“If you scream “the Xena Warrior Princess cry” (AYAYAYAYA) at the top of your lungs, your hiccups will go away.”

The informant heard this piece of folk medicine from a friend who had heard it from other friends.  She says you perform this when you have the hiccups, and the hiccups will go away.  She did not know why in particular you have to yell or even why you yell “AYAYAYAYA” instead of some other phrase.  The informant believes that this folk medicine is extremely helpful in ceasing hiccups, and she performs it every time she has the hiccups.

I am not sure if I fully understand the reasoning behind screaming “AYAYAYAYA”.  There are several other wacky remedies people believe to get rid of hiccups like drinking water upside down or scaring the afflicted person.  Each remedy, including the one given by the informant, seems to cause an unorthodox way of breathing.  People use their own folk remedies to cure the hiccups.  I believe there are so many remedies for the hiccups because usually the hiccups are not cured through traditional medicine.