Hiccups

"Hiccups" Issue / Symptom Connections

Below you will find various relationships to, and potential clinical treatment approaches for hiccups.

Content Related to Hiccups

It is critical to appreciate that in Chinese Medicine, treatment for "hiccups" is rarely focused on the symptoms exclusively. Alternatively, a practitioner is looking at the factors that led to the development of "hiccups" - i.e. the "cause(s)".

For non-practitioners, we recommend reading treating the "cause" and not the "symptoms" for more on the overall approach and the importance of the TCM diagnostic system in formulating treatment approaches.

Within TCM, "hiccups" is potentially related to one or more of the following diagnostic patterns: stomach cold, stomach fire, and/or stomach qi deficiency.

The above patterns are common examples. In clinical situations, however, there are any number of other possibilities. Many times there will be a layered combination of patterns in an interwoven blend with their symptoms - some being the cause of an issue and the result of another issue. While initially complex, this is illustrative of the the web of relationships that Chinese Medicine is designed to approach.

• View KD 18 (Stone Pass)
  
      3 cun above CV 8, .5 cun lateral to CV 11.
  
      Local Point for abdominal and intestinal issues.   Pain, hiccups, vomiting, harmonizes stomach. Fertility issues involving stagnation in the lower warmer. Abdominal pain following childbirth.
• View SP 18 (Celestial Ravine)
  
      6 cun lateral to the anterior midline in the 4th inter-costal space.
  
      Descends qi - chest oppression, shortness of breath, cough, hiccup, running piglet disorder. Opens the chest and circulation in the breasts - breast pain, insufficient lactation.
• View ST 9 (Man's Prognosis)
  
      Level with the tip of the Adam's Apple on the anterior border of the sternocleidomastoideus muscle (where the pulse of …
  
      In ancient times the ST Qi was assessed by palpating the pulse here and at ST 42. Regulation of Blood Pressure - lowering high blood pressure. Headache, dizziness. Sore throat, counterflow qi (vomiting), coughing, hiccups. Acute lumbar…
• View ST 11 (Qi Abode)
  
      At the superior border of the clavicle between the sternal and clavicular heads of the sternocleidomastoideus muscle.
  
      Local point - sore/swollen throat - counterflow qi, cough, hiccups, reflux. Neck pain - pain, inability to turn neck. Tong Ren/Tam Healing System: Main point to open the circulation of the common carotid artery.  Useful for conditions su…
• View ST 13 (Qi Door)
  
      4 cun lateral to the AML at the lower border of the clavicle.
  
      Asthma, cough, wheezing, chest distention, hiccups. Local point - rib pain, inability to turn head, neck pain.
• View ST 43 (Sunken Valley)
  
      In a depression distal to the junction of the 2nd and 3rd metatarsal bones.
  
      Similar actions to ST 44 but used less often - will clear heat from the channel and organ. Classically noted for clearing facial pain and/or edema / swelling.  May be used for general edema. Abdominal pain, bloating, borborygmus, frequen…