Tips to treat hiccups in children

Give your baby water or milk

This is a good tip and also an easy and effective solution to cure hiccups. You can use a spoon to give your baby sips of cooled boiled water. For newborns, you should breastfeed them immediately instead of giving them water.

For babies who are already on solid foods, you can give them about 100ml of water slowly. If your baby is older, give them small sips of water while breathing deeply and sitting with their knees bent. Most babies will be cured of hiccups with this method.

Make the baby cry

Use your fingers to gently scratch your baby’s lips or ears repeatedly or make him cry. This trick will relax the baby’s esophageal nerves and the hiccups will disappear.

Pat the baby's back gently

You can cup your hands and gently pat your baby’s back. You should note that each pat should be firm and gentle. This can help your baby burp and avoid reflux.

Mom can cup her hands and pat the baby's back gently.

Use your hands to impact the baby's ears

Alternatively, you can use two index fingers to tightly plug the child's ears for about half a minute, or use your index finger and thumb to pinch the nostrils shut, and close the child's mouth for 2-3 seconds, then rest for 2-3 seconds and repeat 15-20 times.

Use honey

Mothers can use a few drops of honey to help their children overcome hiccups. Mothers should use a tongue cleaning gauze wrapped around their index finger, dip a little honey and put it in the baby's mouth. However, infants and children under 1 year old are very susceptible to poisoning due to allergies to honey. Therefore, this method should only be used for older children.

Feeding children sugar

The sweetness of sugar will trick the esophageal nervous system, helping your baby avoid hiccups. However, this method only applies to children 2 years and older.

Uses of star anise seeds

Star anise seed drink is effective in curing hiccups. Mothers use a bowl of boiling water and put a few star anise seeds in it. Wait 15 minutes for it to cool down and give it to the baby to drink. This method can only be applied to older babies. If the baby is over 6 months old, mothers can cure hiccups by giving the baby water to drink.

Prevent hiccups in children

Every time a baby has hiccups, the mother often has to try one way or another to help the baby stop hiccups. The best way is for the mother to prevent this "discomfort" by changing the baby's eating habits below.

- Divide into many meals: The stomach of a newborn baby is very small so it can only hold a certain amount of milk. If you feed your baby too much, hiccups and vomiting will occur frequently. Therefore, mothers should divide their baby's meals into many times a day and should not force the baby to eat more when he feels full.

- Pat your baby's back while breastfeeding: When your baby has finished half of the feeding, you should stop and pat your baby's back to help him burp out all the excess air in his stomach and slow down the flow of milk. This method not only helps prevent hiccups but also helps your baby avoid bloating.

- Breastfeeding correctly: The correct position when breastfeeding is that the baby's head needs to be higher than the body and the baby's mouth must cover the mother's nipple. If the mother is bottle-feeding, hold the bottle at a 45-degree angle so that the milk flows to fill the nipple and the air is trapped at the bottom of the bottle. Only then can the amount of air passing through the mouth into the stomach be limited.

With these tips to treat hiccups in children, hopefully you will have more knowledge in taking care of your children.