Why do people hiccup after drinking alcohol?

Why do people hiccup after drinking alcohol? It happens to me quite often and i understand it's not a very unusual phenomena.


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seekinganswer
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my doctor says this has something to do with the phrenic nerve.  I was looking it up when I came across this blog.  By the way, I DO NOT overindulge in alcohol and think the person who turned the question into a diatribe about alcohol poisening is way over the line.  The hiccups happen to me with 1 (ONE) SIP of wine!!!!  It also happens to me with carbonated drinks (pepsi, coke, etc).  Thanks
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yoavdothan
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What causes hiccups?

A very full stomach can cause bouts of hiccups that go away on their own. A full stomach can be caused by:

  • Eating too much food too quickly.
  • Drinking too much alcohol.
  • Swallowing too much air.
  • Smoking.
  • A sudden change in stomach temperature, such as drinking a hot beverage and then a cold beverage.
  • Emotional stress or excitement.

http://www.webmd.com/hw/health_guide_atoz/ut1404.asp

http://www.answers.com/topic/hiccup
  

While many cases develop spontaneously, hiccups are known to develop often in specific situations, such as eating too quickly, taking a cold drink while eating a hot meal, eating very hot or spicy food, laughing vigorously or coughing, drinking an excess of an alcoholic beverage, or electrolyte imbalance

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiccups
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But my hiccup bouts are starting sometimes after a shot of whiskey. Surely that's not enough fluids to fill my stomach to an extent that can be described as "full".

So I'm still at a loss. 
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MackTheKnife
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I was late for work this morning, because I got stuck in Zeno's paradox

Hiccups are caused by something that irritates the diaphragm and causes it to expand or contract in a spasm. There are quite a few things that can do this, as yoavdothan said in his answer. One of them is drinking alcohol. It is not only the amount that is important, also how fast you drink it, and how cold it is.

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Your body is trying to purge itself of the toxic amounts of a substance that should not be in the system in that large of a quantity. That is why they call it alcohol poisoning. The body knows that it needs to eliminate the toxins the only way it can, by making you vomit.ALCOHOL POISONING,, THAT HAPPENS TO ALOT OF PEOPLE WHO ABUSE ALCOHOL alcohol is essentially poison. If you give the stomach enough of it, it will reject it in the same way you throw up following food poison or something your allergic to. As far as some people being able to throw up more easily than others, you might as well ask why some people are taller than others.

Almost everyone throws up at some point, and if you don't drinking heavily can become pretty dangerous, since if you get enough alcohol in you without rejecting it you could die.
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Your body is trying to purge itself of the toxic amounts of a substance that should not be in the system in that large of a quantity. That is why they call it alcohol poisoning. The body knows that it needs to eliminate the toxins the only way it can, by making you vomit.ALCOHOL POISONING,, THAT HAPPENS TO ALOT OF PEOPLE WHO ABUSE ALCOHOL alcohol is essentially poison. If you give the stomach enough of it, it will reject it in the same way you throw up following food poison or something your allergic to. As far as some people being able to throw up more easily than others, you might as well ask why some people are taller than others.

Almost everyone throws up at some point, and if you don't drinking heavily can become pretty dangerous, since if you get enough alcohol in you without rejecting it you could die.
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