Flatulence (Gas)

Take the Tummy Trouble Quiz Digestive Disease Myths Slideshow Pictures Heartburn? Foods to Eat, Foods to Avoid Slideshow

• Flatulence (Gas) Overview
• Flatulence (Gas) Causes
• Flatulence (Gas) Symptoms
• When to Seek Medical Care
• Exams and Tests
• Flatulence (Gas) Treatment
• Self-Care at Home
• Medical Treatment
• Medications
• Next Steps
• For More Information
• Web Links
• Synonyms and Keywords
• Authors and Editors
• Viewer Comments: Intestinal Gas - Effective Treatments
• Viewer Comments: Intestinal Gas Pain - Causes

Flatulence (Gas) Overview

Everyone has it. Most people think they have too much of it. And passing gas in the wrong place at the wrong time can cause great embarrassment.

Flatulence is the state of having excessive stomach or intestinal gas. This can result in uncomfortable feelings of bloating, as well as increased belching (burping) or passing of gas from the rectum.

Most people produce about 1-3 pints a day and pass gas about 14 times a day. Flatulence itself, although not life threatening, can definitely cause social embarrassment. This embarrassment is often the reason why you might seek medical help for excessive gas.

• History has numerous anecdotal accounts of flatulence, including Hippocrates himself professing, "Passing gas is necessary to well-being." The Roman Emperor Claudius equally decreed that "all Roman citizens shall be allowed to pass gas whenever necessary." Unfortunately for flatulent Romans, however, Emperor Constantine later reversed this decision in a 315 BC edict.
  
  
• In the mid-1800s flatulence took center stage with the French entertainer Joseph Pugol ("Le Petomane"). Pugol was able to pass gas at will and at varying pitch, thereby playing tunes for sold-out shows at the Moulin Rouge. Such was his success that lesser competitors began to appear, including the Spaniard "El Rey" and the female Angele Thiebeau (later revealed as a fake using hidden air bellows).
  
  
• More recently, flatulence was immortalized by Mel Brooks in the movie Blazing Saddles with his bean-eating cowboys.

• Nonetheless, if you are concerned about excess gas, it is not a laughing matter. It is a medical concern that you will want to talk about with your health care provider.

• The primary components of gas (known as flatus, pronounced FLAY-tuss) are 5 odorless gases: nitrogen, hydrogen, carbon dioxide, methane, and oxygen.

• The characteristic odor is attributed to trace gases such as skatole, indole, and sulfur-containing compounds.
  
  
• The flammable character of flatus is caused by hydrogen and methane. The proportions of these gases depend largely on the bacteria that live in the human colon that digest, or ferment, food that has not been absorbed by the gastrointestinal (GI) tract before reaching the colon.

• An estimated 30-150 grams of this undigested food reach the colon in the form of carbohydrate every day. But this amount can vary with diet and how well your GI tract is functioning. The unpleasant odor often associated with flatus is generally attributed to trace sulfur-containing compounds, produced only by particular bacteria not found in everyone.