Someone told me a few months ago of a technique to stop hiccups. When I followed the simple instructions given to me at that time it was extremely effective.
Recently, I tried to reproduce the technique:
- breathed in while squatting down, placing the knees against the chest;
- slowly breathed out while standing up with the arms stretched forward;
- hold the breath for about one minute.
The hiccups didn't stop this time, so I thought I must have mistaken the breathing order. Therefore I tried reversing:
- breathed out while squatting down;
- slowly breathed in (until full lung capacity) while standing up;
Once I stood up, I immediately felt symptoms described in Orthostatic hypotension (found this page through a comment to another question similar to mine):
- dimmed vision with flashes and momentary blindness;
- generalized numbness/tingling and fainting;
- headache.
I squatted down again after approximately 3-5 seconds and the symptoms subsided (with the exception of the headache, which lingered for a while), and I still had the hiccups.
I gave up on the technique and later managed to stop the hiccups while having some yogurt in my mouth and drink it with the head down (close to my knees).
I'm assuming that in the second sequence the blood flows rapidly to the legs and at the same time to the diaphragm to help filling the lungs, causing a blood pressure fall, and the head, in this case, is primarily affected. I'd like to confirm if this makes any sense.