I may have inadvertently discovered the purpose of the hiccup

[abcdan71]

TL;DR

Hiccupping helped to remove the food stuck in my throat.

Hiccupping helped to remove the food stuck in my throat.

I get food stuck in my throat from time to time when I don't chew well enough and I am a bit parched. Primarily with rice or similar foods. Last night it happened again, and after 30 minutes of it being stuck, I began to hiccup. After five hiccups the food cleared my throat and entered into my stomach. And as soon as that happened the hiccups stopped.

Due to the fact that hiccupping started while I had food stuck in my throat, it cleared my throat after only five hiccups, and it immediately stopped once the food was cleared, this seems to me that it could be one of the plausible reasons (if not the only reason) for why we evolved to hiccup.

I wanted to share this because I know that the purpose of hiccups is unknown to science, and I wanted to share my experience to perhaps add to the conversation of this universal, yet mysterious biological process.

 

[pinball1970]

TL;DR Summary: Hiccupping helped to remove the food stuck in my throat.

Hiccupping helped to remove the food stuck in my throat.

I get food stuck in my throat from time to time when I don't chew well enough and I am a bit parched. Primarily with rice or similar foods. Last night it happened again, and after 30 minutes of it being stuck, I began to hiccup. After five hiccups the food cleared my throat and entered into my stomach. And as soon as that happened the hiccups stopped.

Due to the fact that hiccupping started while I had food stuck in my throat, it cleared my throat after only five hiccups, and it immediately stopped once the food was cleared, this seems to me that it could be one of the plausible reasons (if not the only reason) for why we evolved to hiccup.

I wanted to share this because I know that the purpose of hiccups is unknown to science, and I wanted to share my experience to perhaps add to the conversation of this universal, yet mysterious biological process.

Choking is mentioned here

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiccup

 

[DaveC426913]

Due to the fact that hiccupping started while I had food stuck in my throat, it cleared my throat after only five hiccups, and it immediately stopped once the food was cleared, this seems to me that it could be one of the plausible reasons (if not the only reason) for why we evolved to hiccup.

I suppose, although I'm not sure it needs an explanation as to whether/why it evolved. It is a side-effect of having a nerve that runs down next to the esophagus. It isn't debilitating, so it wouldn't necessarily be selected against.

The food you swallowed pressed on the nerve, causing a reflex muscle twitch. When the irritant was removed, the nerve was no longer pinched.

But yeah, I see what you mean. It's kind of like reverse peristalsis, but less of a "nuclear" option.

 

[abcdan71]

Choking is mentioned here

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiccup

I didn't see choking in the article, but the article did mention that getting food stuck in the esophagus is a pathophysiological cause. I guess this is known to science after all.

 

[abcdan71]

I suppose, although I'm not sure it needs an explanation as to whether/why it evolved. It is a side-effect of having a nerve that runs down next to the esophagus. It isn't debilitating, so it wouldn't necessarily be selected against.

The food you swallowed pressed on the nerve, causing a reflex muscle twitch. When the irritant was removed, the nerve was no longer pinched.

But yeah, I see what you mean. It's kind of like reverse peristalsis, but less of a "nuclear" option.

Yeah, perhaps it was not why hiccups evolved, rather it is a beneficial side-effect. It's true that it's not debilitating, but I wonder if in some extreme cases it can be. It's the first practical benefit of hiccups that I was aware of, rather than being some random annoyance, so that's what made me wonder if it was why hiccups came to be.

 

[pinball1970]

I didn't see choking in the article, but the article did mention that getting food stuck in the esophagus is a pathophysiological cause. I guess this is known to science after all.

Just correct myself. Food stuck in the oesophagus is not choking, you will get an unpleasant feeling/pain after eating too fast, not chewing properly.
Choking is where food is entering or has entered the trachea and that reaction is a gag reflex not a hiccup.

 

[pinball1970]

TL;DR Summary: Hiccupping helped to remove the food stuck in my throat.

I don't chew well enough

try not to rush when eating and chew your food properly, just an after thought.

 

[jim mcnamara]

If I try this query in Google, "NIH hiccup" I get dozens of journal papers and white papers with explanations of etiology (causes), palliatives, management options ("cures"), associations...

example:

Persistent hiccups after acute COVID-19 successfully ...​

National Institutes of Health (NIH) (.gov)
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov › articles › PMC11186146
Jun 19, 2024 — Metoclopramide, Baclofen and chlorpromazine are effective in managing COVID-19 associated hiccups.

So no. Your statements are not correct.