Where does excess air come from in the stomach?
During each swallow, a little air enters the esophagus along with saliva or food. Normally, it is partially released with belching, partially absorbed and moves on. With aerophagia, there are much more swallowing movements: a person eats hastily, drinks through a straw, chews gum, and often swallows saliva against a background of excitement. A separate mechanism is the so-called supragastric belching, when the air does not even reach the stomach: it is drawn into the esophagus and immediately pushed back out, and this is an already acquired motor habit.
- Hasty eating and talking while chewing
- Carbonated drinks and straw drinking
- Chewing gum and lollipops
- Smoking and frequent swallowing
- Anxiety and habit of taking deep breaths
- Poorly fitting dentures, dry mouth
- Difficulty nasal breathing
Symptoms
The main symptom is frequent belching of air, odorless and sour taste, which can be repeated many times in a row, especially with excitement and in the presence of people. The abdomen swells, a feeling of fullness appears in the pit of the stomach, which intensifies after eating and in the evening, and goes away overnight. Possible rumbling, increased passage of gases, hiccups. An important feature: symptoms are almost always absent during sleep, because the swallowing of air stops. Appetite and weight do not suffer.
- Repeated belching of odorless air
- Distension in the upper abdomen
- Bloating, increasing in the evening
- Rumbling and increased passage of gases
- Hiccups
- No symptoms during sleep
How is this different from stomach disease?
With gastritis, ulcers and reflux disease, belching is usually sour or bitter, accompanied by heartburn, pain and nausea, and symptoms occur at night. If carbohydrate digestion is impaired, for example with lactose intolerance, bloating in the lower abdomen, rumbling and loose stools come to the fore a few hours after a particular meal. For aerophagia, an empty belch of air, associated with wakefulness and an emotional state, is typical. There are no alarming symptoms such as weight loss and blood in the stool during aerophagia.
- Aerophagia: belching of odorless air during the day
- Reflux disease: heartburn, sour belching, night symptoms
- Gastritis and ulcers: pain and nausea, connection with food
- Lactose intolerance: bloating and loose stools after milk
- Warning signs require examination in any case
What examinations are needed
Most often, the diagnosis is made based on the nature of the complaints. An examination is needed to rule out organic causes, especially if there are warning signs or symptoms appeared for the first time in adulthood. Endoscopy allows you to assess the condition of the esophagus and stomach, ultrasound - the gallbladder and pancreas. In case of severe bloating, a survey x-ray of the abdominal cavity is sometimes taken, where a large accumulation of gas is visible. Additionally, digestion and tolerance of individual foods are checked, and attention is paid to the level of anxiety.
- Examination by a gastroenterologist and analysis of eating habits
- Endoscopy of the stomach and esophagus
- Ultrasound of the abdominal organs
- Plain radiography for severe swelling
- Coprogram and tests for food intolerance
- Assessment of anxiety and breathing habits
What helps
The main treatment is changing habits, and it really works. Eat slowly, chew thoroughly and avoid talking with your mouth full; avoid carbonated drinks, chewing gum, drinking through a straw and smoking. Exercises for slow diaphragmatic breathing through the nose help: they reduce the number of swallowing movements and break the habit. For supragastric belching, working with a speech therapist or respiratory therapist is effective. If anxiety plays a significant role, psychotherapy helps. Defoamers and enzymes are used to a limited extent and only as prescribed by a doctor.
- Eat slowly, don't talk while eating
- Avoiding carbonated drinks and straws
- Avoid chewing gum and hard candies
- Quit smoking
- Diaphragmatic breathing through the nose
- Treatment of nasal congestion and correction of dentures
- Working with anxiety when it is severe