Bloating can be a silent sign of some dangerous diseases or an unhealthy lifestyle. Bloating is often a common symptom of some diseases in the digestive tract, so people often ignore it and do not pay much attention. Therefore, when you clearly identify the cause of bloating, it can help you choose the appropriate and effective treatment option.

General understanding of flatulence

Flatulence is also known as the phenomenon of gas accumulation in the stomach and intestines, at this time the abdomen may be distended. Gas begins to accumulate in the digestive tract when the digestive system begins to break down food. In addition, when accidentally swallowing air while eating or living, gas will accumulate in the intestines.

Therefore, flatulence may not always originate from the intestines or stomach. After eating, the predominant feeling is often chest tightness, belching. When overeating or uncomfortable, flatulence can be a sign of a health disorder, such as irritable bowel syndrome, celiac disease or lactose intolerance.

There are many causes of bloating.

Symptoms of bloating

Signs and symptoms of bloating

When bloating is caused by incomplete food breakdown, it often goes back up the esophagus. At this time, the esophageal sphincter relaxes, and gas is pushed out through the mouth, also known as belching.

In addition to belching, people with bloating also have other symptoms such as dull abdominal pain, heartburn, nausea or vomiting (possibly due to pyloric stenosis causing stagnation), constipation or loose stools. The abdomen is distended, percussion is very clear and flatus occurs frequently (in normal people, gas is passed out on average about 14 – 25 times a day).

When to see a doctor?

See a doctor if your bloating symptoms become increasingly severe, such as:

• Frequent bloating occurs frequently, causing discomfort.
• A sharp pain, or a feeling of tightness in the abdomen that is persistent and the pain changes location.
• Recurrent episodes of diarrhea or constipation.
• Unexplained weight loss.
• Incontinence.
• Blood in your stool.
• Signs of infection, such as high fever, vomiting, chills, joint and muscle pain.

Causes of bloating

Some common causes of bloating include:

• Some unhealthy eating habits can easily lead to digestive disorders and bloating, such as eating a lot of greasy, hard-to-digest foods or drinking a lot of stimulants, carbonated soft drinks, eating too much, too quickly, talking and laughing while eating.
• Due to the intestinal bacterial system being disrupted, the digestive system does not have enough enzymes to break down food, causing gas to accumulate.
• Due to diseases of the digestive system such as colitis, gastritis, and intestinal motility disorders that make it difficult to digest food, leading to bloating
• People with chronic medical problems or psychological problems that are often under pressure and stress can promote bloating to occur more often.

Risk of bloating

Who is at risk of bloating?

• Everyone is at risk of bloating, but the following groups are at high risk of bloating:
• People who are allergic or intolerant to certain foods such as cow’s milk and starch.
• People with unhealthy eating habits, often eat quickly, or abuse stimulants.
• People with digestive problems.
• Children with digestive disorders are prone to bloating.

Factors that increase the risk of bloating

Some factors that increase the risk of bloating include:

• The body absorbs too many nutrients beyond the required threshold.
• Using a lot of stimulants, chewing gum, smoking.
• Habit of not chewing thoroughly when eating or talking while eating.
• Stress and anxiety.
• Incorrect eating habits such as not chewing thoroughly, laughing and talking while eating or eating at the wrong time.
• Effects of gastrointestinal diseases such as colitis, colon cancer, irritable bowel syndrome, insulin resistance, overgrowth of intestinal yeast microflora or lack of digestive enzymes…
• Abuse of painkillers and antibiotics causes side effects on the digestive tract.

Diagnosis & Treatment of Bloating

Testing and Diagnosis of Bloating

When examining bloating, your doctor can diagnose the underlying cause and suggest an effective treatment. Your doctor will ask you about your medical history and eating habits and perform a physical exam to determine if there is any bloating in your abdomen. Your doctor may also use a percussion instrument to listen for hollow sounds and check for gas.

They may ask about bowel movements, whether you strain when you have a bowel movement, whether you have abdominal pain after meals, and how long the bloating has lasted. This can help determine if you may have a condition that needs treatment. It may be helpful to keep a food diary for a while before your appointment to help your doctor.

In complicated cases, the doctor may perform additional tests and imaging to find the real cause behind the bloating, such as stool tests, blood tests, gastroscopy, intestinal endoscopy, X-rays, etc.

Effective bloating treatment methods

Depending on the severity and cause of bloating, some common medications can be used to treat bloating, including:

Over-the-counter medications: Some medications reduce mild bloating symptoms such as simethicone (Gas-X, Phazyme), bismuth subsalicylate (Pepto-Bismol).
Prescription medications: Prescription medications are often used in cases of underlying pathologies such as intestinal microflora disorders, IBS.
Additionally, some intestinal supplements are needed, such as lactase, which reduces gas for lactose intolerance, or alpha-galactosidase (Beano), which helps you digest beans and vegetables to reduce bloating.

Lifestyle & flatulence prevention

Lifestyle habits that can help you limit the progression of flatulence

Lifestyle:

• You need to follow your doctor’s treatment regimen. If there is any abnormality, you need to contact your doctor immediately.
• You need to maintain a healthy, scientific lifestyle, limit pressure and stress.
  Minimize the use of tobacco because when smoking, you will swallow a lot of air into your body, causing irritation to the digestive system.
• Your posture can affect the state of flatulence in your body. Changing your posture by sitting up straight is good for your spine and helps your body release excess gas.
• Exercising and playing sports every day can help your body circulate, helping your digestive system work better.

Diet:

• People with indigestion and flatulence when eating should divide their meals into many small meals a day to help them digest better. In addition, when eating, you need to eat slowly and chew thoroughly before swallowing so that the food begins to digest in the mouth.
• For people who cannot consume lactose, they should limit the use of dairy products or choose dairy products with low lactose content.
• Ginger is considered a folk medicine that helps promote the digestive process, while improving symptoms of bloating and flatulence.
• Supplementing some intestinal probiotics such as Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus helps the digestive system work better.
• Drinking enough water during the day helps the digestive system circulate, reducing bloating. In addition, you need to limit chewing gum and drinking carbonated soft drinks.

Effective methods to prevent bloating

To effectively prevent bloating, you can refer to some of the suggestions below:

• You can take a warm bath or use a heating pad on your abdomen to help your body relax, help your digestive system circulate well, reduce discomfort and bloating.
• You should limit swallowing air from the outside, avoid activities that increase the amount of air entering the digestive system.
• Every day, you need to record the food you eat to help find the type of food that causes bloating. When a type of food can promote bloating, you need to limit eating it as much as possible or better yet, eliminate it from your menu list.