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Secrets to Gas Control
Gas -- as in excess gas, the kind that escapes without warning from your gastrointestinal tract -- is a fact of life. But it's often an uncomfortable, downright humiliating one.
By itself, excessive gas is unpredictable, annoying, and has the potential to ruin a good dinner party, first date, graduation, wedding, or other celebrations. And when it accompanies diarrhea, it can be a double whammy, leaving you feeling bloated – and embarrassed.
Never mind that it's a universal problem."We all pass gas, even people who don't admit to it," says Lawrence Kosinski, MD, a gastroenterologist in Chicago and a spokesperson for the American Gastroenterological Association.
"People are really disturbed by gas," says Vicky Hertig, RN, PhD, a lecturer at the University of Washington, Seattle, who has researched the topic. "They feel bloated, they feel gassy. Especially women. They feel uncomfortable, not pretty."
But as bad as gas makes you feel, it’s usually not dangerous. Typically, "the passage of gas is nothing someone has to go to the doctor for," Kosinski says, especially since there are a number measures you can take to get gas relief. Of course, anyone who is extremely bothered by chronic gas should see his doctor, who can prescribe lifestyle measures or perhaps medication and rule out any serious reasons for the problem.
For mildly annoying cases of gas, what should you know and what can you do? WebMD rounded up three experts who share their secrets to gas control. Find out how much gas is too much, and how to make simple changes to keep it in check -- including some surprises about what's really at the bottom of all that flatulence.
How Much Gas Is Too Much?
"Everyone has different levels of sensitivity to gas," says Harry Aslanian, MD, an associate professor of gastroenterology at the Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, Conn.
And while there's no "normal" amount, the average adult passes about a pint a day, he says. That means passing gas about 14 times a day, other experts estimate.
Gas Control: Analysis
The first thing you have to decide before getting control of your gas problem is whether it's an "inside" problem or an "outside" problem, says Kosinski.
"Is the gas coming from outside, because you are swallowing [too much air]?" he asks. Or do you have a nervous habit of continual swallowing, maybe due to loose dentures? People who are overly stressed sometimes swallow too much air, Kosinski says. And that air makes its way down the entire gastrointestinal tract, gassing up your lower half. Smokers tend to swallow more air, too.
Or is your painful gas mainly an inside job, thanks to what you eat – or even chew, including gum?
Either way, you can get control.
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