Your Letters
16:21 UK time, Monday, 11 May 2009
Is a petrol station really the most sensible place to ?
Rick P, Oxford, UK
Katie from Bristol (Friday letters) is right that, to stop a sneeze, you put your finger lengthways under your nose... but you also have to press quite hard while you're at it (it's pressure on a nerve there that stops the sneeze). And for Mouse from Dorking/Farnham, to cure hiccoughs, hold a mug (or something similar) over your left ear while breathing normally (I've no idea why this one works, but it does.)
Sasha, Montreal, Canada
My brother has always recommended adding up all of your debts (including student loans and bank of Mum & Dad) as a cure for hiccoughs, for bad cases you could try the national debt.
L Jones, York, UK
Hiccoughs? Hyperventilate (by breathing in and out very quickly), then hold your breath for 30 seconds.
Mark, Gloucester
Hiccoughs are a spasm of the diaphragm muscle. The most effective "cure" is to take a deepish breath, not to bursting but to feel "full", and then "push" down on the diaphragm with the full lungs. Hold that for at least a slow count of ten. This stretches the diaphragm, which is just a big flat muscle, and "switches off" the spasm. It's the same physiological principle as stretching a cramping calf muscle. It might take a couple of tries to get the feel of "pushing" down with full lungs, but I have always found it works when the person gets the correct technique.
Jaye, Rutland, England
Foolproof hiccup cure: Sit upside down by putting your feet where your head would be and your head where your feet would be. Warning - do not attempt this in your aunt's curio-filled front room after a dinner where alcohol was served.
Heather Simmons, Macomb, Michigan USA
I have found both drinking a teaspoonful of vinegar or drinking water backwards to work. To drink water backwards hold the cup so the further away rim is in your mouth and tip your head forwards. Complicated but it works.
Jenny Em, Aberdeen
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