamines, such as Promethazine, to reduce the excitability of nerve endings. And if hiccups are caused by muscle spasms, then No-Shpa will effectively relieve muscle tension.

If your child is not sick, but hiccups quite often, you can give him chamomile tea - it calms and relaxes the nerves, and this helps prevent hiccups. It would be a good idea to pay more attention to the physical education of your offspring, this will help establish control over the diaphragm muscles.

The main thing is that you should not give children medications without a doctor’s prescription; it is better to use our tips on how to rid your child of hiccups simply and without problems. Good luck to you!

Attention! The use of any medications and dietary supplements, as well as the use of any therapeutic methods, is possible only with the permission of a doctor.

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Why does the child hiccup?

The baby hiccups even in the womb, from the second trimester. When a woman is pregnant, sometimes she feels that the baby's body is pulsating rhythmically. Perhaps at this moment the fetus has hiccups.

So why does a baby hiccup while still in the womb?:

• the brain sends a signal to the fetus's diaphragm to contract, and when it contracts, the fetus sucks in amniotic fluid, which causes hiccups;
• Fetal hiccups also occur when the baby develops a sucking reflex and thus sucks in amniotic fluid;
• Rarely, a significant increase in hiccups may be a sign that the umbilical cord is wrapped around the fetus's neck and restricting the flow of oxygen, known as cord compression.

Common causes of hiccups in newborns:

1. Immature diaphragm. A newborn often hiccups when its immature diaphragm contracts suddenly and irregularly. As the baby grows, the contractions of the diaphragm, along with the muscles between the ribs and abdomen, become more synchronized and stronger, which gradually reduces the frequency and severity of hiccup episodes.
2. Overfeeding. This is one of the common reasons why a baby hiccups after feeding. Rapid distension of the stomach or its fullness can provoke a spasm of the diaphragm muscle, which will lead to hiccups.
3. Swallowing air. This is another reason why babies hiccup. Most babies tend to swallow a lot of air when feeding, which can also lead to hiccups. The occurrence of hiccups in an infant also depends on the position in which the baby is fed and other factors, such as whether you allow the baby to burp frequently during feeding to reduce the amount of air swallowed.
4. Decrease in temperature. Hiccups can also occur if your body temperature suddenly drops. Since a newborn baby is less able to maintain his body temperature, any significant changes in the environment can significantly affect his body temperature. Therefore, it is recommended to keep children warm and comfortable.
5. Mother's diet. The baby often hiccups due to the mother's diet. No matter what the mother drinks or eats, the nutrients consumed are passed on to the baby through breast milk. Newborns are more likely to experience hiccups after feeding if the mother consumes peanuts, eggs, wheat, caffeine, chocolate, citrus fruits and soy products before feeding the baby. For best results, avoid foods that may cause your baby to hiccup for at least an hour before feeding.
6. Acid reflux. Regular hiccups, even when the baby is not overfed or swallowed air, can signal a possible underlying problem. Gastroesophageal reflux disease (known as GERD) is a condition in which some stomach contents regurgitate into the esophagus. This may cause pain and hiccups. However, hiccups are not usually the only symptom of GERD. Other indicators that a baby may experience include colicky behavior, pain-related behavior, fussiness at night, frequent regurgitation, and abdominal pain after breastfeeding. If your baby hiccups frequently or has any other symptoms associated with GERD after making feeding changes, talk to a specialist about the problem.
7. Allergy. The baby may be allergic to certain proteins found in formula or even breast milk, which in turn causes inflammation of the esophagus called eosinophilic esophagitis. As a reaction to the condition, the diaphragm spasms, causing hiccups.
8. Irritants in the air. Babies have a sensitive respiratory system, and any airborne irritant, such as fumes, pollution, or intense aroma, can trigger a cough. Repeated coughing puts pressure on the diaphragm, causing it to vibrate. This may be the reason why your baby hiccups.

Hiccups in a child: how to help when children hiccup

All mothers and fathers have encountered such a problem as hiccups in a child - this problem arises due to the fact that the baby’s digestive and respiratory systems are not fully formed.

In itself, it does not harm the child and goes away quite quickly. If the baby suffers from frequent manifestations, then parents should know how to help the child without medical intervention.

But it often happens that frequent hiccups in your child indicate a serious pathology.

What is hiccups

Hiccups in children and adults are considered a normal physiological process. It appears as a result of contractions of the diaphragm that occur in jerks. The diaphragm is the muscle that separates the chest and abdomen.

When it contracts, the volume of the thoracic region increases too quickly - this stretches the lungs and provokes involuntary inhalation.

The sudden movement of air acts on the nerve roots of the mucous membrane of the larynx, as a result of which the gap closes, which is why a hiccupping sound comes out of the throat.

There are two types of hiccups in children - episodic and continuous. Episodic – a symptom occurs suddenly and goes away on its own after a short time. Prolonged – attacks appear daily and last for several hours, or even days. In this case, the cause of hiccups is pathological changes in the body.

In case of a prolonged attack, you should ask for help from doctors to identify the cause and receive qualified treatment.

About common and possible causes

As a rule, the causes of a short-term attack of hiccups in babies lie in hypothermia, eating a large amount of food, eating dry food, extreme thirst and nervous excitability. This type of hiccup is not harmful, but only causes short-term discomfort and does not require medical treatment. Each age of the baby has its own reasons for its appearance.

Common causes in infants:

1. In infants under 3 months of age, the syndrome appears regularly. When feeding, air enters the stomach, which is why the baby then begins to hiccup. It is important to know that to get rid of hiccups in this case you need to hold the child in an upright position for only 2-3 minutes and the unpleasant symptom will go away.
2. In infants, attacks occur due to overeating, so it should be fed in small amounts, but more often.
3. Hiccups can also occur if milk flows out in a large stream from the mother's breast or from the nipple of a bottle. Quickly swallowing milk, the baby begins to choke, which irritates the diaphragm. Here it is appropriate to change the pacifier, and when breastfeeding, feed the baby intermittently.

The causes of hiccups in one-year-old children are similar to the causes in infants. The following points stand out here:

• air ingress while eating;
• overeating or a long gap between feedings;
• suffered severe nervous strain or fear;
• hypothermia of the body.

If an unpleasant symptom occurs daily and lasts more than half an hour and it is difficult to cope with it, then this indicates a pathology in the baby. It is not recommended to treat hiccups on your own at home, as there is a risk of causing even more harm to the baby.

. In this case, you need to urgently contact a specialist. Frequent and prolonged attacks occur due to the following reasons:

• diseases of the nervous system;
• parasite infection;
• dysfunction of the diaphragm;
• development of diabetes mellitus;
• malfunctions of the brain or spinal cord.

In this case, how to rid the child of hiccups will be decided by the attending physician after a full examination and identification of the true cause.

How to help your child with hiccups

Infants up to one year old often hiccup for numerous reasons, so parents should know how to quickly stop hiccups in a child. To eliminate a symptom in a child, if it is episodic in nature, is not difficult, the following measures should be taken:

1. Overeating - feed the baby intermittently so that food comes in small portions. Any hiccups that arise can be removed by holding the baby upright and giving him warm water to drink.
2. Hypothermia - immediately move the baby to a warm place, give him a warm drink and feed him.
3. Stress or nervous strain - expose the child to emotional actions as little as possible: sharp sounds, bright lights, many strangers, and the like. It is necessary to calm the baby down and distract him with an interesting game.
4. Strong laughter - you need to stop it, help the baby stretch in order to inhale and exhale as deeply as possible. Give the baby some water.
5. Strong thirst - give the child something to drink, but do not give him large sips of water.
6. Swallowing air during feeding - this causes the child to belch, and then hiccups. Hold the baby upright - he will stop burping, and the contractions of the diaphragm will stop.

How to get rid of hiccups in older children

There are three time-tested methods for this:

1. Water – give your baby a glass of water, he should drink it slowly, in small sips.
2. Hold your breath - ask your baby to take a deep breath, then take a few swallows.
3. Breathe into a paper bag – ask your child to take a deep breath and then exhale into the bag.

How to get rid of hiccups in a child?

Even if hiccups are almost always harmless, it is better to relieve your child of these spasms.

How to help your baby with hiccups?

Try the following methods if your baby is suffering from hiccups, but one at a time:

• One of the simple ways to stop hiccups in a newborn is breastfeeding . Hiccups occur when the diaphragm becomes irritated. Drinking a small amount of breast milk and allowing it to flow slowly can cause the diaphragm to relax and return to normal movement;
• give your baby some sugar . It was a popular remedy for hiccups in ancient times. If your baby is old enough to eat solid food, place a few sugar crystals under his tongue. If he is too young to consume solids, you can dip the pacifier in some freshly prepared sugar syrup and place the pacifier in his mouth. Or dip your finger in the syrup and give it to your child.

Make sure the pacifier and finger are clean.

Sugar will ease the tension in the diaphragm, thereby stopping the baby's hiccups; baby back massage. This is a more direct way to relieve your newborn from hiccups. Place your child in an upright sitting position and gently rub in a circular motion on his back from the lower back to the shoulder. You can also place your baby on your stomach and do the same movements;

How to prevent hiccups in children?

You can prevent your baby from getting hiccups by being careful with what he eats. According to many pediatricians, overfeeding is a common cause of hiccups in babies. Never feed your baby large quantities at one time, as this will cause severe distension of the stomach.

Keep the following points in mind when feeding a small baby:

1. Feed your baby in small amounts over a longer period of time rather than filling his stomach in one sitting. This will help prevent overfeeding, which is a cause of hiccups in babies.
2. Keep your baby upright when breastfeeding/bottle feeding at an angle of 35 - 45 degrees as this will ensure a smooth flow of milk through the esophagus.
3. When your baby is old enough to sit, you can feed him in a sitting position. Position your baby with his back to you to support his back. Feeding while sitting will prevent air from being swallowed.
4. Hear the sound your baby makes while feeding. If he is making too much noise, he is probably swallowing a lot of air. Adjust the pacifier in your mouth so that there is a small air gap in it. When breastfeeding, make sure your baby's mouth covers the entire nipple.
5. Clean and wash your bottle regularly to prevent milk from collecting in the nipple. An obstruction during feeding can cause the baby to swallow more air than milk, causing hiccups.
6. Never let your child sleep with a full bottle. Unlike the breast, where milk flows only when you suck, a bottle provides a constant flow of milk. Apart from being life-threatening and increasing the risk of tooth decay, it can also cause overfeeding, which in turn leads to hiccups.

Why does a 6 year old child often hiccup?

Such an unpleasant phenomenon as hiccups is familiar to every person without exception. Often this process is short-term and occurs in both adults and children. Hiccups in children are much more common and occur much more often than in adults, and often cause concern among parents.

In fact, much depends on the frequency of attacks and their duration. Hiccups can start in babies for a variety of reasons, even after laughing, which means you don't always have to worry about it. But in order to understand in what cases hiccups indicate a disorder and how to overcome it, you need to know as much as possible about the disease.

What is hiccups?

First of all, it is worth understanding what the process under discussion is, because this is the only way to judge whether it is dangerous.

From a physiological point of view, hiccups are a normal reaction of the body to any irritant. We are talking about involuntary contractions or spasms of the diaphragmatic muscle involving the pectoral muscles in the process.

In addition, hiccups are called short-term, literally second-long disturbances in the respiratory process. When the diaphragm contracts, the volume of the lungs increases due to a sharp involuntary inhalation; it is this moment that responds with a jolt in the chest. As for the characteristic sound, it occurs due to the sudden closing of the gap at the moment of inhaled air passing through it.

Why do children hiccup?

Regarding why children hiccup, most doctors agree that hiccups are the body’s attempts to push out excess air accumulated in the stomach. This is why children often experience hiccups after eating, because with food, especially in infants, a lot of air enters the stomach.

The fact is that with air, including food, the volume of the stomach increases. The walls of the organ expand, begin to come into contact with the diaphragmatic muscle, and can irritate the phrenic nerve, causing hiccups.

But, besides this, we can name more narrow causes of hiccups in children, conditionally dividing them into dangerous and safe.

When is there no reason to worry?

So, to begin with, it’s worth saying that short bouts of hiccups, which are repeated no more than 2-3 times a week, in most cases, should not bother you. The only exception would be infants; under certain conditions, they may hiccup daily. In general, the reasons for contractions of the diaphragm are as follows:

• Overeating – the stomach becomes stretched from eating too much food;
• Violation of the nutritional culture - talking while eating, rushing, swallowing poorly chewed food, in each of these cases air gets into the stomach;
• Incorrect feeding technique - refers to infants when the baby incorrectly takes the mother’s breast into his mouth;
• Hypothermia - in this case, contractions of the diaphragm are nothing more than reflexive attempts by the body to generate heat;
• Also, hiccups in a child may begin due to the fact that he eats in an awkward position or movement, or takes an inappropriate position immediately after eating , for example, lying on his stomach;
• Another common cause is thirst ; restoring water balance is a very important process;
• Often children begin to hiccup after laughing . This is explained by the fact that when a child laughs a lot, air is more likely to enter the stomach, since in a small body the distance from the mouth to the stomach is much less than in adults;
• The last thing worth mentioning is hiccups due to nervous tension . This could be any stress, including fear or punishment from parents.

Each of these reasons is harmless; diaphragmatic contractions should go away on their own within 10-20 minutes and there is no need to worry about its appearance.

When should you be concerned?

At the same time, hiccups can be pathological, indicating the development of some disease or pathological process in the body. In such cases, attacks of contraction of the diaphragm become more frequent, the baby may hiccup daily, but the attack does not go away for hours, sometimes even days. In this case, you should be concerned and consult a doctor, the causes of pathological hiccups are as follows:

• Lesions of the nervous system, which include damage to the vagus and phrenic nerves, as well as diseases such as encephalitis, meningitis and others;
• Inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract, stomach upset, indigestion, poisoning, gastritis, colitis, peptic ulcer;
• Another dangerous and widespread cause of hiccups is pathologies of internal organs. We are talking about the work of the kidneys, liver, cardiovascular system;
• Mechanical injuries to the head, in the diaphragm or back, this can also be falls or bruises;
• Hiccups often appear due to intoxication during illness; these can be either rapidly progressing acute respiratory viral infections or acute respiratory infections, or more severe infectious processes;
• The most terrible and dangerous factor in involuntary contractions of the diaphragm is oncology, this is how the body can signal about neoplasms.

Taking into account all the points from this list, a reasonable question arises - what to do in such cases? If hiccups last a long time and occur systematically, you need to consult a doctor and undergo an examination.

How to eliminate hiccups?

When it comes to children, the use of some techniques is simply impossible due to too little age and the inability to follow instructions. However, when we are not talking about a pathological illness, there are several effective ways to help a child with hiccups, even the smallest:

1. The first method is the so-called straightening of the diaphragmatic muscle and relieving spasm from it. Regardless of what caused the hiccups, you need to take a deep breath and hold your breath for at least 5-10 seconds. Then it is advisable to exhale forcefully, but even without this, after several repetitions of the breathing exercise, the hiccups may subside;
2. You can eliminate hiccups after laughing and in many other situations in which air has entered the stomach with water. Quite measuredly, but at the same time continuously, drink a glass, taking a large sip at the end. Once in the stomach, the water will displace the air accumulated there and relief will come immediately;
3. When it comes to infants, for whom hiccups often appear almost after every feeding, it is enough to stand the baby in a “column”, that is, press him to you in an upright position and walk like this for 5-10 minutes. If this does not help, place the child on his tummy; after a couple of burps or regurgitation, all the air will come out;
4. Another good and harmless way is to give your baby something sour to suck on. It is enough to hold a slice of lemon or sour candy in your mouth;
5. In cases where the baby begins to hiccup due to hypothermia, you just need to warm him up; it won’t hurt to give him a drink of warm milk, tea or water.

If all of the above methods did not produce results and you don’t know how to get rid of hiccups, you can do something radical. The most effective way would be to provoke vomiting, however, it is better to resort to this solution only in extreme cases, when the hiccups do not go away for a very long time, after which you should see a doctor.

Source: https://detki.shukshin-net.ru/rebenok-6-let-chasto-ikaet-pochemu/

When a child hiccups, what should you not do?

There are certain hiccup remedies that are suitable for adults. Never try them on your babies, as getting rid of hiccups in a newborn can have adverse consequences.

1. Never try to scare your newborn if they are hiccupping to get them to stop hiccupping. The loud bang of an exploding plastic bag, commonly used for hiccupping adults, can cause damage to infants' sensitive eardrums.
2. Sour candies are great for adults, but are not intended for children. Even if your baby is over 12 months old, it is not recommended to feed him sour candy or other acidic foods to relieve hiccups. Most sour candies contain powdered edible acid, which may not be healthy for your baby.
3. Don't slap your child too hard on the back. The ligaments in your baby's skeleton are still flexible, and any shock or brute force can cause serious damage to them. For this reason, never slap your baby hard on the back to prevent him from hiccupping. You can knock gently, but any excessive force may cause damage.

What to do if a newborn hiccups after feeding?

This article talks about typical ways to solve your issues, but each case is unique! If you want to find out from me how to solve your particular problem, ask your question. It's fast and free

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If overeating occurs and the newborn hiccups after feeding, then the mothers themselves are to blame, especially young ones who do not yet have sufficient experience in caring for children. They often worry about the amount of milk sucked and feed the baby - this action provokes pressure on the diaphragm. When a baby is overeating, it is not difficult for the mother to determine; for this, nutrition control can be introduced - for example, changing the volume of milk or formula in subsequent feedings. In order to eliminate overeating, you need to use preventive measures:

• There is a lot of debate in pediatrics about whether it is best to feed a child on demand or by the hour. It has already been established that infants from mothers who feed by the hour overeat. This is explained by the fact that the child has a small stomach volume and a portion of milk is only enough for a short time. It is very difficult for the baby to wait for the next meal, so he is hungry while sucking. The baby begins to greedily suckle at the breast, resulting in an overload of the baby's stomach with a large volume of food. In this case, the newborn hiccups after feeding.
• You also need to take into account that breast milk is conventionally divided into two types: front and rear. Experts note that the rear has a higher fat content, and this is what the baby can get enough of. In a mother who has a lot of milk, the baby quickly becomes saturated with the front, and then only with the rear, which is more saturated. It turns out that by the end of feeding the baby is already full.

In order not to overfeed the baby, the mother should calculate the amount of formula or milk needed per day using the table

• In infants up to 3 months of age, gas accumulation is observed in the intestines. This occurs due to the underdevelopment of the gastrointestinal tract, so babies may have colic, causing hiccups (we recommend reading:). A mother can easily determine whether her baby has colic, since at this moment he is restless, tries to raise his legs, his tummy is elastic, even hard (we recommend reading:).

When to contact a specialist?:

• if it is gastroesophageal reflux. If a child constantly hiccups and always regurgitates a little liquid, we can assume the presence of gastroesophageal reflux. Gastroesophageal reflux is usually accompanied by other signs, including irritability, arching of the back, and crying a few minutes after feeding. If you suspect reflux, contact your pediatrician immediately;
• hiccups interfere with sleep and feeding. It is normal for a baby to hiccup from time to time, but if the hiccups are interfering with his daily activities such as eating, sleeping and playing, then you should take him to the doctor. When hiccups become chronic and interfere with daily activities, the baby automatically shows signs of discomfort. This means that hiccups may be caused by another cause that requires medical attention;
• when hiccups last for hours or days. Babies, including newborns, may hiccup almost daily for a few minutes or up to an hour. If they generally feel comfortable and happy, then there is no reason to worry. But if the hiccups show no signs of abating and continue for an abnormally long time, then the cause may be serious.

Patience and observation will help you and your baby smile through the hiccups. Home remedies are simple methods to suppress and even prevent hiccups in your baby. Always remember that if your baby hiccups, it is completely normal and does not harm the baby. So never worry about it as it is a natural event. Some basic precautions during feeding will help manage your baby's hiccups. When hiccups are chronic, consult your pediatrician.

Every mother has repeatedly had to deal with hiccups in her child. Moreover, the first manifestations of the reflex can be observed before its birth - almost all children hiccup while in the womb. This is not always a harmless phenomenon, especially when it often bothers the baby. To explain why this happens, it is necessary to find out the causes of this phenomenon.

Signs of illness

Painful diaphragmatic spasms can be observed in diseases associated with significant disturbances in the functioning of the central nervous system (CNS). This happens, for example, with encephalitis or meningoencephalitis. Sometimes rhythmic contractions of the diaphragmatic septum develop against the background of hepatic, renal or diabetic coma.

Damage caused by a traumatic brain injury, concussion, or brain contusion can also serve as a trigger for protracted and exhausting bouts of hiccups, which will return with enviable regularity.

Sometimes pathological hiccups are a harbinger of a critical increase. It happens that it develops against the background of pinched nerve endings in the fourth cervical vertebra, against the background of lymphogranulomatosis, as well as tumors of the esophagus.

Often painful hiccups are caused by gastritis and inflammation of the duodenum, intestinal obstruction, and gallbladder diseases. Help:

To the fetus

The baby in the womb does not need help with hiccups. The ri in the belly bothers the expectant mother more than her baby. If the hiccupping movements of the fetus interfere with rest and sleep, a woman can take a walk in the fresh air, do breathing exercises, and take a knee-elbow position for 10-15 minutes. Usually this calms the child somewhat and brings the woman long-awaited peace.

Newborn and infant

When a baby has hiccups, you can give a small amount of warm water to drink. After eating, to prevent regurgitation and hiccups, you need to hold the baby upright for a while so that the air trapped in the stomach and esophagus during feeding comes out with belching.

Placing it on the tummy will help eliminate a bout of hiccups in your baby.

If a child hiccups due to hypothermia, he should be warmed up as soon as possible. As soon as he gets warm, the hiccups will stop.

If a child begins to hiccup due to fear, severe emotional shock, too active games or continuous laughter, he needs to be calmed down as soon as possible, his attention should be switched to something calmer, and a small amount of warm water should be given to drink.

Child over one year old

You can quickly stop an attack of hiccups by straightening your diaphragm. To do this, take a deep, slow breath. You need to hold the air inside your lungs for as long as possible and exhale slowly. If necessary, this exercise is repeated several times.

An older child will be able to successfully cope with a more difficult task - taking several small sips of water while holding his breath. This method also allows you to quickly get rid of hiccups.

Switching attention to a new activity helps get rid of hiccups. If, at the time of an attack, you show the child something interesting, let him watch it, captivate him, then the spasms of the diaphragm go away suddenly and very quickly.

For pathological hiccups

Help for pathological hiccups at home usually does not bring the desired result. Even if the parents manage to calm the child down, warm him up and give him something to drink, and give him mild sedatives, the attack repeats again and again.

The best help for such an attack is to consult a pediatrician.

This specialist will be assisted by modern diagnostic capabilities and doctors of other specialties - gastroenterologist, neurologist, cardiologist, neurosurgeon. Most cases of unhealthy hiccups go away without a trace after the child receives the necessary treatment for the underlying disease.

As a little-studied phenomenon, hiccups are surrounded by myths and prejudices, and there are also interesting facts associated with it:

• At the beginning of the 20th century, an unusual way of dealing with hiccups was practiced in Italy.
  While the whole world was breathing deeply, drinking water and eating lemons, the Italians came up with the idea of ​​sticking out your tongue when you hiccup. Moreover, they tried to do this to the maximum length. Judging by the fact that the fact has survived to this day, it helped Italian children and adults.
• In 2006, Francis Fesmire (an American doctor from the University Hospital of Florida) and three of his colleagues from Israel invented a massage for hiccups. They found out and substantiated that rectal massage with a finger helps get rid of an attack as quickly as possible. For this great discovery, the American doctor and his comrades were awarded the Ig Nobel Prize for the most ridiculous achievements in the field of medicine.
• The longest bout of hiccups in world history was recorded in 1922 (in the USA).
  Charles Osborne decided to slaughter a pig - and at that moment he began to hiccup. The hiccups lasted exactly 68 years. The man had to hiccup about 400 million times. The treatment turned out to be ineffective. However, Osborne was able to get married and have children - despite constant diaphragmatic spasm.
• In Russia there is the following belief: when a person hiccups, someone remembers him.
  If, at the moment of an attack, you start going through the names of acquaintances and friends who could be doing this at the moment, then the hiccups will stop when the correct name is called. This belief has no scientific basis.

Why do newborns hiccup after feeding? Find the answer to this question in the next video.

In a family with a baby, parents carefully monitor its health, so such a physiological manifestation as hiccups in newborns causes them justifiable concern. Meanwhile, experts have proven that even an unborn baby can hiccup - for example, at six weeks the fetus already has hiccups. In infants, it appears very often, it can last a few minutes, or it can last for an hour or more, which causes discomfort in the child and interferes with falling asleep. In order to prevent hiccups from causing panic in mothers, you need to know the reasons for their occurrence and find ways to stop them in your baby.

Hiccups are a normal physiological reaction of the body, and the baby can hiccup even before birth - in the mother’s tummy

What is hiccups?

From the physiological side, hiccups are jerky contractions of the diaphragm, which lead to disruption of external respiration. After contractions of the diaphragm, air is pushed out of a person’s lungs, passing through the larynx, then it closes the supraglottic glottis, producing a characteristic sound.

At the same time, a person feels uncomfortable, intense breathing movements, repeated with equal frequency. This phenomenon occurs quite often in children. It usually manifests itself due to a violation of external respiration, which occurs as a result of convulsive contractions of the diaphragm and is expressed by periodic, intense respiratory movements.

What it is?

Hiccups are diaphragmatic spasms, contractions of the diaphragm and intercostal muscles that are jerky in nature. These movements always occur serially and cause unpleasant sensations. With such movements of the diaphragm, external breathing is disrupted. This happens due to the fact that muscle contractions imitate inhalation, and the epiglottis sharply “slams shut”, creating the effect of suffocation.

When the air is blocked, the very sound that gives this physiological phenomenon its name – “hic” – is created. It is believed that in this way the body is freed from air trapped in the stomach. However, pathological hiccups have completely different roots - these can be tumors, diseases of the nervous system, and inflammatory processes occurring in internal organs.

These options have nothing to do with fetal hiccups in the womb. There are usually several reasons for the occurrence of such hiccups - from physiological (swallowing amniotic fluid) to idiopathic (unexplained from a scientific point of view).

Types of baby hiccups

Baby hiccups can be of two types: episodic and continuous. The first type is quite often observed in children in everyday life. It often appears suddenly, for no apparent reason. To successfully get rid of it, you first need to correctly determine the cause of its appearance.

Often, episodic seizures in children occur during severe hypothermia, significant overeating, or due to stress, emotional distress, or nervous excitability. The episodic form is characterized by spontaneous disappearance of symptoms after a short period of time. If they do not stop within half an hour, adults should intervene.

Video from Youtube: Why do people hiccup? – Scientific

If you are worried about prolonged hiccups - daily and prolonged attacks, there is a possibility that it manifests itself as a result of the development of some pathology in the body. You should not try to cope with this type of reflex on your own; a specialist, a pediatrician, should determine the cause and prescribe treatment.

Kinds

Hiccups in a child can be different, and it is important for parents to learn to distinguish normal hiccups from a painful condition:

• Episodic (periodic) hiccups.
  It is completely safe. In everyday life, such attacks happen to all children without exception.
• Periodic hiccups
  usually go away on their own (within a few minutes, half an hour maximum). It is caused by quite ordinary things - overeating, hypothermia, fear.

Hiccups in children can begin even from prolonged intense laughter:

• Frequent and prolonged hiccups.
  It can be a signal of various disorders in the body. Daily long hiccups that plague a child and that are not eliminated by ordinary measures require examination by specialists.
• Idiopathic hiccups.
  Such hiccups happen very rarely. It does not fit into the periodic framework, since it happens quite often, but it does not have any pathological prerequisites. Doctors cannot make a diagnosis because the cause of the reflex contraction of the diaphragm remains unclear.

Manifestation of the reflex in unborn children

A baby periodically hiccups in the womb before it is born. This reflex begins during fetal development. Starting from the 7th month of pregnancy, the expectant mother feels periodically rhythmic contractions of the abdomen.

The process can last from a couple of minutes to half an hour, and occurs individually, several times a day or once a week. The reflexes are caused by a sharp contraction of the diaphragm due to the child swallowing a small amount of surrounding amniotic fluid.

In babies during pregnancy

Although this phenomenon is more than mysterious, it is not a pathology and should not be a cause for concern for the expectant mother. Intrauterine hiccups do not cause the child any unpleasant or painful sensations or suffering.

At the end of the first trimester, the fetus begins to suck its thumb and develops a swallowing reflex. There is nothing strange in the fact that the baby swallows the amniotic fluid surrounding it. Sometimes the amount swallowed exceeds the child’s capabilities, the stomach becomes overstretched, and the baby begins to get rid of excess, belching and expelling water through diaphragmatic contractions.

It is believed that the taste of amniotic fluid also affects the frequency of hiccups - the more a mother indulges herself in sweets, the more pleasant the taste of amniotic fluid is for the baby. He will swallow more tasty waters.

Another possible reason, which has no scientific confirmation, is that hiccups are a kind of training in breathing movements, which later (after birth) will be natural and involuntary.

The theory that a baby may hiccup in the womb due to hypoxia (oxygen deficiency) is viewed critically by neonatologists. Indirectly, such a pathological condition may be indicated by a change in the behavior of the fetus (increased or decreased movements, including increased frequency of hiccups), but a direct relationship with hiccups has not yet been established.

Hiccups in infants

Quite often, when feeding, the baby swallows a large amount of air, which begins to put pressure on his diaphragm and thereby provokes attacks of hiccups. This phenomenon is common in newborn babies who swallow air during breastfeeding or bottle feeding.

A baby usually has an attack if he eats too quickly and greedily. Another option is that the hole in a nursing mother’s nipple is too large, so the baby does not have time to swallow all the incoming breast milk.

To help a newborn successfully get rid of hiccups, you need to lift him upright and carefully carry him, wait until the excess air comes out of the lungs with a belch, and then give him warm water. If the baby vomits, there is no need to worry, this means that he swallowed a lot of air during feeding.

Sometimes a baby hiccups when he is cold or thirsty. The diaphragm can contract during various kinds of emotions - a similar reaction can occur to a light that is too bright or a sound that is loud for a newborn.

Ways to combat hiccups in children over 1 year old

When complementary feeding begins, the cause is the consumption of dry food or prolonged thirst. To stop hiccups in children over one year of age, give your baby a warm drink. Children often begin to hiccup due to strong emotional excitability. You just need to distract him with a calm game. By redirecting your baby's attention, you help him calm down. At the same time, the diaphragm relaxes, and the child begins to breathe normally. Do not forget to explain to your child that during hiccups you should not make too sudden movements and be active: run, jump, play outdoor games.

Do a breathing exercise together with children aged 2-5 years. First, take a few deep breaths and then hold your breath for 15 to 20 seconds. By repeating after you, children perform the exercise more diligently and achieve results faster. After 3–5 repetitions, breathing functions are restored.

With children over 2 years old, try the following method to stop hiccups. Pinch your baby's nose and let him drink a cup of water. Ask him to drink in small sips, slowly. Repeat 2–5 times until the attack stops.

Eating a slice of lemon or a teaspoon of granulated sugar helps relieve a child from hiccups.

For further prevention in children over 1 year of age, monitor after which cases the babies hiccup most often and do not allow this to happen again. Frequent hiccups, which cannot be eliminated using the above methods, means the development of pathology in children. The baby must be shown to a doctor for diagnosis and treatment.

Consequences of overeating

Too much food and liquid entering the stomach causes the walls to stretch, causing the diaphragm to contract, resulting in hiccups. Overeating is often the cause of its appearance and the answer to the question of many mothers, why does the child hiccup after eating.

Child hiccups when overeating

To stop this attack, you need to give the baby water at room temperature, and then ask him to hold his breath as much as possible. If the initial attempt does not produce results and the baby continues to hiccup, you can repeat the procedure several times to achieve the desired effect.

What other reasons cause hiccups?

A newborn often hiccups without any connection with feeding. Mom is worried because she is following the pediatrician’s feeding instructions, but the baby’s hiccups are not going away. It is important to understand here that there are other reasons for its appearance. Experts believe that the provoking factors are:

• An excited state during emotional shock. Due to the weakness and instability of the nervous system, infants may be frightened by something unusual (for example, an unfamiliar environment, loud sound, bright light), and an anxious state appears, leading to a spasm of the diaphragm.
• Everyone knows that hypothermia is a sure sign that a baby will develop hiccups. A caring mother should touch the baby’s nose, arms, and legs; if they are cold, it means he is frozen. Hypothermia can occur due to poor thermoregulation in children, so it is necessary to maintain a constant body temperature, wear socks and a blouse so that the child does not freeze.
• Sometimes hiccups occur during sleep, pediatricians also give a scientific and practical explanation for this. If a newborn is sleeping and hiccups in his sleep, it means that the diaphragm contracts, the vocal cords close, and the result is a sound that frightens the parents. The baby wakes up on his own, as it becomes difficult for him to breathe. To eliminate the discomfort and help the baby, the mother needs to take him to her chest, hold him in an upright position and press her stomach to her to warm and calm him down.

By holding the baby close to her in an upright position, the mother promotes the gradual release of air and normalization of the position of the internal organs

Severe nervous shock

Emotional excitement, nervous stress or fear are the reasons that often cause bouts of hiccups in children. To eliminate it in the event of a nervous shock, parents need to calm the baby down and, if possible, try to figure out what exactly is the cause of the child’s worries and fears.

If, due to these reasons, the attack lasts a long time and the baby cannot calm down, you should try to distract him with an interesting activity. Captivated by his favorite game, he will soon and unnoticed stop hiccups. If attacks due to stress recur periodically, you should urgently consult a psychologist.

In newborns and infants

In newborns and infants, the process of hiccups is usually associated not with digestion, but with the development of the functioning of the nervous system. Such hiccups are also not a pathology and a reason for urgent medical examination. It does not interfere with the child very much and is a temporary phenomenon.

In addition, babies who have recently been born are greatly influenced by external stimuli that adults and older children simply do not pay attention to. These are, for example, temperature changes.

When hypothermia occurs, the baby reflexively begins to hiccup, and this process has nothing to do with digestion.

But overfeeding, which many caring parents are prone to, is directly related to the reduction of the diaphragm. In addition, infants often swallow air when making sucking and swallowing movements.

When the vagus or phrenic nerve is overstimulated, infant hiccups may also occur. This may be possible as a result of stress, an abundance of impressions, or tension in the nervous system. If there are a lot of guests in the house, it is noisy, the light is too bright, loud music, or the child is unable to get enough sleep - all this can cause a sudden attack of hiccups.

Thirst, boisterous laughter, too active games with parents, in which the child literally “forgets how to breathe” (throwing the baby into the air, for example), can also cause hiccups in a baby.

All these reasons are physiological, they do not pose a danger - and if proper first aid is provided, they go away quite quickly.

Consequences of laughter

Many people are interested in why a child sometimes hiccups after loud, prolonged laughter. When he laughs, sharp and intermittent breaths compress the vagus nerve with air pressure. It sends a response signal to the diaphragm to contract to release it. To stop the attack, it is necessary to release and relax the vagus nerve.

Excessive baby laughter leads to hiccups

To stop your baby from hiccupping, you can give him water to drink, and swallowing will help the diaphragm return to normal. You can also stretch while standing, taking the deepest possible exhalations and inhalations.

Pathological processes

If a mother often wonders why her child hiccups frequently and cannot stop for a long time, there is reason to think. Its regular occurrence may indicate pathological processes in the body. If you cannot cope with the next attack on your own or it appears again after a while, you need to consult a doctor.

Before visiting a doctor, you need to observe your baby, be sure to pay special attention to the exact circumstances under which he hiccups, what symptoms accompany attacks, etc. Having the necessary information from parents will help the doctor make the correct diagnosis, as well as prescribe the necessary treatment.

Etiology

If a child often hiccups, this may indicate the following pathological processes in his body:

• gastritis;
• esophagitis;
• ulcerative lesions of the stomach;
• parasitic infections;
• helminth infection;
• intoxication of the body with medications, poisons, toxic and other chemicals;
• pathological processes of the nervous system;
• diseases of the upper respiratory system.

In addition, it is necessary to highlight the physiological reasons that a child hiccups all day:

• binge eating;
• eating food quickly, on the go, chewing poorly;
• habit of drinking carbonated drinks with food;
• stress, nervous tension;
• fright

It should be noted that in a child under 5 years of age, frequent hiccups are normal, since the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract has not yet been established.

In any case, if hiccups are constantly present in a baby (of any age), you should consult a doctor, and not treat yourself or ignore the symptoms altogether.

How to avoid recurring hiccups?

To avoid a relapse, it is necessary to pay attention to the duration and other features of the attack, and find out under what circumstances it manifests itself. If your baby begins to hiccup due to hypothermia, try to dress warmer. If he still begins to hiccup while walking in the fresh air, it means he is cold at the moment and needs to get dressed or return home.

Video: How to get rid of hiccups?

If there is a tendency to various emotional experiences, the sudden onset of hiccups may be a kind of reaction to the stress experienced. To avoid repeated attacks like this, try to communicate with your child more often and take an interest in his mood. It is advisable to find out what circumstance in his environment causes a strong stressful emotional reaction.

If a child is tormented by fears, but for any reason he does not want to tell his parents, it is worth taking him to a psychologist. Please note that the sooner you understand your child and begin to monitor his physical and psychological health, the more unwanted negative consequences from stress you will be able to avoid in the future.

How to prevent hiccups

Prevention of hiccups allows you to avoid prolonged bouts of muscle contractions. Mothers need to follow the following simple rules for caring for their infant.

1. Do not overfeed your baby. At six months the baby can already understand whether he is hungry or already full, and until 6 months he will eat as much as his mother suggests - he will regurgitate the excess. To prevent an overfilled stomach from putting pressure on the lower ribs, feed the baby in doses, on demand or by the hour.
2. Reduce the time between feedings by reducing portions. It is better for a baby to eat little by little often than rarely and in large portions. In order for the baby to fill up faster during breastfeeding, you need to express the foremilk, leaving access to the fattier hind milk.
3. Do not give the breast or bottle if the child hiccups a lot or cries. The baby gasps for air, sobbing. To start lunch, you need to calm down. If the baby continues to cry, you can hold him to the breast for a few seconds to calm him down, then remove the nipple and wait for the air to come out. You can offer some water before giving the bottle.
4. Take the correct position when breastfeeding, feeding milk from a bottle. A breastfeeding baby hiccups less often if the mother ensures that the nipple is fully latched and does not squeeze the baby’s internal organs while holding him in her arms. Raise your head slightly up. If the baby is artificial, choose a milk nipple with a middle hole so that the food does not flow too much, support the bottle with the mixture at an angle.
5. Monitor the temperature in the room and the dryness of your baby's clothes. Hiccups are most often triggered by freezing. Wear socks and a warm blouse, if the room is colder than 20°C, the baby is constantly peeing, after the bath, keep it in a warm diaper or towel until the head is completely dry.
6. Warm the mixture to room temperature for feeding infants. Milk, water, juices should not be cold even for one-year-old and one-and-a-half-year-old children.
7. Avoid strong emotions. Not only negative, but also positive, if a three-month-old baby reacts violently to any changes, new people and toys.
8. Follow the timing of the introduction of complementary foods and the diet for a nursing mother. This will help avoid excess gas formation and stomach problems. Gases will not put pressure on the diaphragm, causing hiccups. Ask your pediatrician for permission to introduce complementary foods at six months. During breastfeeding, mothers do not need to eat foods that cause fermentation. This includes cabbage, legumes, carbonated drinks, baked goods, sweets, and smoked foods.