Many people are familiar firsthand with such a nuisance as air in the stomach. This is a fairly common pathology. Very few people, unfortunately, pay attention to such a problem. This physiological process in medical practice refers to functional disorders of the gastrointestinal system and is called "aerophagia" in scientific terminology. Aerophagia is manifested by uncomfortable sensations in the upper gastric regions, unpleasant fullness of the digestive organ.
The pathology development mechanism is as follows: due to excessive swallowing of air or increased gas formation in the stomach, intragastric pressure increases, which causes the muscles of the organ to simultaneously contract. In this case, the cardiac sphincter relaxes, but the pylorus contracts.
Characteristic symptoms of air in the stomach are bad breath and belching. Swallowing too much oxygenor excessive gas formation of the stomach can cause a lot of inconvenience to a person, ignoring the problem can lead to the most unpleasant consequences.
Causes of pathology
Let's take a closer look at the causes of air in the stomach. Swallowing it when eating is a fairly characteristic sign that plays a positive role for the proper functioning of the digestive tract. Thanks to the air, favorable pressure in the stomach is ensured. But some people may take in excess air with their food, more than is necessary to maintain gastric he alth. In such a situation, the pressure inside the stomach of a child or adult rises, causing a whole range of different ailments. For example, excess air can cause bloating or flatulence.
Why air collects in the stomach is interesting to many.
It must be said about the presence of belching. The human body, in which air has accumulated, can eventually release it through the mouth. Air leaving the stomach through the mouth is characteristic of any person, but he althy people do not pay attention to such a process, since it does not have any obvious features. The presence of belching indicates that the body is experiencing pathological perturbations during this period.
There are two types of burps:
- One-time - noted after eating a specific dish that causes unpleasant consequences. In this case, you should pay attention to your diet and exclude products from it,contributing to the occurrence of belching in humans.
- Constant is the main symptom of the development of aerophagia, as it occurs after almost every meal. When such a pathology appears, you should immediately go to a medical institution, where they will prescribe the necessary treatment, prescribe medicines. An integral part of therapy is adherence to a strict diet.
The presence of an unpleasant odor from the oral cavity is a symptom of aerophagia, associated primarily with belching, which provokes the appearance of pathology. Stomach pain, bloating, or other uncomfortable sensations call into question the presence of aerophagia.
Types of Aerophagia
Like most other diseases, aerophagia has no precisely established causes of pathology. That is why a classification has been developed in medicine, covering various reasons for the appearance of air in the stomach.
Currently there are three types of pathology:
- Neurological aerophagia, which, as its name implies, occurs due to prolonged nervous disorders and nervous breakdowns. It must be said that the neurological type of the disease is widespread in the world.
- Traditional aerophagia - occurs as a result of other diseases, such as ulcers, gastritis. The causes may also be pathologies of the oral cavity, respiratory tract, heart and other processes of inflammation.
- Causal aerophagia occurs sporadically. It can be caused by various bad habits, accompanied by the ingestion of large amounts of saliva or air.
What causes air in the stomach after eating?
Food
Very often, an improper diet causes the emergence and development of a wide range of pathologies, and not only the digestive tract. The most common foods that cause an excessive feeling of air in the stomach have been identified by experts. These include:
- carbonated soft drinks;
- buns and bread;
- champagne;
- fruit;
- cabbage;
- legumes;
- chewing gum.
All of the listed products produce gases when ingested. That is why the abuse of such food and drinks can cause air in the stomach.
Other causes of pathology
There is a whole list of other reasons, which are a kind of habits that provoke increased gas formation in the human body. For example, smoking after eating has a negative effect on the stomach in the following ways. First of all, additional air is swallowed during smoking. In addition, nicotine has a negative effect on the stomach, which causes belching and pain.
The process of eating and digesting it in the body must be treated very carefully, since trouble can lie in wait for any person even when there are no prerequisites. Taking a bath immediately after eating increases blood flow in the extremities due to a decrease in current in the gastric region. Those who like to sleep right after eating should also beon the alert, as the body slows down the digestive process during sleep, resulting in discomfort.
There are several more causes of pathology:
- talking while eating;
- quick eating;
- too much food;
- do sports after meals;
- second trimester of childbearing.
Due to all these reasons, excess air enters the human stomach, so you need to be responsible and attentive to the process of eating and refrain from certain activities immediately after eating.
Gas as a symptom of disease
Excess air in the stomach after eating may indicate the presence of certain diseases in the body.
This phenomenon is often observed with inflammation of the mucous membrane of the organ, which develops against the background of the following he alth problems:
- peptic ulcer;
- functioning of Helicobacter Pilori bacteria, i.e. gastritis;
- esophageal hernia;
- Zenker's diverticulum;
- reflux esophagitis;
- esophageal scleroderma;
- achalasia cardia;
- pyloric stenosis;
- diseases of the cardiovascular system (angina pectoris, myocardial infarction, etc.);
- pathologies of the gallbladder and liver (pancreatitis, cholecystitis, cirrhosis, etc.).
There is also neurotic aerophagia, in which the patient voluntarily swallows a large amount of air, regardless of the physicalactivity, bad habits or food intake. Its symptoms are aggravated by stress and emotional tension.
Air in the stomach and a lump in the throat often accompany each other.
Symptoms
You need to pay attention to the signs that occur with a pathology such as aerophagia. If one of the following symptoms appears, it is recommended to visit a gastroenterologist. Characteristic signs of air in the stomach are:
- feeling bloated;
- constant belching, lump in throat after every meal;
- tingling in the area of the heart;
- feeling oxygen deficient while breathing;
- flatulence;
- abdominal rumbling accompanied by restlessness and discomfort;
- stomach pains of various nature.
In order not to undergo an unpleasant pathology, it is necessary to pay attention to the existing preventive measures. Naturally, for a he althy person, permanent dietary restrictions are not the most pleasant option, given how much delicious food there is in the world. Therefore, you need to refrain from unwanted foods and get rid of bad habits as much as possible, instilling he althy ones in parallel.
How to get rid of pain and air in the stomach?
Treatment
First of all, the correct therapy of aerophagia is determined by the cause of the onset and further development of the pathology. An important point is that if the disease is caused by disorders of the nervous system, treatment should be carried out undermedical supervision in accordance with all instructions. In such a situation, self-medication can worsen the patient's condition, adversely affecting his he alth.
Causal aerophagia can be cured independently at home, because it is episodic and by and large is not a disease as such. Those patients who suffer from this type of ailment need to be careful about compiling their diet, not to eat foods that cause excessive gas formation and further belching. For a while, you should completely abandon any carbonated drinks, exclude chewing gums that contribute to the release of excess saliva.
To eliminate this pathology, you need to exclude physical activity immediately after eating. In addition, immediately after eating it is undesirable to drink water or tea. This also has a negative effect on the body, and therefore it is advisable to wait a while after eating (from half an hour), leaving a cup of tea for this period of time.
In general, all the habits that adversely affect the activity of the gastrointestinal tract, outlined above, should be strived to eliminate and not forget about their negative impact.
After a short time of abstinence from unwanted habits, the aerophagy of the causal type of the patient will no longer bother. The most important thing is not to provoke your body into excessive gas formation in the future.
How else to get rid of the accumulation of air in the stomach?
Treatment withusing medication
Naturally, the best way to get rid of any disease is to contact medical institutions to the appropriate specialists. However, aerophagia can be treated with drugs that can be bought and taken without a prescription. Activated carbon or "Smekta" do an excellent job with the task. It is advisable to take these drugs during overeating. In addition, doctors advise magnesium as an adjunct therapeutic method.
Simethicone successfully copes with gas formation, which affects the intestinal and gastric walls, reduces the formation of gases and stabilizes the activity of the gastrointestinal tract. To artificially break down non-absorbable carbohydrates found in foods, you can take dietary supplements with enzymes.
The accumulation of gastric air thus becomes an unpleasant pathology that can develop on the basis of another disease or cause excessive gas formation in the human body. If treatment is started on time, it will be possible to get rid of such a disease with minimal financial resources and in a short time. If self-therapy does not give the desired effect, a rational decision would be to visit a doctor who will choose the right treatment course for each patient individually.
How to get rid of air in the stomach using folk methods?
Folk ways
Traditional medicine also has its own methods of dealing with such a pathology in patients. Heradherents recommend drinking onion juice, which improves the functioning of the stomach. To this end, you need to squeeze the juice of one large onion, mix it with beet juice in a ratio of 1: 1, add a few drops of lemon juice. The resulting composition in the amount of thirty milliliters is diluted in half a glass of warm water and taken three times a day before meals.
The activity of the gastrointestinal tract will be able to establish herbal infusions and decoctions. The undoubted leaders are ginger, mint leaves, lemon balm, fennel. Quite effective is an infusion of eucalyptus leaves (one spoon per five hundred milliliters of boiling water), it must be drunk twice a day. A simple and accessible parsley will save you from the air in the stomach: fresh herbs are chopped and boiled for eight hours, then taken throughout the day as desired.
Possible consequences
Such a pathology as accumulation of air in the stomach or aerophagia is not always harmless, as it may seem. The danger of the disease lies in the fact that the air accumulated in the stomach begins to put pressure on the internal organs located in the neighborhood. In turn, this will definitely affect the cardiovascular system. In addition, the combination of aerophagia with other symptoms may indicate the presence and progression of certain diseases.
The worst thing is excessive gas formation during pregnancy. Accumulated gases that provoke a feeling of fullness in the stomach can cause frozenpregnancy or miscarriage.
Such cases are rare in medicine, but the risk is still not necessary. In the first trimester, the appearance of pathology is a rather rare occurrence, in the second and third it affects every second woman, and this is scary and painful for her. The consequence of negligent attitude to he alth is harm to the formed baby. A timely visit to the doctor will help prevent negative consequences.
We examined such a pathology as excessive accumulation of air in the stomach. Causes and treatment are described.
