Contents
Belching is the sudden (often loud) release of air through the mouth that has accumulated in the esophagus or stomach, sometimes along with a small amount of stomach contents. Belching occurs due to contraction of the muscles of the stomach with an open cardiac sphincter.
Everyone, both healthy and sick, faces this unpleasant phenomenon. Belching haunts us from birth, as almost without exception, babies swallow excess air in the process of sucking. But with full development and growth, this problem goes away.
With the proper functioning of the gastrointestinal tract, there is practically no belching, and if it happens, it is extremely rare and mostly empty (air). We regularly swallow a small amount of air, which allows the body to regulate gastric pressure, but then, it comes out in such meager portions that we do not notice it.
Hence the conclusion: belching can have a physiological and pathological origin.
Causes of belching
Consider the causes of physiological belching.
Periodically, belching appears in people with a normally functioning gastrointestinal tract. As a rule, this is an eructation with air, or with the smell of what was eaten or drunk the day before. It occurs when a person:
leads a stormy conversation while eating;
in a hurry and, practically without chewing, swallows food;
eats in a state of emotional stress;
overeats;
suffers from aerophagia (excessive swallowing of air during meals and outside meals).
Remember Professor Preobrazhensky’s remark from the movie “Heart of a Dog” about reading newspapers at dinner? Any gastroenterologist will fully agree with him.
However, people face this problem not only because of how they eat, but also because of what they eat.
It’s no secret that certain foods and drinks increase gas production. The gas accumulated in the stomach will certainly come out through the esophagus.
These include:
carbonated drinks;
oxygen cocktails popular today;
bow;
milk;
ice cream;
legumes and cabbage can also cause belching, but the main consequence of their excessive consumption is flatulence.
But do not be too frivolous about persistent belching of air, as it can be a harbinger of stomach cancer.
The causes of pathological belching are diseases of the digestive system:
pancreatitis,
gastritis,
gallbladder disease,
gastroduodenitis,
hernia of the esophagus,
a peptic ulcer.
Belching after eating
The causes of belching after eating can be due to both physiological, which have already been mentioned above, and pathological processes that disrupt the digestive tract. These are diseases such as:
pancreatitis,
bubbling
biliary dyskinesia,
gastritis with high acidity,
esophagitis (inflammation of the lining of the esophagus).
Note that the often repeated belching after eating in an adult can be a symptom of health problems, and not only the gastrointestinal tract, so do not neglect professional advice.
Frequent (constant) burping
The human body can react in a similar way to:
for regular errors in the diet;
on the wrong organization of food intake;
aerophagy, including neurotic nature;
for various pathological processes.
Constant burping may indicate:
on diseases of the digestive tract;
for cardiovascular diseases.
In addition, excessive and frequent belching can be observed:
with problems with the lower food sphincter caused by a hernia of the food opening of the diaphragm;
with a stomach / duodenal ulcer;
with non-ulcer dyspepsia;
with gastroesophageal reflux;
with pathology of the pancreas and biliary tract.
Types of belching
Depending on what causes the burp, it can be:
acidic, indicating increased acidity of gastric juice;
bitter – when bile is thrown into the stomach;
putrid or give away with acetone – with stagnation and fermentation of undigested food in the stomach and with diabetes;
air – with aerophagia, dietary disorders and the early stages of various diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.
Let us consider in more detail the causes of various types of pathological belching.
Sour belching after eating
Sour belching after eating can be a symptom of:
Inflammatory disease of the gastric mucosa – gastritis;
gastroesophageal reflux;
peptic ulcer;
More formidable diseases, up to stomach cancer.
Sour regurgitation always accompanies pathological processes in the gastrointestinal tract, and it is impossible to get rid of this problem without starting the treatment of causative diseases.
If a person:
regularly belches sour, later belching may give rotten;
loses appetite;
suffers from heartburn, accompanied by profuse salivation;
experiences bouts of nausea, even consuming a portion of the most benign food, slightly exceeding the norm;
experiences heaviness in the epigastric region after eating, sometimes developing into severe pain.
This means that he needs to seek help from a gastroenterologist, since all these signs may indicate gastritis or peptic ulcer.
Usually, belching occurs regularly after eating, sometimes gastric contents enter the oral cavity along with gases.
“Sour burping” indicates that the stomach contains more acid than is needed to digest food.
With gastro-digestive reflux, the muscular valve that separates the esophagus from the stomach does not work properly, and acidic stomach juice regularly enters the esophagus, and from there into the oral cavity.
This condition in 10% of cases can cause the development of Barrett’s syndrome, in which, due to frequent irritation of the esophageal mucosa with an acidic gastric nipple, its structure changes. It becomes similar to the intestinal mucosa.
Constant companions of this disease are:
very frequent belching of sour;
heartburn;
sharp or dull pain in the upper part of the stomach.
According to recent studies, the risk of developing esophageal cancer is especially high in people with reflux, as they take medications that reduce symptoms and do not contact specialists in a timely manner to monitor their health.
Belching with bitterness
Belching bitterness – is also a sign of certain diseases or disorders, occurs when:
Gastroduodenal reflux. Bile from the liver must pass into the duodenum and then into the lower intestines. With violations of the pylorus function and increased pressure in the duodenum, which can be caused by certain diseases, bile moves in the wrong direction and enters the stomach;
Injuries, hernias, tumor diseases of the abdominal organs. With mechanical compression of the duodenum, bile, which is under pressure, overcomes the pyloric sphincter and again enters the stomach;
Taking certain medications. Muscle relaxants and antispasmodics lower the muscle tone of the sphincter, which forms a gap between the duodenum and stomach;
Operational interventions. If during the operation part of the sphincter muscles was dissected, then bile will constantly enter the stomach;
Chronic duodenitis. Inflammation and swelling of the duodenal mucosa increases pressure, due to which duodenal contents are thrown into the stomach;
Pregnancy. The reason is the same pressure on the duodenum.
From time to time, bile enters the stomach in healthy people. If this happens rarely, then there are no symptoms.
Belching with acetone
Belching with acetone can be caused by diabetes.
Digestive disorders, of which belching is a faithful companion, are characteristic of late complications of diabetes mellitus:
prolonged hyperglycemia;
diabetic neuropathy;
violations of the compensation of carbohydrate metabolism.
Causes of belching with acetone in diabetes:
an autonomous form of neuropathy, in which the nerves responsible for the digestive tract are affected. Food moves through the esophagus, stomach and intestines with malfunctions due to disturbances in the normal rhythm of muscle contractions. There is a delay in the evacuation of the contents, reflux develops.
decreased tone (paresis) and paralysis (atony) of the stomach. These conditions cause stagnation of food masses in the stomach cavity and create favorable conditions for the reproduction of pathogenic bacteria.
People with diabetes, complicated by disorders of the gastrointestinal tract, are worried about belching, heartburn and nausea, which are aggravated after eating.
Diabetic ketoacidosis (impaired carbohydrate metabolism) causes acute atony of the stomach and intestines, the mucous membrane of which can be irritated by ketatinic acids and acetone.
All the described conditions require an appeal to an endocrinologist, followed by treatment and observation.
Odorless burps
Reasons for belching without smell can be:
physiological,
pathological.
Physiological belching can cause:
aerophagia – swallowing excess air during meals, which then exits through the oral cavity;
diseases of the oral and nasal cavity;
consumption of carbonated drinks or beer;
hot or cold drinks;
whipped, “airy” drinks – cocktails;
some products (milk, ice cream, onions);
binge eating;
second phase of pregnancy;
chewing gum abuse;
snacks on the go
poor chewing of food;
sports and other physical activities after eating;
sleep after eating;
eating in a state of strong emotional stress;
other malnutrition.
Constant and frequent “empty” belching is a concomitant symptom of certain diseases. Pathological causes:
Neurotic aerophagia. In this case, a person swallows air not only during meals, but at any other time;
Disorder of motility and tone of the stomach;
Chronic gastritis;
peptic ulcer;
Pyloroduodenal stenosis;
Narrowing of the esophagus.
In addition, “empty” belching can be a sign of cardiovascular disease:
cardiovascular failure;
cardiospasm;
descending aortic aneurysm.
The body of a healthy person can be compared to an orchestra in which all the instruments are tuned and always come into play on time.
Belching, albeit odorless, may indicate that pathological changes are occurring in the gastrointestinal tract, which should not be ignored in order to prevent the development of the disease.
Belching in a child
For infants – belching is considered a normal reaction of the body.
Swallowing a small amount of air during feeding is necessary to regulate intragastric pressure.
Due to the imperfection of the infant’s gastrointestinal tract, the gas bubble lingers in the stomach or passes into the intestines. In this case, the child has a sharp bloating, which can provoke intestinal spasms. The baby will worry and cry until he burps the air. Therefore, pediatricians recommend not to put the child down immediately after feeding, but to hold him in an upright position, waiting for burping. But with full development and growth, this problem goes away.
Highly excitable children who are restless and crying during feeding should be observed by a neurologist, and feeding breaks should be taken to hold them in an upright position to burp excess air. Such babies should be prepared for eating. Carry on hands, calm down.
If frequent belching is observed in a child after a year, you need to see a doctor, and you need to start with a consultation with a pediatrician.
At this age, the state of the nervous system of the child is also of great importance. If the baby is excitable, then he is more prone to gastrointestinal diseases.
Belching food or air can be caused by:
improper nutrition of the child;
exciting games while eating;
watching cartoons that cause an emotional outburst;
adenoids;
chronic tonsillitis and runny nose;
increased salivation.
The reasons for constant belching in preschoolers and schoolchildren may be the same as in adults. These are diseases:
gastrointestinal tract,
liver,
bile ducts.
How to get rid of burping?
Episodic belching usually does not require treatment, as it occurs due to malnutrition and dietary errors.
The reason for visiting a doctor is a constant belching, repeated for an hour for five days. It may indicate a pathology, requires the identification of the cause and a thorough examination.
The specialist will diagnose and prescribe the treatment of the disease that caused the constant belching.
As for physiological belching, in order to get rid of it, you must:
Properly organize the process of eating, that is:
eat without haste, chewing food thoroughly;
do not conduct emotional conversations over food, and in general, do not start eating with nervous excitement;
do not subject yourself to heavy physical exertion.
Give up soda, beer, oxygen cocktails;
Do not eat foods that cause belching. By the way, belching can be an individual reaction of a person to some product that can be identified and stopped consuming;
Eat fully, high-quality products that satisfy the body’s need for trace elements and vitamins;
Observe moderation in food, the golden rule is very relevant here: “Better not before … than before …”, you can eat less, but more often;
Do not drink too hot tea or coffee;
When drinking, do not use straws;
Give up chewing gum, there are many other ways to freshen your breath;
Give up smoking;
Walking after eating, even half an hour is enough.
[Video] Dr. Berg – What to do if you have bloating, constipation, acid belching?