Flatulence is the process of releasing digestive gases, which is often accompanied by sounds and foul odors of varying volumes. Modern medicine considers flatulence to be a completely normal phenomenon. The release of accumulated gases to the outside is called a passage of flatulence; their normal amount during the day is from 5 to 18. If bloating occurs at the same time, rumbling, transfusion is felt, and they speak of flatulence. Increased flatulence indicates activation of the microflora. In this way, the intestines can react to certain foods, emotional experiences, and signal gastrointestinal diseases.
Flatulence causes
There are quite a few reasons for the appearance of flatulence in a sick or healthy person. Sometimes the cause is eating certain foods that produce gas. These include cabbage, milk, legumes, carbonated drinks and yeast baked goods.
The reasons causing constant flatulence include:
- disturbance of carbohydrate metabolism;
- gastritis and ulcers;
- chronic form of dysbacteriosis;
- colitis, pancreatitis, enteritis and cirrhosis of the liver;
- infectious intestinal diseases.
Various forms of neuroses also contribute to the appearance of flatulence. The same symptom is also caused by putrefactive fermentation processes that occur with constipation. And also a number of bad habits - from smoking and drinking alcohol to chewing gum, due to which gases enter the intestines from the outside, in addition to those already contained in the body.
Flatulence often torments women too. Here we wrote in detail about the causes of farting in women.
Foods that are good for digestion
The use of “live”, that is, fermented or fermented foods, helps improve the digestive process and reduce the likelihood of flatulence. Such food reduces fermentation and gas formation in the body. Digestion becomes enzymatic, and almost all the gas produced in the body is absorbed by the intestines.
Healthy flatulence can also be ensured with the help of foods rich in polysaccharides, thanks to which healthy microflora develops. The principle of action of such food is reminiscent of the effect on the body of fibrous cellulose substances, which create a substrate for the proliferation of bacteria. Food is processed more efficiently and quickly, preventing rotting processes and preventing pathogenic microflora from developing.
Frequent flatulence
Frequent flatulence is a problem that often causes trouble for people in public. Not only is this simply indecent, such a phenomenon indicates the beginning of serious problems in the body. The situation deserves to be examined in the most detailed way.
Frequent flatulence can be caused by the reasons listed below:
- Aerophagy . This is the name given to swallowing excess air while eating. This can happen if a person’s behavior is not entirely correct while eating. This means that a person swallows food in large pieces and talks a lot while eating. Another cause of aerophagia may be hidden in problems with bite and the presence of dental crowns in the mouth.
- Dysbacteriosis . Flatulence becomes more frequent with changes in the structure of the microflora of the large intestine. The situation requires treatment.
- Lack of digestive enzymes . The lack of digestive enzymes in the gastrointestinal tract causes incomplete digestion of food, and consequently the frequent release of gases.
- Poor passage of ingested food. If intestinal motility is impaired, it cannot efficiently perform its own function, and, consequently, the movement of food slows down significantly. As a result, processes involving microbes are intensified and the formation and separation of gases is enhanced.
Classification of the phenomenon
Flatulence can be divided into increased, frequent and involuntary. Each of them has its own causes and symptoms. To clarify the diagnosis and determine the type of flatulence, a number of diagnostic measures are carried out - from colonoscopy and FGS to taking a stool sample and carefully studying the patient’s diet.
Increased formation of gases
A simple acceleration of the formation of gases in the body leads to increased flatulence. The reason for this process is a decrease in the volume of digestive enzymes, which become insufficient to digest food. Undigested food produces more gas than usual.
The following factors also increase gas formation:
- irritation or abnormal development of the intestinal cavity;
- consequences of surgery on the gastrointestinal tract;
- the influence of certain medications;
- initial stage of pregnancy.
Increased flatulence is caused by formations in the intestines such as tumors, adhesions and polyps. The same symptom occurs due to problems with blood circulation in the intestinal cavity. It can also appear under the influence of stress, negative emotions and nervous disorders.
Reasons for frequent flatulence
This form of flatulence is characterized by frequent passing of gases and causes many problems if it occurs in the presence of other people. Although discomfort in this situation is not the only problem - the symptom indicates the presence of serious disturbances in the functioning of certain organs.
The reasons for frequent flatulence include:
- aerophagia – swallowing excess air due to swallowing too large pieces of food or talking while eating. An incorrect bite or the presence of dental crowns can also be a cause;
- dysbiosis caused by changes in microflora in the large intestine;
- foods that are not fully digested due to a lack of enzymes.
Causes flatulence and impaired intestinal motility. Food has difficulty passing through this organ, which intensifies the processes of decay. Their result is the accelerated formation of gases that do not have time to be absorbed by the intestines.
Involuntary process
Involuntary flatulence is caused by various reasons, which can be determined by a comprehensive medical examination. Sometimes a doctor needs to study a patient's diet over a certain period. One of the ways to monitor your diet and detect a specific product that caused increased gas formation is to record everything you eat in a “food diary”.
When observing a patient with a chronic form of involuntary waste of gases, all measures should be taken to prevent the accumulation of fluid in the intestines. To do this, it is necessary to cure all inflammatory processes in the intestines. Elderly patients also require additional examination to exclude tumors in the large intestine as the cause of flatulence.
How to get rid of flatulence
First you need to stop holding back the process of releasing gases from the body.
Doctors say that restraining the process of releasing gases from the body is extremely undesirable for the body. Here's why: Containment provokes pathologies. First of all, this can lead to intestinal inflammation or the formation of hemorrhoids.
When you hold back, you may experience pain. Simply put, when you don't fart, the gases accumulated in the intestines will cause severe abdominal pain. Gases will help identify allergies. If, after you have eaten some new product, you begin to pass gas more frequently, then there is a high probability that you are allergic to this product.
Smelling the smell of your farts is useful. No matter how strange it may sound. It turns out that the smell of hydrogen sulfide, which is what accompanies farting, is beneficial for cell mitochondria. It protects their shells from damage, which slows down the aging process.
However, we would like to note that despite all these reasons, you should not still involve the public in the process of gas emission. If you feel an urgent need for this, you can always go to the toilet, or, as a last resort, a deserted place.
Comprehensive medical measures are possible only after a diagnosis has been established
General information
The harmful release of intestinal gases on the ruler (or on his portrait) could be considered a crime, lese majeste and severely punished, up to and including the death penalty (in the picture - an insult to George III, King of Great Britain, 1798).
A healthy adult has about 1 liters of gases formed mainly as a result of the vital activity of microorganisms of the intestinal microflora. In an adult, during the process of defecation and in addition to it, 0.1-0.5 liters of gas are normally removed from the intestines per day.
Flatulence treatment common symptoms
Comprehensive medical measures are possible only after a diagnosis has been established. Doctors usually recommend enzyme replacement therapy, microbiota rehabilitation, and the use of choleretic drugs. In addition, an important element of the treatment regimen for flatulence is a diet that excludes alcohol, foods and drinks that contribute to the development of fermentation, rotting, and gas formation processes. Dietary restrictions also apply to coarse fiber, long-digesting proteins and lactulose.
It is worth reviewing your diet and identifying what provokes the passage of gas, and also follow the following recommendations:
- Avoid foods that cause flatulence and flatulence.
- Chew food thoroughly and do not talk while eating.
- Do not combine starches and proteins, such as meat and potatoes.
- Do not overeat, as this causes food to stagnate in the intestines and the fermentation process begins, which provokes belching and flatulence.
- Drink at least 2 liters of fluid per day, it helps cleanse the body and normalize digestion. But you need to drink water before meals!
- It is worth getting rid of nicotine addiction.
- Dedicate enough time to physical activity.
- Normalize your daily routine and get enough sleep.
- Learn how to cope with stress correctly, if the cause of flatulence is neurosis, you can take herbs such as valerian, lemon balm, mint, motherwort.
Is it worth fighting?
Treating flatulence in people for whom it causes serious problems is not only possible, but also mandatory. However, this only applies to severe and uncontrolled symptoms. There is no need to worry about increased gas formation in infants whose enzymatic apparatus has not yet fully formed. It does not always make sense to treat elderly patients whose digestive processes slow down - it is much more effective to simply follow an appropriate diet.
Minimal flatulence can also be observed in an ordinary healthy person. However, in most cases it is controlled by the patient himself. If the process intensifies, not only drug treatment helps to cope with the problem, but also the consumption of certain plants that contain phytoncides and suppress unhealthy microflora.
Flatulence: treatment with folk remedies
Eliminating flatulence using folk remedies is simple and safe, and does not require large financial or time expenditures. There are many recipes:
- two glasses of dill seeds are poured with boiling water of the same volume. The mixture should be infused for three hours. The resulting infusion should be drunk within 24 hours. You should drink half a glass half an hour before meals;
- You can pour one glass of boiling water over one glass of dry dill seeds and boil for a quarter of an hour. The cooled decoction is taken 50 grams half an hour before meals.
Flatulence treatment with medications
One-time “ambulance” are enterosorbents, prokinetics, simethicone or dimethicone preparations.
One-time “ambulance” are enterosorbents, prokinetics, simethicone or dimethicone preparations. People who are nervous are prescribed sedatives. A non-drug method of self-help in eliminating the consequences of dietary incontinence is abdominal massage. Effective folk remedies that regulate gas formation include: dill water, anise oil, decoctions and infusions of fennel, chamomile, St. John's wort, mint, wormwood.
The doctor can prescribe adsorbents (Lactofiltrum, Enterosgel), which will help remove toxins and harmful substances from the body that negatively affect the functioning of the intestines. For intestinal dysbiosis, drugs that restore intestinal microflora are prescribed: Acipol, Bifiform.
For intestinal infections, antimicrobial drugs (Stopdiar), oral rehydration agents (Regidron), enterosorbents (Smecta, Neosmectin) can be prescribed. In case of enzyme deficiency, medications are prescribed that normalize digestion, such as Mezim, Festal, Enzistal.
If bile secretion is impaired, medicinal herbs can be prescribed, for example, corn silk, immortelle. But you cannot take choleretic herbs if you have gallstones, as they may move and block the bile ducts. As soon as the underlying disease is eliminated, the excessive discharge of gases will also disappear.
