AEROPHAGIA

Causes

Normal aerophagia

After a large meal, aerophagia constitutes, within certain limits, a physiological event, due to the swallowing of saliva and the introduction of food and drink.

Under normal conditions, about 70% of the air present in the intestine comes from swallowing, 20% diffuses from the bloodstream and only 10% is linked to bacterial fermentation of undigested organic residues. The elimination of these gases is entrusted to blood reabsorption, belching (aerophagia) and flatulence. For this reason, aerophagia is often a contributing cause of meteorism and flatulence.

Pathological aerophagia

When it is not physiological, aerophagia assumes pathological characteristics that recognize numerous predisposing conditions. At the origin of the problem, psychic disturbances (anxious states with aerophagic tics), organic affections affecting the digestive and biliary tracts (peptic ulcer, gastroduodenitis, cholecystopathies, etc.) or, during pregnancy, hormonal changes associated with pressure stimuli exerted by the fetus.

Aerophagia can also appear in the processes of chronic rhinitis and sinusitis, due to the swallowing of large quantities of saliva.

Hiatal hernia, irritable bowel syndrome, xerostomia (dry mouth) or sialorrhea (abundant salivation), excess smoking and the use of unsuitable dental prostheses can also promote the onset of the disorder. In many cases, "aerophagia is the" inevitable consequence of bad eating habits, such as the habitual and excessive use of carbonated drinks, bicarbonate and chewingum, or the tendency to hastily consume various meals (tachiphagy).

Symptoms

In addition to the classic symptoms of aerophagia (belching, abdominal tension, borborygma and increased flatulence), the increase in the gastric air bubble can cause diffuse retrosternal pain, difficult to distinguish from the anginal attack (the onset of a profound sense of chest tightness can be misinterpreted as a heart attack).
In particularly anxious patients with impaired gastric extension tolerance, aerophagia can cause acute stomach dilation, followed by suffocation, anxiety, tachycardia and hyperventilation.

Cures and Remedies

The treatment of aerophagia differs according to the etiological agent that supports it.
When too abundant meals are consumed, rich in sugars and more complex nutrients (fats, fibers and proteins), the digestion times increase and the forced permanence of sugars inside the gastric sac gives rise to fermentations associated with swelling and acidity of In this case, herbal medicine can help us, thanks to herbal preparations based on lemon balm, mint, fibrin clover, caraway, holy thistle, coriander and horsetail ash. When aerophagia is sustained by bad eating habits, it is necessary to re-evaluate the role of good chewing, a requirement as simple as it is basic for promoting digestive processes.

If the urge to swallow air empty is linked to unconscious states or nervous tics, it may be useful to resort to psychotherapy, possibly associated with anxiolytic drugs. The doctor should prohibit the use of medicines capable of increasing salivary secretions, in favor of others that counteract the hypersalivation. When the aerophagia is caused by the opposite problem (dry mouth), in all probability the disorder is of psychological origin and finds relief in the use of anxiolytics.