Gas (Flatulence)

Prevention

You often can prevent flatulence by modifying your eating habits and diet:

• Eat and drink slowly, in a calm environment. Chew your food thoroughly before you swallow.

• For a few days, avoid the foods that most commonly cause flatulence, such as beans, high-fiber foods, cruciferous vegetables, carbonated beverages and sugar-free products containing sorbitol. Then gradually add them to your diet again, one by one, while keeping track of your symptoms. This should let you determine which foods trigger flatulence for you. Then you can avoid them.

• If you need to add more fiber to your diet, increase your fiber slowly over a period of days or weeks. A sudden increase in dietary fiber often triggers flatulence, but a gradual increase may not.

• If you eat beans, try a nonprescription product, such as Beano, containing enzymes that break up the poorly digested sugars found in beans.

Treatment

You may reduce flatulence by trying:

• Preventive steps

• Nonprescription antigas medications containing simethicone (Mylanta II, Maalox II, Di-Gel) or bismuth (Pepto-Bismol, Bismatrol)

• For lactose intolerance:

  • Take over-the-counter tablets or liquids containing the enzyme lactase before you eat or drink products containing milk.

  • Lactose-reduced dairy products are available in grocery stores.