What causes painful hiccups? Why do I have hiccups for no reason? Learn about the causes of hiccups, hiccup symptoms and why hiccups are common in infants.

Why Can't I Stop Hiccupping? Hiccup Symptoms & Causes

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The scientific illustrations you see in our medical articles are similarly reviewed to ensure quality, accuracy, and clarity. These illustrations are all custom-drawn by expert scientific and medical illustrators, and supplemented by content from Harvard Medical School.

Your emotional wellbeing and behavior affects every aspect of your life—personal happiness, relationships, and even work. Maintaining your mental health requires resilience, mindfulness, and—perhaps most important—getting help when you need it.

Mental & Behavioral Health

When cells grow unchecked, they can become cancerous (malignant). Left untreated, they can spread to other parts of the body. Catching cancer early increases the chances of a full recovery.

Cancer

Genetic disorders are caused by a mutation in one or more genes. These are passed down through your family, but can also be triggered by environmental factors.

Genetic Diseases

Our immune system is the guardian at the gate, keeping watch for invaders. Sometimes it can turn against us—causing a range of problems, from mild itching to severe pain.

Immune & Autoimmune

If you can catch it from someone else, it’s an infectious disease. It has so many ways to spread—through saliva, sneezing, breathing, touching, sharing food and drink, and sexual contact.

Infectious Disease

The neck is the passageway for life-sustaining body parts like the spinal cord, jugular, carotid artery, and esophagus. Yet it’s a part of your body that you probably don’t think much about until you get a crick, swollen gland—or a hickey.

Neck

As summer fades and we start to move indoors, cold and flu viruses begin to flourish. Learn how to protect yourself from the flu, starting with a flu shot. Know the difference between a cold, a flu, and COVID-19.

Flu Season

Learn what you must do to protect yourself from COVID-19. Also, most common symptoms, best ways to treat, and more.

COVID-19

The vagina is a muscular canal that plays a starring role in three prime areas of a woman’s life: menstruation, sexual intercourse, and childbirth.

Vagina

The butterfly-shaped gland in your neck churns out thyroid hormones, which regulate your metabolic rate and the functioning of your heart, muscles, digestion, and bones. 

Thyroid

This incredible four-chambered central station for our blood and oxygen supply keeps us active and alive. Listen to your heart—and heartbeat—to know if you're overdoing it, feeling chill, or falling in love.

Heart

When managing chronic illnesses like asthma and allergies, the best treatment starts with prevention and planning.

Asthma & Allergy

By Body Part

The gluteus maximus is the powerhouse of the butt—not to mention the largest muscle in your body. It gives you a kickstart when you run, propels you up the stairs, and provides protective padding—along with some needed fat—when you sit. 

Buttocks

Sugar, in the form of glucose, is one of your body's energy sources. But a high blood sugar level can be very dangerous—and lead to diabetes.

Diabetes

The wrist can bend, straighten, and move in a circle. It is the meetup point of your forearm bones, hand bones, and finger bones—and often the one to get hurt when you fall.

Wrist

Older and wiser, yes, but aging also means experiencing more changes to your body. Stay as healthy as can be by learning about everything from new aches and strains to the common flu to chronic conditions.

Elderly Care

Our joints are where two bones meet up. They allow us to move freely, yet they may be the most vulnerable parts of our bodies, causing pain from overuse, injuries, or simply aging.

Joint Issues

When you are backed up, it can be uncomfortable to excruciating. Stay regular by eating fiber, keeping hydrated, and exercising. 

Constipation

Scratchy, tickley, or painfully raw, your throat seems to be vulnerable to almost any virus or upper respiratory infection. Luckily, it’s easily soothed with ice cream.

Throat

If you’re in pain, blame your nerves, which send pain signals to your brain. But your nerves also deserve thanks for keeping you safe. They alert you to dangers like extreme heat—or even a bug crawling on your skin. 

Neural

Breathe in, breathe out. Hello oxygen. Goodbye carbon dioxide. With each inhale, your lungs replenish the cells and tissues in your body with life-sustaining oxygen. But when your lungs are under attack—from asthma to inflammation to COVID-19—it can take your breath away.

Lungs

Pelvis

Your tongue gives you the pleasure of taste, the gift of speech, and the intimacy of a kiss. But it can also be super sensitive if you bite your tongue or have a sore throat.

Tongue

With just one glance, your eyes allow you to take in what’s happening around you—or reflect your inner self. They shine with happiness and shed tears when you’re sad. Stay clear-sighted by protecting your eyes from aging, wear-and-tear, and other ocular issues.

Eyes

Your gallbladder is like a holding tank, storing and releasing bile, which is the fluid that helps you digest fats.

Gallbladder

From hearing the honking of a car horn to the sound of silence, the ear is one way we interact with the world. It is also critical to our balance. And a complex and delicate organ that needs to be protected throughout our life.

It may feel awkward, but one of the best ways to prevent a sexually transmitted disease (infection) is open communication with partners and your doctor...and using protection.

STD & STI

The area between your hips and your thighs is the groin. It’s claim to fame is the groin pull—a strain of the hip adductor muscles that run along the inside of your thighs.

Groin

The two dozen curved, flat bones that make up the basketlike rib cage protect your heart and lungs. But while standing guard, they can get bruised and fractured. 

Ribs

Below your elbow is your forearm. It may show strength when arm wrestling, but its two bones—the ulna and radius—can be easily fractured during a fall.

Lower Arm

There’s nothing more annoyingly predictable than your monthly period—except when it’s not! Especially when it arrives with painful cramps and a range of other physical and emotional symptoms.

Period

From the pangs of hunger to a stomach ache to doubled-over cramping, the stomach sends a range of signals about its state of being. Yet, it’s often hard to pin down what is causing your symptoms. Is it indigestion, food poisoning, a stomach bug—or a more chronic condition?

Stomach

Aprenda lo que debe hacer para protegerse de este virus de rápida propagación. Además, los síntomas más comunes, las mejores formas de tratamiento y más.

COVID-19 Spanish

The workhorse in the male reproductive system, this walnut-shaped gland makes the fluid that combines with sperm to create semen. It can also be a source of concern for men as they age, as it’s prone to inflammation and cancer.

Prostate

Your chest, with its large pectoral muscles and curved rib cage, is the body’s armor, protecting your heart and lungs. And it's on high-alert for the slightest pang of pain.

Each of our hands has 14 finger bones and 30 distinct muscles, along with a small army of tendons. Together, fingers carry out an endless list of tasks—working as a team or individually—from forcefully grasping a pullup bar to delicately threading a needle. 

Fingers

Full or empty is how you generally think about your bladder, but when the occasional infection hits, the pain becomes your sole focus.

Bladder

Smile. Or don’t. Be an open book. Or put on a poker face. Your face is often your first impression. But there are many parts to look after—and go wrong, like painful sinuses, pimples, sunburn, and a sore jaw.

Face

Make a muscle: The upper arm is home to our biceps—the Popeye muscle. It’s where we get most of our arm power from and, not to mention, adds a bit of sex appeal.

Upper Arm

The testes (also known as testicles) are oval-shaped, sperm-producing organs that help maintain a man’s fertility. They also release the male hormone testosterone.

Testes

As soon as something is amiss in your intestines, you’ll know it, from the faintest rumbling to doubled-over pain. Keeping an eye on your gut health—and your diet—can help avoid long-term issues.

Intestines

Sex positivity includes keeping your reproductive organs as healthy as possible. Reduce your risks of sexually transmitted diseases by always practicing safe sex. 

Sexual & Reproductive

Tasting, chewing, talking, kissing, breathing. Our mouth is the quintessential multitasker. But it can also be a major source of pain and discomfort. 

Mouth

Drugs A to Z

Your urinary tract—made up of the bladder, kidneys, and urethra—is the body’s filtration system. It relieves your body of excess fluid, but also gets rid of waste, regulates blood volume, and maintains the balance of chemicals in your blood.

Urinary System

Ideas

Your little piggies are important for balance. But when they get stubbed, broken, or have a toenail issue, there’s nothing cute or funny about it.

Toes

Your ovaries may be around the size of a grape, but they are home to about 1 million eggs (though only 300 to 400 are eventually released).

Ovary

Headaches come in a range of types and severities—a tight band of tension, pain behind your eyes, a throbbing migraine, or that rush of brain-freezing cold when enjoying an ice cream cone.

Headache

Getting enough sleep is critical to staying healthy. It keeps our immune system strong, staves off anxiety and depression, and even lessens pain in those with pain syndromes. Yet, there’s a lot we do that sabotages our sleep.

Sleep & Fatigue

When it comes to back pain, the lower back gets the most action. From bending, lifting, and twisting, it bears the brunt of hours of sitting at the desk. 

Lower Back

Your brain is the control center for your bodily movement, your senses, and your conscious and unconscious emotions and thoughts. Not to mention that every symptom you have traces back to the brain.

Brain

Your sense of smell plays a role in many of life's little pleasures—the aroma of freshly baked cookies or a whiff of a flower. It also can sniff out potential dangers.

Nose

Coursing through your veins and arteries, blood delivers oxygen and nutrients to every cell in your body, is stocked with immune-fighting white blood cells, and last—but never least—has platelets to stop bleeding.

Blood

If you’re spending too much time in the bathroom—from diarrhea or constipation—you know how important it is to keep your gut healthy. Before you need to go again, find the answer to your stomach woes. 

Diarrhea & Stool

Our knees keep us active—and upright. They are also involved in profound moments like proposing, getting weak with emotion, or taking a knee to protest. But when they ache, you really feel it.

Knee

Your upper leg (aka thigh) is your power center, and home to some massive muscles—the quadriceps and hamstrings. Keeping it strong yet limber protects both your hips and your knees.

Upper Leg

Your hands are your connection to the physical world, allowing you to grasp, eat, touch, and communicate (write, text, sign language). But they’re also high maintenance, needing to be washed, manicured, and protected from the elements.

Hand

Walking, running, jumping! Your legs—home to the longest bones and muscles in your body— keep you on the move. 

With every step you take, your hips allow you flawless movement. But over time, the smooth ball-and-socket joint can get worn down, making your strides less graceful and decidedly more achy.

Health A to Z

When your shoulders ache, it’s hard to shrug it off. But it can be your rotator cuff, your neck, your upper back, or your collarbone, making it tricky to find the source of the pain.

Shoulder

Your kidneys are bean-shaped powerhouses that filter toxins and waste from your blood into your urine. Support them in their work by watching out for risks like high blood pressure and diabetes.

Kidney

Being short of breath can cause a tightness in your chest or make you huff and puff. It can also be a sign of any number of health issues, including anxiety, asthma, and heart conditions.

Shortness of Breath

Our ankles help carry our body weight without complaint—until a wrong turn leads to a painful twist, sprain, or break. Show them some well-deserved love by keeping them strong.

Ankle

A cough can be fleeting or chronic. But often it’s the first sign that your lungs are ailing—whether from a common cold, allergies, or something more serious like pneumonia or COVID-19.

Cough

You’re pregnant: Know what to expect to have the healthiest pregnancy possible. 

Pregnancy

Our arm is a powerful resource. Perhaps that is why arm wrestling is a long-honored way to prove one's strength. It's also one of our most used body parts, helping us do so much—lift, move, push, hug. 

A smooth operator, the skin goes deep to protect the body from germs, weather, and other potential invaders. It may seem soft, but it puts up a good fight against rashes, burns, and lumps and bumps of all kinds.

Skin Conditions

Breasts capture the duality of womanhood. They can be objects of desire and nourishment for children. Yet, every bump and lump evokes a scare.

Breast

Sensitive to the tickle, the rough pavement, a pebble, our feet bind us to the earth and let us run free. But years of walking, running, jumping can take its toll on our soles, ankles, and toes. 

Feet

It’s all in your head: thought, memory, pain, dreaming, moving, seeing, hearing, smelling, and loving. Truly—this is where it happens.

Head

Known for its funny bone (which is nothing to laugh at when you bang it), the elbow can affect almost every arm movement, from washing your hair to playing tennis.

Elbow

Hidden under a mane of hair or exposed to the elements, your scalp can suffer from itchiness, dandruff, hidden bug bites, and sunburn.

Scalp

A tumor is a scary-sounding mass that forms when cells divide too much. But don’t panic, many tumors are benign—meaning they’re not cancerous.

Tumor

Anxiety disorders are on the rise. From social phobias to full-on panic attacks, anxiety affects nearly 1 in 5 Americans. Seeking help through a range of therapies can help reduce its grip on you.

Anxiety

Protect your penis. Self-examinations and good hygiene are important. Check for sores, lumps and growths, and wash it (and the scrotum too) daily with soap and water.

Penis

The back is engaged when you bend, twist, walk, sit comfortably, and even contort into the most challenging yoga poses. So it should be no surprise that back pain is one of the most common ailments in modern life.

Back

Also known as an orphan disease, a rare disease is an illness that typically affects less than 200,000 people in the U.S. and doesn't always get adequate research funding.

Rare Diseases

A head rush when standing up too fast is expected, but dizziness—and vertigo and fainting—can leave you spinning, and needing to see a doctor. 

Dizziness & Fainting

Between the knee and the ankle resides your lower leg. A prime target for kicks in the shin, bug bites, and bruises, it also carries blood and nutrients to your feet and toes—and houses the vulnerable Achilles tendon.

Lower Leg

Hormones are chemical messengers that give instructions to cells throughout your body—and are infamous for the havoc they cause in teenagers. 

Hormones

Whether pearly white or slightly yellowed, our teeth are key to the enjoyment of food—and even our self-esteem. So keep brushing, flossing, and having regular dental checkups.

Teeth

Your abdomen is more than just your stomach and six-pack (for us muscular types). It’s home to many of your vital organs—your intestines and bladder, the reproductive system, the quirky appendix, and more. So when pain strikes, it requires a bit of sleuthing. 

Abdomen

The liver—weighing in at about 3 pounds—holds the title for being the largest organ in your body. Its main jobs are to filter blood, produce bile (digestive juices), and process drugs.