Feeling bloated or gassy occasionally is normal. However, it’s crucial that you consult a physician if you’re experiencing symptoms of a chronic gastrointestinal disorder.
Feeling bloated is something that most people have experienced. Your clothes feel tight around your midsection, and your stomach feels bloated and swollen. This has most likely happened to you after consuming a large holiday meal or a lot of junk food. Occasionally experiencing a little bloat is normal.
Burping is also common, particularly after eating. It’s also healthy to pass gas. Air that gets in has to come back out. Most people pass gas roughly 15 to 21Trusted Source times each day.
When gas passing, burping, and bloating become routines in your life, however, things take a different turn. Severe stomach pain may result from gas not passing through your intestines as it should.
Chronic discomfort is not something you have to endure. Determining the root cause of these problems is the first step in fixing them.
Here are several causes of excessive gas, bloating, and pain, along with indicators that it’s time to consult a physician.
Being constipated
Until you begin to feel bloated, you may not even be aware that you are constipated. You are more likely to experience gas and bloating the longer it has been since your last bowel movement.
Everyone gets constipated once in a while. It can take care of itself. Additionally, you can attempt over-the-counter (OTC) constipation medications, increase your intake of water, and increase your intake of fiber. If constipation is a common issue, consult your physician.
Response to food
When you consume, you breathe in a particular amount of air. You may breathe in too much air for a number of reasons, including:
Talking when consuming food or beverages too rapidly
Chewing gum or sucking on hard sweets, drinking carbonated drinks through a straw, or having improperly fitting dentures
Additionally, you can be intolerant to certain foods, like:
artificial sweeteners like fiber supplements including xylitol, sorbitol, and mannitol
Lactose, fructose, and gluten
You can identify the offending foods and avoid them by maintaining a food diary if your symptoms are just sporadic; if you believe you have a food allergy or intolerance, consult your physician.
Pancreatic exocrine insufficiency (EPI)
The enzymes required for digestion are not produced by your pancreas if you have EPI. As a result, it is challenging to absorb nutrients from diet. Apart from gas, bloating, and pain in the abdomen, EPI can also result in:
Light-colored stools
odorous, oily feces that cling to the toilet bowl or float and are difficult to flush
appetite loss
loss of weight due to malnutrition
Dietary adjustments, lifestyle modifications, and pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy (PERT) are possible forms of treatment.
IBD, or inflammatory bowel disease
IBD is an umbrella term for ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease. Ulcerative colitis involves inflammation of the large intestine and rectum. The whole lining of the digestive tract becomes inflamed when someone has Crohn’s disease. Abdominal pain, gas, and bloating may be accompanied by:
bloody stools, exhaustion, fever, and appetite loss
severe weight loss and diarrhea
Surgery, dietary support, and anti-inflammatory and anti-diarrheal drugs are possible forms of treatment.
Gastroparesis
Delayed gastric emptying, which happens when the stomach takes too long to discharge food, causes gastroparesis. Other symptoms including nausea, vomiting, and an easily full feeling may also result from it.
Why does gastroparesis occur?
Although the precise cause of gastroparesis is unknown, it is believed to be related to abnormal nerve signals in the stomach.
Food is thought to pass through the stomach too slowly when the nerves that supply it are impacted by a number of different things.
Other difficulties, such as the stomach being extremely sensitive to signals from the neurological system and the stomach not being able to react to a meal, are believedTrusted Source to also have a role in this illness.