It’s strange what brings people to this blog. I’ve seen search queries come in because someone was looking for a remedy for foot fungus. It’s frightening that whatever I said about feet and fungus brought them here but what is even more odd is how people that have a reaction to carrots came to my blog on an older entry which had nothing at all to do with carrots or hiccups. And then they leave comments like, “I thought I was the only one.” So, since there are so many of you I figured I’d bring you together because clearly you need each other. We must all have support, even if it’s for something as odd as carrots and hiccups. So, here you are, an entry dedicated solely to people with your affliction.
My other entry talks about crazy people who don’t have your illness but this forum here is for you guys to gather together and discuss this syndrome. I do find it strange not one of y’all left a blog link so you could find one another. You left it up to me to bring you together for Carrots and Hiccups Anonymous. That’s okay though, now I have a purpose in life – Stamp Out Carrots and Hiccups Syndrome aka Irritable Diaphragm Syndrome. Now that I have taken this upon myself people like Mavis and Ellie and Bugs B can at last come together. If you too are a sufferer leave your comments below. We’d love to hear from you. Lets make this the largest gathering of hiccuping people across the globe. This is for you, for all of you out there with no where to turn. This is for YOU!!
Hotline Support:
When not in the throws of hiccups all must yell from the strength of your diaphragm that you will not be invisible any longer. On days when it gets too hard and you think you can’t go on please call the hotline to speak to a person who has been there and can help you again see the light. That hotline number is 1-800-Carrot-Cure.
Serenity Prayer:
Carrots and Hiccups Anonymous Serenity Prayer
“Bugs Bunny, grant me the serenity
to accept these hiccups which I cannot change;
courage to change the hiccups I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.”
Other Causes:
At the suggestion of a new member I’d like to announce to all a support group for those who love a hiccup and carrot sufferer. The group is called “CAROTS – Come And Rally Ourselves Together for Sufferers”. Thank you Shay for your dedication to this cause.
Sundrip also works to eradicate green pea flatulence and temporary blindness caused by eating radishes. It has come to my attention that some faint after eating pickled beats but Sundrip and supporters don’t care. As a matter of fact we think those fainting pantywaists are hopeless. Last but not least Sundrip is strong at work to ruin all perfectly good baby showers.
Hiccup Theme Song:
The lyrics to Wilson Philips’ song Hold On can bring us all hope that there will be a cure for the hiccup disease.
“Hold On”
I know this pain
Why do lock yourself up in these orange chains?
No one can change your life except for you
Don’t ever let anyone hiccup step all over you
Just open your heart and your mind
Is it really fair to feel this way inside?
Some day somebody’s gonna make you want to
Turn around and say goodbye
Until then baby carrot are you going to let them
Hold you down and make you hiccup cry
Don’t you know?
Don’t you know your diaphragm can change then things can change
Things’ll go your way
If you hold on for one more day
Can you hold on for one more day
Your diaphragm can change Things’ll go your way
Hold on for one more day………
What Others Are Saying About The Group:
Here are a few of the 15 comments from people who suffer with this carrot disorder. You can also visit them at the link above from the old entry having nothing at all to do with this affliction:
Barbarob Says: October 25th, 2006 at 10:55 pm I can’t believe this is as common a problem as it is! I just got some carrots out of the fridge and when I started hiccuping I ran to the computer determined to find out if other people have this issue. We should start a support group
Mavis Says: August 14th, 2006 at 5:36 pm I thought I was the only person in the world that gets hiccups every time I eat raw carrots!!!
Laura Says: October 7th, 2006 at 11:54 am I just did a google search for “carrot hiccups” and came up with this blog. After a 2 year-hiatus, my carrot-induced hiccups just came back. It’s triggered by any kind of carrots (cooked or raw). Sometimes I’ll even be eating a pureed soup and will identify carrots as one of the ingredients simply by the fact that I get the hiccups. I discovered this when a flute teacher told me to eat carrots to help my nerves before a performance… needless to say, this turned out to be a bad idea…
Bugs B Says: March 28th, 2007 at 10:12 pm I, too get carrot-related hiccups. Too bad, as I love them. I suspect it’s a lot more common than we think… who would ever admit to having them, or even thinking it was a common ailment?
Bugs B, is that really you? Oh my gosh it’s been so long…years in fact …. I haven’t watched your show since I was knee high to a grasshopper. I’ve missed you so, but I don’t remember you having the hiccups. Strange how we forget some stuff.
As always, thank you for visiting SUNDRIP Journals. Please have a hiccup-free day.
It happens to me everytime I eat carrots! I just ate a carrot and now I have the hiccups as I type. That’s what prompted me to google it and found this site.
I didn’t see the cause though. Does anyone have any idea?
So, I came to this blog to find out WHY, and alas no definitive answer. But, like any good support group there is a serenity prayer. A change can be made, if I choose to make it. One day at a time, blah blah blah. BUT I love those little orange baby veggies and they will be very difficult to walk away from. Glad to hear I’m not alone, because non sufferers look at me like I’m talking about alien abduction when I tell them about my ailment. Hiccupers Unite!
Recently I’ve been noticing that when I eat raw carrots, I get the hiccups; no big deal, just a quirk that my family laughs about;
then today, while driving, I was snacking on raw baby carrots and I felt my throat closing up and I was having a hard time breathing; I thought “should I pull over? should I get some water? am I going to die on this road and never see my family again? should I call someone?” I wondered if I was having a mild case of anaphylactic shock, if there is such a thing, or if this was really an allergic reaction that was a precursor to the full blown anaphylactic shock;
well, the reaction calmed down luckily; and I came home, did the research and found out that having reactions to something as seemingly inert as a carrot is not that uncommon;
so, I’ve decided to always carry some Benadryl with me in my little aspirin box in my purse in case this happens again (as that is something that people w/ food allergies use prior to using an epi pen);
and, I’d like to caution anyone who does get hiccups from carrots, that this might be an indictor that your body is heading toward having a more intense allergic reaction; my understanding of allergies is that sometimes mild reactions are build ups toward more intense reactions; just like if you get stung by a bee and have mild reactions that are starting to increase, the next one, which is an accumulation of antibodies against the foreign body, can actually send you to the ER;
so in order to make it home safely, I recommend taking these hiccuping signals for what they are-signs that your body does not want you to eat these, or to eat them in a modified way (cooked, or not while driving or alone);
I still plan to eat carrots, but in a much more cautionary way;
I too suffer! And to find a support group for my ailment…
My ex (who is a doctor) thought I was crazy (even without the carrots, probably) when I asked him about it. But, here it is in black and white. And orange.
No, I do not snarf them down. One small bunny nibble and 99% of the time (except during my demostration yesterday, of course – the auto repair shop syndrome), they appear out. Sometimes they last for a half hour. Only with raw carrots, though.
Thank you all who join me in this quest for finding an answer to the carrot question.
Bugs, eat one for me.
Bugs, eat one for me.
LOL!
So happy I’m not alone. People think I’m insane. I just ate 5 and could feel them coming on. Such an annoying ailmant. I really love me some carrots.
Hi everybody.
I love carrots…
…but they give me the hiccups! :-s
I would like to get your feedback on following observations and my theory about the origin of the “problem”.
Observations:
1) When I eat raw carrots on an empty stomach, I get the hiccups after I swallow the first bite. It makes no difference if I eat quickly or slowly.
2) When I eat steamed or cooked carrots on an empty stomach, I get the hiccups to a much lesser degree, sometimes not at all.
3) When I eat a LOT of carrots (three or more) on an empty stomach, I often feel slightly nauseous. Less, if they’re steamed or cooked.
4) When I eat carrots AFTER eating other foods that contain some kind of fat, or as part of a meal that contains fat, I do NOT get the hiccups. E.g. in a salad with dressing, together with cheese, as part of a stew etc.
5) If I take a multi-vitamin pill on an empty stomach, I get the same feeling of nausea as in 3), although no hiccups. This will also happen with some single-vitamin pills, particularly vitamin B.
6) If I take same pill after or together with a meal, there is no nausea.
Since one of the causes of hiccups is the consumption of stuff that’s difficult to digest (e.g. I also get the hiccups from eating spicy foods), I have the following theory:
Carrots contain a large proportion of Vitamin B, which is “fat-soluble” (sorry, I don’t know the medical term). If the carrot (or vitamin pill) is consumed without any form of fat being in the stomach, the digestion cannot handle it. It can provoke a reaction, such as hiccups and/or nausea, in an individual sensitive to it. It is probably not harmful, although I expect vomiting would result, if enough carrots were consumed. When the carrots are steamed or cooked, a part of the vitamins have probably been broken down or destroyed, so it will be less of a problem. Fruit and vegetables with a larger proportion of “water-soluble” vitamins (e.g. apples) will not provoke any reaction, as the vitamins can be digested in the regular stomach fluid without any outside “aid”. Obviously, people are not sensitive to the same things, so there is nothing strange in one person getting the hiccups from carrots and another person not.
Anyway, to make the hiccups go away I simply hold my breath, it usually does the trick. If I feel nauseous, I eat a piece of cheese, a biscuit, or something else with fat, and it goes away. I doesn’t have to be a lot of fat, I guess we’re in the milligram department…
What do you think?
P.S. Tina, your ex-boyfriend’s reaction to the “problem” is normal. After all, he is only a doctor. In Western medicine, denial is the preferred way of handling phenomena that have not yet been explained. Since hiccups is not a real affliction, there has never been any reason to do any serious research of its cause and cure. Consequently, most doctors know very little about it.
For many years, I had been suffering from a rash in the armpits. It looked like blood was oozing out of the pores, crystallizing in the hair, even rubbing off on my T-shirt, coloring it red in the armpits. I showed it to my doctor who completely discarded it saying “I’ve never seen anything like it, so it’s probably nothing” I said “Whaddaya mean nothing? It’s been there for years, I wash it off, but it comes back the next day! How can it be nothing?” And he answered “Well, if it’s been there for years, maybe it’s about time you got used to it… NEXT!” Some years later I went to Brazil and by chance talked to someone about it. “Oh, yeah, it’s quite common in these parts. It’s a type of fungus infection. Rub some lemon on it in the morning, let it sit for ten minutes and wash it off. Do it again in the evening. Keep doing it for 3-4 days, and it will disappear.” I did. It disappeared and never came back! Just goes to show you, that having MD written before your name doesn’t mean you have all the answers…
Oh my god! I though i was a freak!
Kelly
I really thought I was the only one! At least I know it’s a real thing. LOL. People thought that it’s all in my head.
I am also a carrot-hiccupper! Everyone laughs about it, but I guess at least I have entertainment value!
Here I am. Sufferer of Carrot Hiccups. Was just eating a raw carrot got the hiccups and finally decided to go online to see if there is a reason why. Apparently not, or not one that anyone will admit too. I only get hiccups with raw carrots and it really doesn’t matter how well you chew it. On the first bite here they come. I also hold my breath til they are gone. Usually I can eat the carrots without incident after that but sometimes I have to put the carrots down because they just don’t go away. I’m wondering if it becomes a learned response, once you have the hiccups because of a carrot as soon as you smell or inhale the flavour does our brain automatically produce the hiccups??? Just another thought. LOL I don’t think we will ever really know the answer. What a wonderful lot of people we are.
@ Erin,
I wonder if its a response the same as when I walk into the kitchen, turn on the water and IMMEDIATELY have to use the restroom. I had no inkling that I had to go UNTIL I turned on the kitchen sink. I wonder if this is the same kind of physical reaction.
I have the same! I also thought I was the only one. It happened just now so I decided to check it on the internet. So it’s an international thing; I’m Dutch! I always get the hiccups after eating raw carrots.
Me too! It’s all around the world (I’m in the UK)..though hiccups start almost as soon as I’ve finished a carrot, so can’t be anything to do with digestion/vitamins could it? Weird that apples don’t have the same effect – but then they are more ‘squashable ; than carrots..
Hells Bells,
Yes, it is an international suffrage.
Still no sure answer yet, eh? I just happened to eat a raw carrot stick at work and sure as shit, the hiccups started up full force. It’s happened before, but more so recently than I ever remember. So I tried a raw piece of cauliflower. Hiccups continued. They only last for a few moments and then they are gone, but my goodness are they painful. I am going to go get another carrot stick right after typing this sentence and see if they happen again.
Yep. [it's a good thing I got up, my gravy was about to boil over]
This is too weird.
……forgot to mention…..I often hiccup when I take the first sip of a beer?! Anyone else have the beer hiccup too?
So glad I’m not alone on this eating carrots and hiccups.. that’s crazy! I also sometimes choke on them so I never eat them alone.. I did the same thing.. ate a carrot, started hiccuping, looked it up.. weird!
Holy cats! (hic) Look at all of us!
My physiology professor told me it was the texture of the raw carrots that cause hiccups, much like bread and rice and other dry foods. The muscles of the esophagus have a hard time sending the carrots down to the stomach and it gets hung up or too much air gets in, so the hiccups result as a reflex.
I get the same thing. Whenever I eat raw carrots, I get a weird indigestion that I feel at the top of my stomach, excessive salivating, and often hiccups. I get these symptoms from no other food – they are unique to raw carrots. Do not get them nearly as bad if I already have food in my stomach. I did not realize that others experienced this.
I also get the hiccups with carrots, only in their raw form, no other hard vegetable or fruit causes the reaction. Now I get hassled each time I go to eat a raw carrot “why do you eat those? you’re just going to get the hiccups!blah blah blah”. Tough, I like carrots they are good and good for you and like the others on this list, I don’t hoover them down any differently than celery, cauliflower, turnips etc. I agree also with the people that say MD’s don’t really care, it doesn’t cause them concern so they come up with some, “its what you are doing crud”. If I were to eat nothing but raw carrots for lunch, I do get an “empty” stomach feeling that some may conclude as mild nausea. I’ve eaten a lot of carrots and never been physically ill as a result.