Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Hiccups are common and typically harmless, but that doesn’t make them any less frustrating. Once you get a hiccup, more are likely to follow. In most cases, they go away after a few minutes.
There are a number of characteristics of hiccups that support this theory. The burping of a suckling infant may increase its capacity for milk by more than 15–25%, bringing a significant survival advantage. There is a strong tendency for infants to get hiccups, and although the reflex persists throughout life it decreases in frequency with age.
Hiccups happen when an involuntary spasm in the diaphragm causes the vocal chords to snap shut, which makes that hiccup sound.
Hiccups can also be a symptom of a medical condition. Pullins says that neurological conditions such as multiple sclerosis or Parkinson's disease, for instance, can cause one to experience hiccups.
Hiccups are a kind of myoclonic jerk specifically affecting the diaphragm. When a spasm is caused by another person it is known as a provoked spasm. Shuddering attacks in babies fall in this category. Myoclonic jerks may occur alone or in sequence, in a pattern or without pattern. They may occur infrequently or many times each minute.
The Moro reflex in a four-day-old infant: 1) the reflex is initiated by pulling the infant up from the floor and then releasing him; 2) he spreads his arms; 3) he pulls his arms in; 4) he cries (10 seconds) Moro reflex while sleeping
"When hiccups persist for more than 48 hours or if the hiccups are severely interfering with activities of daily living — such as eating, sleeping or breathing — it would be advisable to seek ...
Infant respiratory distress syndrome (IRDS), also known as surfactant deficiency disorder (SDD), [2] and previously called hyaline membrane disease (HMD), is a syndrome in premature infants caused by developmental insufficiency of pulmonary surfactant production and structural immaturity in the lungs.