What is gas, bloating and burping?

Gas (flatus), bloating, and burping are all normal conditions. Gas is made in the stomach and intestines as your body breaks down food into energy. Gas and burping may sometimes be embarrassing. Bloating, which is a feeling of fullness in the belly, can make you uncomfortable. Many people think that they pass gas too often or have too much gas. But it's rare to have too much gas. Changing what you eat and drink can sometimes cut down on gas and relieve discomfort caused by gas.

Belching or burping (eructation) is the voluntary or involuntary and sometimes noisy release of air from the stomach or esophagus through the mouth. Burping 3 or 4 times after eating a meal is normal. It's usually caused by swallowing air. Other causes of burping include nervous habits or other medical conditions, such as an ulcer or a gallbladder problem.

All people pass gas, but some people produce more gas than others. It's normal to pass gas from 6 to 20 times a day. This may embarrass or annoy you. But a lot of intestinal gas usually isn't caused by a serious health condition.

Common causes of gas and bloating include:

• Swallowed air. If swallowed air isn't burped up, it passes through the digestive tract. Then it's released through the anus as flatus. Swallowing a lot of air may cause hiccups.
• Foods and drinks such as beans, broccoli, carbonated drinks, and beer. The amount of gas and the odor that different foods cause vary from person to person.
• Lactose intolerance. A person who can't easily digest lactose, a type of natural sugar found in milk and dairy products, can have both gas and bloating as well as other symptoms.
• Constipation. It can cause bloating but generally doesn't increase gas.
• Medicines or nutritional supplements. Both prescription and nonprescription medicines, as well as dietary supplements, can cause bloating and gas as side effects.
• A medical condition, such as a bowel obstruction or Crohn's disease.
• Changes in hormone levels. It's common for people to have bloating right before their periods. That's because their bodies retain fluid.
• Pregnancy.

Dyspepsia is a medical term that is used to describe a vague feeling of fullness, gnawing, or burning in the chest or upper belly, especially after eating. A person may describe this feeling as "gas." Other symptoms may occur at the same time, such as belching, rumbling noises in the belly, increased flatus, poor appetite, and a change in bowel habits. Causes of dyspepsia can vary from minor to serious.

In some cases, a person may dismiss serious symptoms, such as symptoms of a heart attack, as "just gas" or indigestion.

• Keep a food diary if you think a food gives your child gas. Write down what your child eats or drinks. Also record when your child gets gas. If you notice that a food seems to cause gas each time, avoid it and see if the gas goes away. Examples of foods that cause gas include:
  • Fried and fatty foods.
  • Peas, lentils, and beans.
  • Vegetables such as artichokes, asparagus, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, cucumbers, green peppers, onions, radishes, and raw potatoes.
  • Fruits such as apricots, bananas, melons, peaches, pears, prunes, and raw apples.
  • Wheat and wheat bran.
  • Carbonated drinks and fruit drinks.
  • Packaged foods that contain lactose, such as breads, cereal, and salad dressing.
  • Sugar and sugar substitutes.
• Try soaking beans in water overnight. Drain the soaking water, and cook the soaked beans in new water. This may help decrease gas and bloating.
• If your child has problems with lactose, avoid dairy products such as milk and cheese.
• Help your child try not to swallow air. Make sure that your child does not drink through a straw, gulp food, or chew gum.
• Give your child an over-the-counter medicine. But check with your doctor first if your child is under 12. Read and follow all instructions on the label.
  • Food enzymes, such as Beano, can be added to gas-producing foods to prevent gas.
  • Antacids, such as Maalox Anti-Gas and Mylanta Gas, can relieve bloating by making your child burp. Be careful when you give your child over-the-counter antacid medicines. Many of these medicines have aspirin in them. Do not give aspirin to anyone younger than 20. It has been linked to Reye syndrome, a serious illness.
  • Activated charcoal tablets, such as CharcoCaps, may decrease odor from gas your child passes.
  • If your child has problems with lactose, you can give your child medicines such as Dairy Ease and Lactaid with dairy products to prevent gas and bloating.
• Have your child get some exercise regularly.

Gas, burping, and bloating are common after you swallow air, eat foods that cause gas, or drink carbonated beverages. This is normal and usually can be helped by making some simple changes.

The amount of gas that different foods cause varies from person to person. Examples of gas-producing foods are:

• Peas, lentils, and beans.
• Vegetables, such as artichokes, asparagus, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, cucumbers, green peppers, onions, peas, radishes, and raw potatoes.
• Fruits, such as apricots, bananas, melons, peaches, pears, prunes, and raw apples.
• Wheat and wheat bran.
• Eggs.
• Carbonated drinks, fruit drinks, beer, and red wine.
• Fried and fatty foods.
• Sugar and sugar substitutes.
• Milk and other dairy products in people who have trouble digesting lactose, the main sugar found in milk.
• Packaged foods that contain lactose, such as breads, cereal, and salad dressing.

Gas, burping, and bloating after eating or drinking also may be caused by an inability to:

• Digest certain sugars, such as lactose, fructose, or sorbitol. These sugars are often added to processed foods and medicines to make them taste sweet. Lactose is found in milk, cheese, and other dairy products.
• Properly absorb nutrients, vitamins, and minerals from the digestive tract (malabsorption syndrome).

Your doctor can check your symptoms to find out what is causing them and recommend treatment. Treatment may include changes in your diet, medicine to replace digestive enzymes and help reduce symptoms, and nutritional supplements.

• Keep a food diary if you think a food gives you gas. Write down what you eat or drink. Also record when you get gas. If you notice that a food seems to cause your gas each time, avoid it and see if the gas goes away. Examples of foods that cause gas include:
  • Fried and fatty foods.
  • Peas, lentils, and beans.
  • Vegetables such as artichokes, asparagus, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, cucumbers, green peppers, onions, radishes, and raw potatoes.
  • Fruits such as apricots, bananas, melons, peaches, pears, prunes, and raw apples.
  • Wheat and wheat bran.
  • Carbonated drinks, fruit drinks, beer, and red wine.
  • Packaged foods that contain lactose, such as breads, cereal, and salad dressing.
  • Sugar and sugar substitutes.
• Try soaking beans in water overnight. Drain the soaking water, and cook the soaked beans in new water. This may help decrease gas and bloating.
• If you have problems with lactose, avoid dairy products such as milk and cheese.
• Try not to swallow air. Do not drink through a straw, gulp your food, or chew gum.
• Take an over-the-counter medicine. Read and follow all instructions on the label.
  • Food enzymes, such as Beano, can be added to gas-producing foods to prevent gas.
  • Antacids, such as Maalox Anti-Gas and Mylanta Gas, can relieve bloating by making you burp. Be careful when you take over-the-counter antacid medicines. Many of these medicines have aspirin in them. Read the label to make sure that you are not taking more than the recommended dose. Too much aspirin can be harmful.
  • Activated charcoal tablets, such as CharcoCaps, may decrease odor from gas you pass.
  • If you have problems with lactose, you can take medicines such as Dairy Ease and Lactaid with dairy products to prevent gas and bloating.
• Get some exercise regularly.