Medical Questions » Stomach Questions » Question No. 954
| Question: | I am always burping, and it' s sometimes very embarrassing. I don' t seem to be able to stop it. Why do some people burp more than others? |
| Answer: | Burping is bringing up air or gas from the stomach into the mouth. That air has to get in to the stomach in the first place to be burped, and in the vast majority of cases, it gets in by being swallowed.
People who eat quickly tend to swallow air with their food. If you are nervous, before an exam or interview etc., you may swallow air as a sign of anxiety. If you drink fizzy liquids such as lemonade or beer, you will take gas in to the stomach. If small amounts of gas are swallowed, it will move on into the gut to be absorbed or passed through the anus as flatus. Otherwise, excess gas tries to escape by going up and out through the mouth.
This is not as easy as it seems because there is a muscular valve at the top of the stomach that stops the food and acid in the stomach from running back up the gullet into the mouth when you bend or lie down. Only when sufficient pressure builds up, or you are able to relax the muscular valve yourself, can the air escape, causing the often unexpected and embarrassing explosion. When the gas escapes, it may take small amounts of acid and food with it, causing heartburn or nausea at the same time.
Eating slowly, sipping water between mouthfuls and using antacids are the main methods of treatment.
|
|
|
