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Chronic hiccups

Other Names for this Disease
  • Hiccups, intractable
  • Intractable hiccups
  • Intractable singultus
  • Persistent hiccups
More Names
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Overview


Chronic hiccups are hiccups that persist for a long period of time or recur frequently over an extended period of time.[1][2] A hiccup is an unintentional movement (spasm) of the diaphragm, the muscle at the base of the lungs. The spasm is followed by the rapid closure of the vocal cords, which produces a distinctive sound.[3][1] Hiccups often start for no apparent reason and usually disappear after a few minutes.[3] Hiccups that last for more than two days and less than a month are sometimes called persistent or protracted hiccups. On rare occasions, hiccups persist even longer than a month or recur frequently over an extended period of time, and are called intractable hiccups.[1][2] Intractable hiccups are difficult to treat and often indicate the presence of another medical problem.[1][4][5] The longest recorded episode of intractable hiccups lasted 60 years.[1][2]


References

  1. Hiccups, Chronic. National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD). http://www.rarediseases.org/rare-disease-information/rare-diseases/byID/708/viewAbstract. Accessed November 28, 2011.
  2. Wilkes G. Hiccups. eMedicine. http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/775746-overview. Accessed November 28, 2011.
  3. Vorvick L. Hiccups. MedlinePlus. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003068.htm. Accessed November 28, 2011.
  4. Cabane J. Chronic hiccup. Orphanet. http://www.orpha.net/consor/cgi-bin/OC_Exp.php?lng=EN&Expert=396. Accessed November 28, 2011.
  5. What Causes Hiccups?. KidsHealth from Nemours. http://kidshealth.org/kid/talk/qa/hiccup.html. Accessed November 28, 2011.
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General Information

  • MedlinePlus, a Web site designed by the National Library of Medicine to help you research your health questions, provides more information about this topic. Click on the link to view this information.
  • Medscape Reference provides information on this topic. Click on the link to view this information. You may need to register to view the medical textbook, but registration is free.
  • The Merck Manuals Online Medical Library provides information on this condition. Click on the link to view the information.
  • The National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD) is a federation of more than 130 nonprofit voluntary health organizations serving people with rare disorders. Click on the link to view information on this topic.
  • Orphanet is a European reference portal for information on rare diseases and orphan drugs.  Access to this database is free of charge.  Click on the link to read information on this topic.
  • PubMed is a searchable database of medical literature and lists journal articles that discuss Chronic hiccups. Click on the link to view a sample search on this topic.

Selected Full-Text Journal Articles