Gas - flatulence
Alternative Names:
Flatulence (flatus)
Home Care:
- Eat more slowly.
- Chew your food thoroughly.
- Avoid gum chewing.
- Relax while you eat.
- Avoid beans, cabbage, and carbonated beverages.
- Try Beano, a product sold over-the-counter at most drugstores, if you eat a lot of beans, fruits, vegetables, and other high-fiber foods.
- Walk for 10 to 15 minutes after eating.
- Drink peppermint or chamomile tea after a meal.
Call your health care provider if:
Call your doctor if: - Your have other symptoms in addition to gas, like abdominal or rectal pain, heartburn, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, or weight loss.
- You have oily, foul-smelling, or bloody stools.
What to expect at your health care provider's office:
Your doctor will perform a physical examination with special attention to your abdomen, and ask questions about your symptoms, such as: - What is your diet like?
- Has it recently changed?
- What foods do you eat commonly?
- What foods have you eaten recently?
- Have you increased the fiber in your diet?
- How fast do you eat, chew, and swallow?
- Would you say that your gas is mild or severe?
- Does your gas seem to be related to eating milk products or other specific foods?
- What seems to make your gas better?
- What medications do you take?
- Do you have other symptoms like abdominal pain, diarrhea, early satiety (premature fullness after meals), bloating, or weight loss?
Diagnostic tests that may be performed include:
References:
Birrer RB. Irritable bowel syndrome. Dis Mon. 2002; 48(2): 105-143. Lovelace HY. Diagnosis, symptoms, and calcium intakes of individuals with self-reported lactose intolerance. J Am Coll Nutr. 2005; 24(1): 51-57. Andrs E. Food-cobalamin malabsorption in the elderly. Am J Med. 2002; 113(4): 351-352.
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