My 17 month old always gets hiccups after she has been laughing hard. why does she do this? what causes it? is there a real way to get rid of them?

Unknown cause: It is not known why people get hiccups. Babies start getting hiccups even before they are born. Hiccups are not harmful, and they stop on their own. There is no sure way to stop hiccups, although people have tried techniques such as: drinking water, holding one's breath, getting scared, putting sugar on the tongue, etc... Medication is only used in non-stop cases that interfere with one's life.