Belching

Belching is the noisy expulsion of gases from the stomach through the mouth.

, when it becomes excessive, belching is a typical manifestation of aerophagia (abnormal swallowing of air). For this reason, it mainly affects people who make extensive use of carbonated drinks and chewing gum, drink through a straw, smoke or tend to eat hastily and talk a lot during meals. The presence of a reduced number of teeth (hypodontia) and excessive secretion of saliva (sialorrhea) can also increase the amount of air swallowed.

Within certain limits, belching is a completely physiological phenomenon; just think that normally 70% of intestinal air comes from swallowing, 20% diffuses from the blood and only the remaining 10% is produced by the local microflora.

Disorders Associated with Aerophagia

Ingesting too much air during meals - in addition to causing characteristic violent belching episodes - can cause abdominal cramps and widespread tension. The increase in the gastric bubble during a large meal can even cause stabbing pain in the chest, similar to that caused by angina pectoris. Most commonly, it is accompanied by nausea, a feeling of heaviness in the stomach and hiccups.

Dyspepsia

Belching is often associated with indigestion; in these cases it is the patient himself who seeks relief by voluntarily ingesting air to encourage belching. In reality, the amount of air introduced is always higher than that emitted, which is why this practice ends up expanding the walls of the stomach even more, triggering a vicious circle between aerophagia and belching. Voluntary aerophagia is also used following the surgical removal of the larynx (usually due to the presence of cancer), to be able to speak using the gastric air instead of the pulmonary one.

Dyspepsia

Excessive belching can also be related to the presence of

gastric ulcers, gastritis, hiatal hernia and more generally gastroesophageal reflux. In these cases, however, it is associated with symptoms such as nausea, dyspepsia, retrosternal burning (due to the rise of the acid content in the esophagus) and abdominal pain.

Medicines

Some drugs used in the treatment of diabetes, such as metformin, can cause belching, especially if taken in high doses; pressure exerted by the fetus during pregnancy can also cause similar problems.

advises against consuming foods rich in simple sugars in association with sources of starch, fiber or protein, as these could ferment in the stomach, slow digestion and cause - among other things - even the unwelcome belching).

See also: Medicines for the Treatment of Aerophagia