Dax Shepard

Dax Shepard Says It Was a ‘Ride' to Have the Hiccups for 50 Hours

The actor thought the whole thing was very "funny" at first

Dax Shepard
Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images

Someone get Dax Shepard a cup of water.

The "Armchair Expert" podcast host found himself in quite the pickle when he started hiccuping out of nowhere early last week. While patiently waiting for it to go away, Shepard realized that they weren't slowing down and he was in fact hiccuping for 21 hours straight.

"I came across some hiccups," Shepard said in an Instagram video that wife Kristen Bell shot.

While speaking with her, Shepard asked her if she heard him hiccuping throughout the night and she replied, "all night long."

Although the whole ordeal seemed very frustrating, Shepard said he found his dilemma quite "funny" and was just glad that there were moments where his hiccups went away.

"They went away for stretches today," the "Parenthood" actor said. "A couple of hours in the afternoon and I want to say there was an hour of freedom."

However, things quickly got worse. In another video, Shepard was seen laying on a bed as he struggled to get a word out. He said that his hiccups had "escalated" to "hiccup-induced puking."

But a few hours later, everything seemed to be fine for the comedian. Shepard captioned his Instagram clips, "What a ride!!! 50 hours of hiccups. Worry not. We have been hiccup-free for five days today. For anyone who has permanent hiccups, god bless. I don’t know if I could have gone a week with those without intervening with a cycle of cyanide. #hiccups #burps #robertdurst."

According to Dr. Andrea Paul, chief medical officer at BoardVitals.com, the hiccups occur when the diaphragm contracts very quickly and the vocal cords slam shut. Due to this, the body starts to suck in air very quickly which leads to people making the "hiccup" sound.

One way to stop this is to increase how much carbon dioxide is in your bloodstream.

“When your CO2 numbers go up, that triggers your brain to breathe,” Dr. Alexandra Kejner, an otolaryngologist at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine, told TODAY. “By increasing your CO2, it changes your breathing a little bit and can often break that reflex.”

But if that doesn't work, Paul said you can always go old school and just drink a glass of water without taking a breath or breathe into a paper bag for around 20 seconds.

This story first appeared on TODAY.com. More from TODAY:

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