How to Relieve the Discomfort Associated with Flatulence

Remember those times when your belly transforms into a hot-air balloon that speaks in rumbling, hissing sounds? And when the gas demands release, and you think no-one is around: "Blaaaat" - you let loose (aaaahhhh...the relief). But a couple seconds later, someone walks into the room. Flatulence has great timing too - it just lives for those crucial days, like when you're going for an interview, or sitting in an examination room where the silence can echo your abdominal rumblings from wall to wall

For many people attacks of abdominal gas, or flatulence, are mild inconveniences that come occasionally; for others, however, flatulence is a daily waking nightmare that has significant effects on their health and social lives. John Wakio's regular bouts of flatulence have stopped him from eating while on long distance journeys. Once, he took a cup of hot milk before getting onto the road. Bloating began minutes later. "I thought it would go away with time but it didn't. When I got home eight hours later, I was sweating with pain and my belly looked like I was a few months pregnant!"

As John discovered, flatulence can be worsened by eating certain foods such as dairy products. In some other people, it can be triggered by taking vegetables, particularly legumes such as beans and peas or even cereals such as wheat. Periods of flatulence can range from a couple of hours for minor episodes to a couple of days in more serious cases. Medics say the most common cause of flatulence is psychological stress, which in turn affects how we eat and the way our bodies digest food.

According to the book, "Great Health Hints and Handy Tips," edited by Pat Kramer, flatulence or intestinal gas is "usually caused by swallowing too much air." This tends to happen when we swallow air with our food because of a preoccupation with other matters, talking while eating or simply being in a hurry in this fast paced world. Flatulence is closely associated with a similar condition known as Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and its main cause is also attributable to psychological stress.

Foods such as onions, peas, beans, fatty foods, fizzy drinks, sugar, cabbages, caffeinated drinks and uncooked fruits and vegetables can ignite the normally painful and annoying symptoms of flatulence. Our intestinal tracts are inhabited by certain strains of micro-organisms that help in the digestive processes. "Flatulence results from the action of bacteria or fungi in your intestines causing certain digested foods to ferment and produce gas," according to the book, "Curing everyday ailments," by Readers Digest.

So What can You Do About Flatulence?
Identify the foods that tend to trigger flatulence
You can then reduce or eliminate them from your diet. This can be done by keeping a daily log of what you are eating for several weeks. From the log, it is easy to link any attacks of flatulence with specific foods. Changing the mode of offending foods can have an impact in reducing flatulence. For instance, taking yogurt instead of fresh milk greatly minimizes the risk of getting into those embarrassing episodes.

Stress Less
With psychological stress being a major factor behind flatulence, it makes sense to find ways of managing stress. As tempting as it often seems, do not skip meals as this results into an imbalance in your system. While eating, take time to eat reasonably and slowly. Eating too much, too fast will only result in the embarrassment you're trying to avoid. When nervous, settle down to a light snack without dairy products. Remember that no situation at work is worth the sacrifice your health.

Seek Medical Help
There are people, such as John, who have had to adjust to life with flatulence. Such persons could have been born with certain chemical or physical imbalances in their digestive tracts. They may lack the micro-organisms needed for digestion, thus prolonging the your plight and increasing the production of gas due to fermentation of food. Also, their digestive tracts could contain deformities where food particles lodge, ferment and produce gas. Several medications interfere with the actions of microbes in the intestinal tract and cause flatulence.

If you continually suffer painful, rumbling episodes of intestinal gas that last days at a time, it's advisable to seek medical advice. Flatulence is among the symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome, gastritis (inflamed stomach lining), gall bladder disease and peptic ulcers. If you are over the age of 50, flatulence could portend the onset of Diverticular disease. Your doctor will make an accurate diagnosis along with appropriate prescriptions.

And hopefully, life can become a little more comfortable. And less pungent.