Bloating after eating: causes and treatment

2024 Author: Curtis Blomfield | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 20:44

Many people around the world face the problem of bloating. Often this symptom appears after 30 years or in pregnant women. It may indicate a disease or pathology. The causes of bloating after eating and treatment are described in the article.

Why does this phenomenon occur?

It can be permanent or occur periodically. A constant increase in volume usually indicates ailments of the abdominal cavity. If the phenomenon is periodic, then the cause of bloating and heaviness after eating may be digestive disorders. With this phenomenon, the accumulation of liquid or gases is likely.

Why does bloating happen after eating? The reasons can be different: from the use of a large amount of soda and fatty foods to a serious illness. The most common include the following:

1. If the diet includes foods with a lot of fiber, then gases appear in the body. Carbohydrates are easily digested, and the fermentation process starts, which leads to heaviness and bloating. Therefore, it is important to be careful wheneating legumes, apples, eggs, black bread, kvass, cabbage.
2. When eating food, a person swallows air. And if he is in a hurry, likes quick snacks, or talks while eating, then more air enters the stomach than is required. This causes congestion in the gastrointestinal tract. Gas may cause nausea, sharp, short-term pain.
3. After-eating bloating can occur when eating large amounts of food. This is usually observed when a lot of food is eaten at one time. A large amount of s alt causes flatulence. Foods high in sodium retain water and lead to bloating.
4. When intestinal motility is disturbed, its movements become irregular and chaotic, which leads to irritable bowel syndrome. A person has frequent pain, periodically there is an urge to stool or constipation.
5. Heaviness and bloating after eating occurs with colitis, chronic pancreatitis, enteritis, gastritis. Moreover, it will turn out to determine some ailments on your own. For example, if the stomach swells after eating, then this usually indicates the presence of gastritis or pancreatitis.
6. Bloating and gas after eating appear due to intestinal dysbacteriosis. The large intestine normally contains beneficial microbes, as they serve as a defense against harmful microbes. If the protective properties are reduced, foreign microbes appear in the intestines with their own methods of digesting food (rotting and fermentation), which leads to the formation of gases.
7. Often this phenomenon torments during pregnancy. Earlyterms, this is due to the high content of progesterone, with which not only the muscles of the uterus relax, but also the motor function of the intestines and stomach decreases. In the 3rd trimester, this occurs due to a noticeable increase in the uterus.
8. Another cause is considered to be congenital deficiency of digestive enzymes, eating disorders, gastrointestinal diseases.
9. This may be due to constipation, when the body consumes little fiber or does not drink enough liquid to facilitate regular bowel movements.

In addition to these ailments, bloating after eating occurs due to blockage of the urinary tract, diverticulitis, appendicitis, ulcers, gallstone disease. Only a doctor can determine the type of illness.

Persistent bloating

If bloating after eating is persistent, what is causing it? This is usually associated with a disease. This symptom often occurs when:

• cirrhosis of the liver;
• peritoneal;
• pancreatitis;
• dysbacteriosis;
• hepatoma.

Provoking factors for he althy people include:

1. Incorrect food intake, swallowing large portions with insufficient chewing.
2. Eating starchy foods.
3. Love for sweets and starchy foods.
4. Consumption of soda.

It will be possible to eliminate increased gas formation after treating the underlying disease or correcting your diet. And for this you need a consultation with a specialist.

Foods that cause bloating

Bloating, belching after eating comes frommultiple products. These include:

1. Beans. Although they are often called superfoods that are great substitutes for meat, beans and lentils can lead to discomfort. This is due to the presence of difficult to digest oligosaccharides. To reduce the effect, soak and rinse before cooking.
2. Vegetables from the cruciferous family. These are cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower. These vegetables have raffinose, which is poorly digested until it reaches the large intestine. This situation calls for yogurt, which will increase the growth of good bacteria in the colon and reduce post-meal bloating.
3. Dairy products. They contain a lot of lactose and with intolerance to this component, digestive problems may occur. Intolerance means that the body does not have the necessary enzymes that are required for the normal digestion of dairy products. In this case, you need to exclude them from the diet.
4. Whole grains. Fiber-rich foods are not only good for the heart and he alth. They can be a problem for some people. For bloating, eat whole grains in moderation.
5. Artificial sweeteners. Such components usually lead to bloating due to the fact that they cannot be digested completely. It is advisable to avoid products with artificial sweeteners, as they contain many unnatural chemical components that lead to stomach irritation.
6. Soda drinks. They accumulate gases and increase bloating. Do not drink soda through a straw becausethis increases the amount of air, increases discomfort and microflora.

The exclusion of these products will get rid of many digestive problems. But meat will be useful - veal, chicken, turkey. From dairy products you need to eat hard cheeses, yogurts. The diet should include rice, vegetables, fruits, which must be subjected to heat treatment. From drinks you need to use herbal teas - from mint, chamomile, St. John's wort. Restoring the diet will improve the condition of the person as a whole.

Symptoms

When bloating after eating, the appearance is likely:

• feelings of fullness and heaviness;
• aching pain or colic in different parts of the abdomen.

Intestinal colic usually disappears after passing flatus. In this case, there may be nausea, constipation or diarrhea, not quite a pleasant aftertaste or smell in the mouth, loss of appetite, belching.

You need to see a doctor if this phenomenon shows the following problems:

• severe and prolonged abdominal pain;
• nausea;
• blood in stool;
• weight loss;
• increase in temperature;
• chest pain.

Prolonged digestive disorders, in which strong gas formation is observed, are accompanied by symptoms of intoxication - general weakness, insomnia, malaise, irritability, depression, headaches, heart rhythm disturbances, shortness of breath.

Diagnosis

Before you establish how to treat bloating and heaviness of the abdomenafter eating, it is necessary to undergo an examination and establish the causes. Attention should be paid to nutrition and the mode of eating. This is to determine which foods lead to strong gas formation.

Then the doctor provides directions for the necessary procedures. Usually required to turn in and pass:

• bile research;
• study of gastric juice;
• fecal analysis;
• bacterial fecal analysis;
• ultrasound examination of the digestive system.

According to the received diagnostic information and the severity of signs of flatulence, a course of treatment is established. This should be established by a specialist, that is, a doctor.

Treatment

When bloating after eating what to do? As with any other ailment, it is necessary to eliminate the causes that lead to strong gas formation. Helps appointment:

• correction nutrition;
• treatment of the underlying ailment;
• restoration of motor function;
• treatment of intestinal microflora imbalance;
• remove accumulated gases.

At home, it is necessary to normalize the diet. It is important to remove from the diet foods that emit a lot of gases during digestion. This applies to cabbage, legumes, rice, whole milk. Whole grain bread, fermented milk products, fresh vegetables and fruits should be consumed.

You need to exercise every day and walk at least 3 km a day. In the absence of organ diseases, thisthe program allows you to eliminate bloating and gas after eating.

If it's all about intestinal dysbacteriosis, gastritis, ulcers or enterocolitis, then you need to treat the disease itself, which initiates flatulence. Flatulence, which appears due to chronic pancreatitis, that is, from a deficiency of pancreatic enzymes, is eliminated by drugs with these enzymes.

Pills

Severe bloating after eating is treated at home with drugs:

1. Activated charcoal, produced in the form of tablets. With flatulence, the drug is taken before meals, 1-3 pcs. Children under 7 years old require 1-2 tablets. Wash down with boiled water.
2. "Espumizan" and other drugs with simethicone. The medicine is taken in the form of capsules or emulsion, 2-3 times during meals. "Espumizan" is also used to relieve a rare accumulation of gases in the intestines, which occurs due to a violation of the diet, after operations and with constipation.
3. Tablets "White Coal" are based on dietary fiber. They are able to absorb toxins and gases. They should be taken before meals, 1-2 pcs.

It must be taken into account that all of these intestinal adsorbents are agents with increased activity that collect gases, but the main cause of flatulence is not solved with them. Therefore, these tablets should be used only for symptomatic treatment, in violation of the diet: overeating, poisoning, consumption of dairy products, when lactose deficiency is detected.

The indicated situations are notare considered chronic, and flatulence is only an unpleasant symptom, eliminated by tablets from bloating and gas formation after eating. But before that, you still need to consult a specialist.

Folk remedies

From pain and bloating after eating, you can get rid of traditional medicine:

1. Decoction of parsley. We need the fruits of the plant (20 g), which are poured with warm water (1 cup). Steam for half an hour and cool. Strain and consume should be 1 tbsp. l. 4-5 times a day.
2. Dill water. You will need dry seeds (1 tablespoon) and boiling water (1 cup). After 1-2 hours, strain and consume ¼ cup 2-3 times a day.
3. Decoction of wormwood. Dry grass (1 tsp) is poured with boiling water (1 cup). Infusion is performed for half an hour, and then it is necessary to strain, cool and take 1 tbsp. l. 3 times daily before meals.

If bloating immediately after eating is not due to malnutrition, but is considered a consequence of an illness, then the cause of flatulence is required to be treated after consulting a doctor.

What should I add to my diet?

The menu should include foods that restore intestinal motility: boiled and baked vegetables and fruits, wheat bread (coarse grinding), fermented milk products, buckwheat and millet porridge.

There is a special diet to prevent excess gas formation:

1. For breakfast you need cereal porridge, cottage cheese dessert, sour cream, prunes.
2. We need muesli for the second breakfastwith juice.
3. For dinner, you should prepare carrot puree with boiled turkey, broth and unsweetened tea.
4. For an afternoon snack you need to bake an apple or cook buckwheat porridge and steam meatballs.
5. For dinner, you should drink fat-free yogurt (200 ml.).

Therapeutic exercise

Physiotherapy exercises will help get rid of bloating. Moreover, this method does not require medication:

1. Bicycle. You need to lie on your back. Legs must be bent at the knees and raised above the floor. Perform motions similar to riding a bicycle.
2. Tilts. It is necessary to stand up straight, put your feet shoulder-width apart. You should lean forward alternately - to the left and right legs. Repeat the exercise in 3 sets of 20 times.
3. You need to lie on your stomach, on the floor. You should bend in the lumbar spine and take emphasis on your hands.
4. Boat. The starting position should not be changed. You have to lie on your stomach. The arms are extended over the head. You need to alternately raise the torso with arms, and then with legs.

Massage

Such procedures can also eliminate this unpleasant symptom. First, you should feel the liver. Heterogeneous formations or an enlarged organ are signs that require medical attention. In these cases, massage should not be performed. Gas plugs should not be removed if there is pain or discomfort at the site of the caecum. There are other features of the massage:

1. We need to find a place where gases accumulate. Sometimes there are several of these sites.
2. If the pain is cutting, you need the iliac zone. With a smallwhen pressed, a dull sound with belching sounds. A prolapsed stomach should not be massaged.
3. Then you need to find the bottom air plug. From its lower part, in a circular motion, massage the intestine a little to remove the plug.
4. When hardened, stool is present. This plug is skipped but massaged underneath.

Fecal and air plugs accumulate in the intestines, so it is necessary to examine the course of the intestines from below. Massaging is performed from the free part, heading to the top. Clusters should not be forcibly de alt with, as such a massage is dangerous. Treatment must be chosen carefully.

In newborns

Bloating occurs in 50% of children. The cause is considered physiological dysbacteriosis. The intestinal microflora in babies is not formed, putrefactive bacteria form gases that are not promptly eliminated from the intestines, since their motor function is not entirely perfect.

Signs of bloating in babies include:

• whims;
• refusing food;
• knocking feet and pulling them to the stomach;
• face reddening.

A little abdominal massage will help: movements should be performed clockwise. The baby should be put on his stomach on a heated diaper. Then he should be given a means to remove gases ("Espumizan", "Bebinos"). A gas outlet tube is used, the tip of which is treated with petroleum jelly and inserted into the anus for 15 minutes. If you still have a fever, diarrhea, then you need a medicalhelp. The specialist will prescribe first aid.

Prevention

There are no special preventive measures against bloating. People need to follow simple rules. Among them:

• exclusion of bad habits;
• following an active lifestyle;
• following dietary recommendations;
• taking prescription medication;
• exclusion of stress.

Since this symptom is considered a manifestation of a disease of the digestive system, it is advisable to undergo examinations by a gastroenterologist more often. This will prevent the appearance and development of many ailments.