Bloating

Description

Bloating is any abnormal general swelling, or increase in diameter of the abdominal area. As a symptom, the patient feels a full and tight abdomen, which may cause abdominal pain. sometimes accompanied by borborygmus. Bloating may have several causes, the most common being accumulation of liquids and intestinal gas. Ascites is the proper medical term for abdominal bloating caused by excessive accumulation of liquid inside the cavity.

Causes

Common causes for abdominal bloating are:

Overeating (gastric distension)
Lactose intolerance, fructose intolerance and other food intolerances
Food allergy
Aerophagia (air swallowing, a nervous habit)
Alvarez' syndrome, hysterical or neurotic abdominal bloating without excess of gas in the digestive tract
Irritable bowel syndrome
Partial bowel obstruction
Gastric dumping syndrome or rapid gastric emptying
The ingestion of some gas-producing foods
Constipation
Splenic-flexure syndrome
Menstruation, dysmenorrhea and premenstrual stress syndrome
Polycystic ovary syndrome and ovarian cysts
Massive infestation with intestinal parasites, such as worms (e.g, Ascaris lumbricoides)
Diverticulosis
Important but uncommon causes of abdominal bloating include large intra-abdominal tumors, such as those arising from ovarian, liver, uterus and stomach cancer; and megacolon, an abnormal dilation of the colon, due to some diseases, such as Chagas disease, a parasitic infection.

Bloating Treatment

Increase the amount of fluid you drink, especially water. Avoid carbonated drinks and alcoholic beverages.

Avoid foods that cause gas, such as beans, broccoli, cabbage, and bran. The amount of gas that different foods cause varies from person to person.

Avoid swallowing air. Swallowing air may increase your symptoms.

Eat slowly. Avoid gulping food or beverages. When you rush through meals or eat on the run, you are more likely to swallow air.

Chew your food thoroughly before you swallow.

Avoid drinking through a straw.

Avoid chewing gum or eating hard candy.

Do not smoke or use other tobacco products.

If you wear dentures, check with a dentist to make sure they fit properly.

Keep calm. Tension and anxiety can cause you to swallow air.

Take a medicine that you can buy without a prescription. Be sure to follow the instructions on the label.

Activated charcoal tablets, such as CharcoCaps, may decrease odor from gas. Charcoal is usually taken after meals or at the first sign of gas discomfort.

Antacids, such as Di-Gel, Maalox Anti-Gas, and Mylanta Gas, allow gas to be belched away more easily. However, these medicines often have no effect on gas that is already in the intestines.

Food enzymes, such as Beano, which help break down the sugars found in vegetables and grains, can be added to foods that cause you to have gas.

Gaseous bloating may be a consequence of cardiopulmonary resuscitation procedures, due to the artificial mouth-to-mouth insuflation of air.

Postmortem bloating occurs in cadavers, due to the formation of gases by bacterial action and putrefaction of the internal tissues of the abdomen and the inside the intestines.

In some animals, like cats, dogs and cattle, gastric dilatation-volvulus, or bloat also occurs when gas is trapped inside the stomach and a gastric torsion or volvulus prevents it from escaping.