Yo, what’s good fam? It’s your boy Dan, and today we’re talking about hiccups. You know, those annoying little spasms that happen sometimes when you’re chillin’. Most times they only last a few minutes and then they’re gone, but sometimes they can stick around for days, months, or even years. Crazy, right? So, the question is, can cannabis help? Let’s dive in.
First things first, let’s talk about what causes hiccups. It all starts with a muscle called the diaphragm. This bad boy sits at the base of your ribs and helps you breathe. When it contracts, it allows your lungs to expand and take in oxygen. When it relaxes, it pushes up and forces carbon dioxide back out.
Now, when you get the hiccups, that diaphragm starts spasming involuntarily. This causes a sharp intake of air, which then causes your vocal cords to close rapidly, making that classic “hic” sound we all know and love. Hiccups can happen for all sorts of reasons – strong emotions like excitement or anxiety, eating too fast – you name it.
For most people, hiccups are just a minor inconvenience that goes away on its own. But for some folks, they can last way longer than they should. Hiccups that stick around for 48 hours to a month are called persistent hiccups. And if they last more than 48 hours… brace yourself… they’re called intractable hiccups. The longest case on record was a whopping 68 years!
When hiccups go from being just an annoyance to a straight-up problem, it can cause all sorts of issues. People with persistent or intractable hiccups may experience dehydration, weight loss, insomnia, gastroesophageal reflux (when stomach acid flows backward into the esophagus), and even depression. So if your hiccups last longer than 48 hours, definitely check in with your doctor.
But let’s get back to the main question: can cannabis cure hiccups? Well, there was this one case study published in The Lancet back in 1998 where a patient developed persistent hiccups following surgery. He tried all sorts of meds but nothing worked until he tried smoking weed. His hiccups stopped immediately and didn’t return.
Now listen up fam – this is just one case study we’re talking about here. There’s not enough evidence out there to definitively say that cannabis cures hiccups for everyone. But there is some scientific evidence to explain why it might work.
So remember how we talked about the diaphragm spasming during hiccups? Well doctors often treat persistent cases with a muscle relaxant called baclofen. And research from 2008 has shown that the cannabinoid compounds in weed could have similar effects.
But wait – there’s more! Intractable hiccups are often associated with gastroesophageal reflux (remember when we talked about stomach acid flowing backward into the esophagus?). And a review from 2016 found that cannabinoids can help reduce gastric acid production.
And last but not least – many people use cannabis to help with depression and anxiety. While research around this is still ongoing, emerging evidence suggests that CBD (which doesn’t have psychoactive effects like THC) can be helpful for calming people down.
So while we still need more research to say anything definitive about cannabis curing hiccups for everyone – there is some promising stuff out there indicating that it might be worth a try.
Alright fam, that’s all I got for you today. If you’ve ever tried cannabis for hiccups (or anything else!) drop a comment below and let me know how it went!