For those of you who couldn't care less about my hiccup stories, feel free to jump right to the bottom of this hub for my answer. If, however, you're in the mood to be amused by stories that shouldn't amuse you, read on.

I call myself an expert in this area for 2 reason: 1) I hate hiccups so much that it's a miracle I've never accidentally killed myself trying to get rid of them; 2) I am, after all, an alcoholic. Yes, indeed, consumption of alcohol can contribute to hiccup activation. In my hiccup research (also spelled, hiccough) I found the following website quite informative.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/9896.php

I discovered early on in my drinking career that I'm one of those sappy, obnoxious drunks who gets hiccups. Not every time, but often enough to remind others of Otis Campbell, only not as funny. I hate hiccups when I'm not drunk, but my hatred intensified when I was drinking, partly because the hiccuping nuisance interfered with my ability to consume more alcohol.

During hiccup attacks throughout my life I've probably tried every home remedy:

1.Holding one's breath. This one's sometimes effective, especially when sober. When drunk one has no concept of real time; telling a drunk to hold his breath for as long as possible is like telling a baby or an animal to hold his breath--they'll either look at you like you're stupid, walk away or puke on you.

2. A teaspoon of sugar. This one has worked a time or two for me, but I'd never use this method while drinking, as I never liked anything sweet or sweet drinks while partying. I was one of those drunks who believed alcohol needed to taste like kerosene or it wouldn't get you where you wanted to go.

3. Standing on one's head. Couldn't do it--drunk or sober.

4. Drinking a full glass of water. I think the trick to this one is holding one's breath while drinking the water. It works drunk or sober, but if inebriated Scotch and water works better.

5. Compression of one's diaphragm. Here's where the drunken stories get scary. Now, if you're sober and you do sort of a Heimlich Maneuver on yourself, either with your fist or leaning over a chair, this one is fairly reliable. But depending on your level of intoxication, you may want to avoid this technique. During my drunken days I would actually beg people to stand on my diaphragm. Sometimes it worked, but the next day I'd wonder who punched me in the stomach the night before. But the worst diaphragm story happened one night when I was alone (Hey, if you're a real alcoholic you like to drink alone. No one tells you to stop, no one makes fun of you, you can watch anything you damn-well please on TV, and depending on your psychopathy you can laugh your ass off and/or whine yourself to sleep and no one intervenes. Just make sure you hide your phones.) So, as I was saying, I hadn't gotten totally wasted before I developed hiccups. I tried all the usual remedies and nothing worked. I was sitting at my desk and remembered the Heimlich Maneuver. When that failed I decided I wasn't hitting the right spot on my diaphragm and noticed I'd left a paring knife next to my computer. I don't need to go on, right? Okay, instead of wedging the point of the knife against the edge of my desk and the handle against my diaphragm I . . . No serious damage. I wasn't so drunk that I didn't feel the knife pierce my skin, but that episode did have the effect of frightening me out of my hiccups. Yes, that one actually works sometimes.

These days I find that relaxation and the knowledge the hiccups will disappear when they've run their course is effective enough. Yes, thanks to anger management, intensive psychotherapy and meds, I've discovered that even I (at times) can calm myself out of hiccups. And, "Thank You God for my sobriety."