Dax Shepard says he had the hiccups for 50 hours and it caused him to vomit. Here's how to get rid of them, and when to seek medical help.

• Dax Shepard recently shared that he had the hiccups for 50 hours.
• Bouts of hiccups that last longer than two days are considered persistent.

Hiccups can be far more than a minor annoyance, Dax Shepard learned the hard way.

The actor shared on Instagram that he was finally hiccup-free after enduring them for a miserable 50 hours.

The ordeal included two nights of hiccup-interrupted sleep and even vomiting from the spasms, he said in a video posted Sunday.

"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," Shepard captioned the post.

Prolonged bouts of the hiccups are more common in men than women, according to the Cleveland Clinic. They usually go away without treatment, but you should consult a physician if you have persistent hiccups lasting more than a few days, especially if they're keeping you from sleeping.

How to get rid of the hiccups

Shepard didn't share how he finally shook the hiccups, but some of his followers had suggestions.

"Stand on your head and drink water," one commenter wrote.

"100% a teaspoon of white sugar under the tongue," wrote another.

Insider has previously asked medical experts how to kick the hiccups, and most of their advice leads back to the diaphragm. Hiccups happen when the muscle contracts irregularly during breathing, causing the vocal cords to close and make the "hic" sound.

Pulling your knees up to your chest compresses the diaphragm and may stop its spasming, Ehsan Ali, MD, previously told Insider. Another option is to irritate the back of your throat by gargling with water or pulling your tongue, which can help kick start the diaphragm back to normal.

Other tried-and-true methods for getting rid of the hiccups include holding your breath, sipping cold water, and even rectal massage to stimulate the nerve that controls the diaphragm.

Long-lasting hiccups may require medical attention

Not all hiccups can be stopped with home remedies. "Intractable" hiccups, or bouts of hiccups lasting for a month or more, are much rarer than what Shepard went through.

Dr. Benjamin Asher told Insider that in his 30-odd years working as an otolaryngologist, he's only seen a couple of truly long-lasting cases of the hiccups. However, he noted that people might be more likely to seek emergency medical care if the hiccups are really troubling them.

Cases of the hiccups accompanied by other symptoms, like headache or sudden-onset numbness or balance problems, could be a sign of something more serious and require immediate medical attention, according to the Cleveland Clinic.

But in most cases, the hiccups simply "drive people batty," Asher said. Sleep deprivation is a concern after a couple of nights, although some cases of persistent hiccups will pause during sleep and return in the morning.

In one of the videos he posted to Instagram, Shepard shared that he hiccuped through two nights and the situation escalated to "a good deal of hiccup-induced puking." Thankfully, the actor has been hiccup-free for more than a week now.