St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1906-04-07

HICCoUdH.

|
HIcCoUaH.
| have recently been called upon to
reb ave severe case Of hiccough which
has lasted several days Although . great
deal of medicine has been used, the case
was growing steadily worse. Five min
utes' treatment with my two hands ef-
fected complete cure, and there has
been no return OF the trouble.
Hiccough, being simultaneous spas
modic contraction of the diaphragm
and the CLOTHS, it is only natural To
suppose that the proper way to over
come the difficulty is to remove the
contractions. But, before proceeding
further, the correct thing to do is to
learn just what this diaphragm is. First,
it Is a muscle; it is the partition be-
tween the ffrebox and ash pan of the
body. Above this partition are the
organs which receive the fuel and
convert it into power, and below 1t
are those through which the ashes or
matter from which all useful proper
ties have been extracted are to be elm
mated.
1t. occupies an oblique position just
between the lungs and the stomach,
separating the two and forming what
is often termed the floor of the for
mer and the roof of the latter. But, as
said before, 1t separates the fire box
or thoracic cavity, and the ash pan, or
abdominal cavity; the two particular
organs which it lies Immediately be-
tween, however, are the stomach and
lungs.
The diaphragm is concave in form, the
concave side being toward the abdomen.
You have doubtless frequently seen a
little hollow rubber ball, such as chill.
dren play with. Well, II you were to
cut one of those balls in two through
the center, the shape Of either side would
very much resemble that of the diaph-
rafm, excepting that the hollow is not
quite so pronounced-the diaphragm is
as large as hat crown. Then ii this
half-ball were placed in an oblique po-
sition between the stomach and lungs.
1t would represent the diaphragm very
well. ys.s =.
The prime use Of this muscle is In
respiration. The fibers of the muscle
contract, causing 1t to become nearly
straight, instead of concave, thus max
ing the cavity in the chest larger and
tending to produce a vacuum. The
air ruskes in to fill this space, and
thus tho air cells Of the lungs are
filed; the diaphragm again resumes
its natural shape, thereby forcing the
air out again.. completing respira-
ton
Has rot everyone observed that
full breath is always taken just be-
fore coughing, sneezfng, or, in fact,
any act causing violent expulsion Of
air from the lungs? This explains
why good laugh" or good cry is
beneficial. both requiring deep inspira
lions. And in all of these the diaph-
ragm is, OF course, brought into active
service.
Now that 1t has been explained that
liccough is spasmodic contraction
If the diaphragm, just what this
is, what it does, and how it
loes it, the next thing is to determine
low this condition (spasmodic con-
raction) is to be overcome.
The technical term OF hiccough is |
but that does not in the
east change the impression upon the
mind of the suffering individual, un-
ess by soberly announcing 1t to him I
he effect is to cause profound fright,
n which case the trouble is likely to
disappear, for the nerves controlling
he action of the diaphragm are init !
nately associated with the emotional
,r abdominal brain. That is the rea-
on why some experimenters have adj
Used people to place. the elbows far
part and slowly bring the points OF
he index fingers together. This fixes
he attention closely upon the points
f the fingers, the breath is usually
ield, while, the arms being away from
he sides. give freedom to the muscles
q expanding, and the combination eff
ects cure.
But this is only in instances caused
y simple and harmless things. There
re cases caused by fatigue, nervous
ebility. low fevers, an excess of food
II liquids in the stomach, or inflamma-
lon or irritation Of an. obscure nature,
nd these will not readily yield to
UGH treatment.
One noted writer tells Of a case in
7hich all of the remedies prescribed
y the authorities were used success
yely, each in turn failing to bring
elief, and finally the attending physi-