The Washington times., 1935-12-28
esolutions Might Include the Will to Do More Sewing
Health
HiccoughsSfH
Puzzle
By LOGAN CLENDENING, M. D.

ny LOOA4N NAGGNDNANAANN+p ~'S' ~
Hiccough may be funny, annoy.
ing, disabling, or extremely Ser1'
GUS.
Every once in a while the news
papers report the plight Of some
patient who has been hiccoughlng
for several weeks or months. They
become exhausted, and not lnfre'
quently there is a fatal outcome.
Some of the most frequent queS-
tions asked doctors are among the
most difficult to answer. One OF
these is, Doctor, what shall I do
for hiccough?"
One would think that so appar'
emily simple a thing could be sue.
cessfully treated by any kind Of
a doctor, but the actualities are
that a physician confronted with
a case Of hiccough is usually al
most completely helpless.
The physiology of hiccough is
due to the simultaneous and invol'
untary contraction of the dia'
phragm and the glottis, which ar
rests air in the windpipe. This Is
a reversal of the normal reflex
which automatically opens the
glottis at the same time that the
diaphragm moves in respiration.
CIassifications
There are many claSSifications
of hiccough, such as the reflex
type, the irritation type, the neu.
rotic type, the epidemic type, and
the inflammatory type.
The commonest of all Is the 1r'
ritation type, in which the hic'
cough occurs from causes which,
when removed, at once bring re-
lief, such as distention OF the
stomach from too much food, hot
or cold drinks, swallowing Of air.
Some people are subject to re-
current hiccouCh due to the fact
that the esophagus is too short
and food accumulateS there and
chronically irritates the dia'
phragm.
The neurotic type occurs in Ger.
tain individuals who have hyper
sensitive stomach mucosa. They
frequently have hiccough which
lasts sometimes for days or weeks.
Hiccough is occasionally epidem-
ic, apparently due to the action
of a germ, similar to the germ OF
sleeping sickness.
Remedies for hiccough have
been suggested since ancient
times. One of the aphoriSms of
Hippocrates says that "Sneeezing
after hiccough removes the hic-
cough" Mechanical methods Of re.
lieving simple hiccough are regu-
lar forced breathing, by holding
the breath, holding the tongue
down with a tongue depresSor.
pressing the eyeballS, the external
ear and the back Of the neck,
hanging from the arms stretched
above the head, keeping the
abdominal muscles tensed and
holding the breath.
Many medicines have been rec
commended, but there is none
that can be depended upon.
QUESTIONS FROM READERS
w. F. c.: II am a boy Of 1s.
My height is 5 feet II inches
I am going to take cod liver oil.
Will it help me to put on any
weight? I now weigh 1873 pounds"
Answer: It should do so. You
should begin to notice improve
ment in a few weeks, and per-
haps gain 10 or is pounds in the
next year.
EDITORS NOTE: Six pam.
phlets by DR.. Clendening can now
be obtained by sending 10 cents
in coin, for each, and a Self-ad-
dressed envelope stamped with a
three-cent stamp, to DR.. Logan
Clendening, in care Of this paper.
The pamphlets are: Indigestion
and Constipation" Reducing and
Gaining" Infant Feeding" In
structions for the Treatment Of
and THE Care of the Hair and
Diabetes" Feminine Hygiene"
Skin"