Uncomfortable bloating in the abdomen in the modern world haunts people quite often and this is due to poor ecology, unbalanced nutrition, eating on the run, and the stressful state in which most of the world’s population lives. The symptoms of flatulence are different, but it itself can directly become an indicator of one of the many diseases that affect the human body, in particular the organs of the digestive tract.

Symptoms of intestinal flatulence

If a person begins to feel increased gas production in the intestines, there is no need to panic right away, because this may just be the body’s response to a dense, filling and fatty lunch. Just wait a little time and everything will pass. But if such discomfort bothers you painfully often, you should not put off going to the doctor. The symptoms of intestinal flatulence are quite recognizable and difficult to confuse. This normative deviation shows several representative features and accompanying symptoms.

  • Rumbling in the intestines.
  • Abdominal pain, often radiating to the hypochondrium. They can be aching, cramping or stabbing.
  • Liquid, sometimes watery, stool.
  • Or, conversely, prolonged constipation.
  • Feeling of heaviness in the stomach.
  • Increased gas evolution.
  • Nausea, hiccups.
  • Feeling like your stomach is bursting from the inside.
  • The swollen intestines begin to put pressure on neighboring organs, including the stomach. Such pressure can provoke the backflow of stomach products into the esophagus, which is felt as belching, heartburn and the appearance of a sour taste in the mouth. This applies to patients with a history of ulcers, accompanied by increased acidity of gastric secretions. In this situation, an unpleasant odor from the mouth may appear.
  • Increasing in volume, the intestines are able to put pressure on the diaphragm. This factor causes shortness of breath and tachycardia.
  • It is worth noting that when the intestines bloat, pressure increases in the middle of the digestive tract. This deviation leads to tension in some parts of the intestine and spasm in others. A sign of this phenomenon may be colic.
  • The release of gases brings minor physical relief, but is psychologically uncomfortable. Symptoms of intestinal flatulence are often embarrassing when a person in a public place begins to make unpleasant sounds and odors associated with an increased concentration of ammonia and hydrogen sulfide in the exhaust gases.
  • Frequent manifestations of flatulence can reduce appetite and lead to general weakness of the body.
  • Since the nerve endings are connected into one common system that covers the entire human body, pain symptoms in the abdominal area can provoke a response from other systems and organs. For example, abdominal pain can cause reciprocal pain in the area of ​​the heart, disruptions in its rhythm, and pulsating pain symptoms in the head. This may be associated with significant pathology in the circulatory system, as well as with disruption of the functioning of metabolic processes.
  • A state of anxiety, worsening mood, and fear of food may appear.
  • There are problems with sleep.
  • Decreased motor activity, which only leads to worsening symptoms.
  • As a result of poor appetite and fear of constant flatus (gas emissions), anorexia may develop.
  • Against the background of psychological discomfort, one can observe manifestations of constant neurotic arousal.

If such symptoms appear, it is necessary to trace what factor precedes the appearance of flatulence. Sometimes it is enough to adjust your daily diet and the problem will disappear. If this does not happen, it would be a good idea to see a doctor and undergo a full examination.

Symptoms of flatulence in children

Bloating is a fairly common symptom in newborn babies. This pathology may manifest itself as a result of some deviations in the structure of the digestive tract of a small person. The appearance of gases causes anxiety in the baby; symptoms of flatulence in children can even be seen visually or felt by palpation.

  • The baby’s tummy becomes hard and resembles a drum.
  • It bursts and increases in volume.
  • This symptomatology causes anxiety in the infant, which is manifested by crying and increased nervousness of the baby.
  • The child may refuse to eat or eat poorly.
  • He wiggles his legs, shuddering periodically.
  • May have trouble sleeping.

If attacks of flatulence are observed mainly in the evening (the duration of attacks is up to 20 minutes), then the baby is most likely to be healthy and this is due to his not yet stable physiology (for example, the baby swallowing air during meals, incorrect selection of the mixture or deviation from the instructions when eating). cooking – in case of artificial feeding). However, we should not forget that intestinal bloating in infants may be associated with a disease present in the body (for example, dysbiosis, inflammatory processes in the intestines). Therefore, it is worth informing your pediatrician about the appearance of these symptoms. The doctor will examine the baby and, if necessary, conduct a study to determine the causes that provoke the symptoms of flatulence, and give recommendations on how to get out of the current situation.

In children of an older age group, the symptoms of flatulence are closer to the manifestations of flatulence in the adult category of patients. Strange as it may sound, flatulence in children, the symptoms of its manifestation, are more common in boys than in girls. The cause of bloating in the abdomen in children of preschool and school age, in most cases, is a violation of a balanced diet and disruptions in the digestive process. Children are very fond of carbonated drinks and fast food products, which does not make their diet healthier. Constant monitoring of what the child eats, in most cases, allows you to adjust the diet and remove the symptoms of flatulence. But if discomfort appears obsessively often, it is necessary to establish the cause of the manifestation so as not to miss a more serious disease.

A healthy intestine necessarily contains a small amount of gases – this is the norm. Such small volumes do not cause discomfort to a person, but if the amount of gases produced by the intestines increases, then we can already talk about manifestations of flatulence.

A normal child is inquisitive and emotional, he wants to tell everyone about everything, even now. Eating does not stop him either. Quickly swallowing poorly chewed food and talking while eating contribute to the fact that the baby swallows portions of air along with food, which subsequently causes flatulence in children, the symptoms of which are well known to everyone:

  • Feeling of fullness from the inside in the abdomen.
  • The appearance of pain symptoms, the localization of which is quite difficult to determine.
  • Due to the fact that the children’s digestive tract is still imperfect, the baby is growing and in this process the internal organs may not keep up in size with the parameters of the increased bone tissue, the child’s intestines may spasm in places, while other areas are susceptible to increased stretching. Such disharmony provokes the appearance of colic and spasmodic pain.
  • The baby’s body is improving and developing, but a temporary lack of enzyme substances necessary to normalize metabolism allows for incomplete digestion of incoming food, which leads to rotting and fermentation of food. The fermentation process occurs with the release of an amount of gases that exceeds the physiological norm for the human intestine. Gas is trying to find a way out. This is where we get belching, sometimes with heartburn and an unpleasant taste and smell in the mouth, as well as increased flatus.

Flatulence as a symptom of the disease

Minor gas separation that occurs from time to time should not cause any fear or panic. This is an absolute norm in the functioning of the body. One has only to remember what a person ate the day before – this may be the body’s response to fatty foods. An increased release of unpleasant gas can be provoked by a stressful situation, but the state of affairs may have more serious roots, since it is realistic to consider flatulence as a symptom of a disease of a deeper and more severe pathology. The list of diseases of which flatulence is a symptom is quite extensive, and it will not be possible to diagnose the disease based on just one sign. Therefore, in order to get a complete picture of the disease, the doctor studies the accompanying symptoms and the results of the examination, only after this can we talk about the correct diagnosis.

You can see flatulence as a symptom of a disease with the following pathology:

  • Dysbacteriosis is a quantitative disturbance of the bacterial balance in the intestine between aerobic and anaerobic microorganisms.
  • Inflammatory processes occurring in the digestive tract:
    • Colitis (inflammatory process in the large intestine) and enterocolitis (inflammation of the mucous membrane of both the small and large intestine).
    • Depending on the acidity level, chronic or acute gastritis (stomach pathology).
    • Ulcerative lesions of the digestive tract.
    • Pancreatitis is inflammation localized in the pancreas.
    • Infectious lesions of the mucous membrane and associated pathologies.
  • Physiological impossibility of passing feces to the anus (intestinal obstruction).
  • Helminthiasis is a parasitic disease caused by parasitic worms.
  • Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a stable set of functional disorders with a relatively long period of manifestation.
  • Defect in the structure of the teeth, palate and nose.
  • Intolerance of the body to certain foods, lack of enzymes in the body to break them down.
  • Cirrhosis of the liver can also cause such symptoms. Associated manifestations are mainly: heaviness in the stomach, dull or spasmodic pain in the right hypochondrium. Receptors on the tongue may sense bitterness, especially in the morning. There is a gradual intoxication of the whole body.
  • Increased gas production may be a consequence of surgery on one or more organs of the digestive tract.
  • Flatulence can be caused by various neuroses caused by stress.
  • Prolonged intestinal spasms.
  • Physiological changes occurring in the body of a pregnant woman can also provoke symptoms of flatulence. This is especially true in the third trimester of pregnancy: the uterus with the fetus grows and begins to put pressure on nearby organs, which limits the unhindered excretion of gases from the expectant mother’s body and swelling of hemorrhoids and hard stools are observed.
  • Protozoal infections are infections of the human body by parasitic protozoan microorganisms.
  • Crohn’s disease is a chronic pathology, expressed in an ongoing inflammatory process that affects the entire gastrointestinal tract: from the oral cavity to the anus.

Based on the above, it is necessary to understand that if an adjusted diet does not allow you to get rid of the symptom of flatulence, you cannot do without a trip to the doctor. After all, only he is able to prescribe the necessary studies based on symptoms, analyze everything, determine the diagnosis and prescribe effective treatment.

The feeling of swallowing a balloon with food is probably familiar to every person. Our technogenic world presupposes a fairly active rhythm of life, into which it is not always possible to wedge a normal, calm diet. But the symptoms of flatulence are not only a physiological problem for the patient. The appearance of its signs is also psychologically depressing. Therefore, in order not to feel uncomfortable and not blush around other people, you need to carefully monitor what a person eats and how he does it. If normalizing the diet failed to eliminate unpleasant symptoms, you should immediately seek advice from a therapist who, if necessary, will refer the patient to a more specialized specialist, for example, a gastroenterologist. You should not self-medicate so as not to waste precious time and aggravate the situation. Only a specialist can make the correct diagnosis and prescribe adequate therapy.

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