About intestinal gas (belching, bloating, flatulence)

What is intestinal gas (belching, bloating, flatulence)?

Intestinal gas, a buildup of air in the digestive tract, is usually not noticed until you burp or pass it rectally (flatulence). The entire digestive tract, from the stomach to the rectum, contains intestinal gas as the natural result of swallowing and digestion.

In fact, certain foods, such as beans, are not fully broken down until they reach the large intestine (colon), where bacteria act on them.

Everyone passes gas several times daily, and occasional burping or belching is normal. However, excessive intestinal gas sometimes indicates a digestive disorder.

What are the symptoms for intestinal gas (belching, bloating, flatulence)?

We all have gas in our intestinal tracts, yet it's a subject that people frequently avoid talking about.

Symptoms of intestinal gas (Belching, Bloating, flatulence) include:

  • Belching, Stomach pains, flatulence, and a bloated or full feeling are all symptoms that gas can cause (gas).
  • The majority of the time, these symptoms are transient and disappear as soon as the gas is vomited out or belched.
  • The aforementioned symptoms can occur in certain persons who are especially sensitive to even typical levels of gas.
  • Belching is a common phenomenon that happens when air that has been swallowed builds up in the stomach.
  • The air can either be belched back or it can exit the stomach and travel through the small intestine to be expelled as rectal gas (flatus).
  • Bloating is a term for an upper abdominal feeling of fullness.
  • Gas buildup and/or food accumulation in the stomach may have an impact on this.
  • With typical volumes of stomach gas, the symptom is experienced by certain patients.
  • The passage of rectal gas is referred to as flatulence.
  • In most cases, the gas is a mixture of air that was swallowed and gas that was created when colon bacteria acted on undigested carbohydrates.

What are the causes for intestinal gas (belching, bloating, flatulence)?

Excess upper intestinal gas can result from swallowing more than a usual amount of air, overeating, smoking or chewing gum. Excess lower intestinal gas can be caused by eating too much of certain foods, by the inability to fully digest certain foods or by a disruption in the bacteria normally found in the colon.

Foods that cause excess gas

Foods that cause gas in one person might not cause it in another. Common gas-producing foods and substances include:

  1. Beans and lentils
  2. Vegetables such as cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, bok choy and Brussels sprouts
  3. Bran
  4. Dairy products containing lactose
  5. Fructose, which is found in some fruits and used as a sweetener in soft drinks and other products
  6. Sorbitol, a sugar substitute found in some sugar-free candies, gums and artificial sweeteners
  7. Carbonated beverages, such as soda or beer

Digestive disorders that cause excess gas

Excessive intestinal gas — belching or flatulence more than 20 times a day — sometimes indicates a disorder such as:

  1. Celiac disease
  2. Colon cancer
  3. Constipation
  4. Crohn's disease
  5. Diabetes
  6. Dumping syndrome
  7. Eating disorders
  8. Functional dyspepsia
  9. Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)
  10. Gastroparesis (a condition in which the muscles of the stomach wall don't function properly, interfering with digestion)
  11. Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)
  12. Intestinal obstruction
  13. Irritable bowel syndrome
  14. Lactose intolerance
  15. Ovarian cancer
  16. Pancreatic insufficiency
  17. Peptic ulcer
  18. Ulcerative colitis (a type of inflammatory bowel disease)

What are the treatments for intestinal gas (belching, bloating, flatulence)?

Contaminated groundwater is the most common cause of arsenic poisoning. Arsenic is already present in the earth and can seep into groundwater. Also, groundwater can contain runoff from industrial plants. Drinking arsenic-laden water over a long period of time can lead to poisoning.

Other possible causes of arsenic poisoning can include:

  • breathing air that contains arsenic
  • smoking tobacco products
  • breathing contaminated air from plants or mines that use arsenic
  • living near industrialized areas
  • being exposed to landfill or waste sites
  • breathing in smoke or dust from wood or waste that was previously treated with arsenic
  • eating arsenic-contaminated food — this isn’t common in the United States, but some seafood and animal products may contain small levels of arsenic

What are the risk factors for intestinal gas (belching, bloating, flatulence)?

All of us ingest air while we are eating. Due to chewing gum or sucking on hard candies, people may swallow excessively. It can also cause too much stomach air to be produced to consume carbonated drinks like soda or beer. Additionally, anxious people could gulp air too frequently.

  • Excessive air swallowing can also be brought on by ill-fitting dentures and persistent postnasal "leak."
  • Since a lot of gas can enter the stomach and small intestine in a day, intestinal gas (belching, bloating, flatulence) may happen.
  • Some Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) patients may have stomach cramps as a result of their unusual sensitivity to normal or even slightly elevated intestinal gas levels.
  • Patients who have undergone surgery, have certain rheumatologic disorders, or have altered anatomy may be more susceptible to developing bacterial overgrowth in the small intestine, which can cause belching, bloating, or flatulence.
  • Some individuals report stomach distension when standing upright, especially women who have had one or more pregnancies.
  • It's frequently considered that this is a gas buildup.
  • The stretching and loss of muscle tone that occurs during pregnancy, however, may be to blame for weak abdominal muscles if the distension is absent when the patient is resting "flat."


Conditions
Diverticulitis,Ulcerative colitis,Crohn's disease
Drugs
Simethicone,Pepto Bismol,Lactase enzyme
Symptoms
Belching,Bloating,Flatulence

Is there a cure/medications for intestinal gas (belching, bloating, flatulence)?

Belching, stomach pains, flatulence, and a bloated or full feeling are all symptoms that gas can cause intestinal gas. The majority of the time, these symptoms are transient and disappear as soon as the gas is vomited out or belched. The aforementioned symptoms can occur in certain persons who are especially sensitive to even typical levels of gas.

For occasional gas, your healthcare provider might suggest one of the below-mentioned over-the-counter products:

  • Alpha-galactosidase (Beano®), an enzyme that helps break down hard-to-digest foods.
  • Bismuth subsalicylate (Pepto-Bismol®) helps with upset stomach and diarrhea for adults.
  • Lactase enzymes (Lactaid®) for lactose intolerance (a problem digesting milk sugars).
  • Probiotics (Culturelle®) to get rid of bad gut bacteria.
  • Simethicone (Gas-X®, Mylanta®) to reduce intestinal gas buildup that causes bloating.
  • Prescription medications may help if you have a motility problem like IBS. Antibiotics can treat bacterial overgrowth in the intestines that cause excess gas and bloating.
  • supplements or other products to reduce gas symptoms, such as lactase products for lactose intolerance


Conditions
Diverticulitis,Ulcerative colitis,Crohn's disease
Drugs
Simethicone,Pepto Bismol,Lactase enzyme
Symptoms
Belching,Bloating,Flatulence

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