Symptoms and treatment of flatulence in adults and children
Increased gas formation, which leads to flatulence, is called flatulence. Often, a diet for flatulence and flatulence helps to get rid of these unpleasant phenomena, without using medication. But in many cases, a doctor's intervention is necessary, since flatulence can often accompany serious organic pathologies of the digestive system.
Causes of pathology. Products that cause flatulence
Increased production of biological gases that do not have time to leave the gastrointestinal tract naturally is not a separate disease, but a symptom that can manifest itself in a number of pathologies of the gastrointestinal tract. It is no coincidence that one of the most common questions at an appointment with a gastroenterologist is how to quickly get rid of severe flatulence?
One of the most common causes of flatulence is the use of:
- food that stimulates gas formation - it includes almost all legumes, cabbage, apples (especially sweet varieties), highly carbonated drinks (and mineral water);
- foods that cause fermentation in the intestines are black bread and products made on its basis (kvass), beer, lean meat;
- dairy products if they are not absorbed by the intestine (due to lactose intolerance);
- mineral water with a high titer of organic substances.
Organic causes of flatulence can be failures in the production of biological gases, which are observed in a number of diseases and conditions. The most common:
- acute and chronic inflammatory processes in various parts of the gastrointestinal tract (pancreatitis, enteritis, colitis, enterocolitis);
- dysbacteriosis;
- infectious intestinal damage;
- parasitic invasion (helminthiasis);
- a mechanical obstacle to the release of gases - in particular, intestinal obstruction.
Knowledge of the causes of flatulence in a particular patient is important for treatment - yes, activated charcoal will not help with flatulence if intestinal obstruction with gas retention has developed.
Inorganic disorders that provoke flatulence
Flatulence can also occur as a functional disorder without organic damage to the gastrointestinal tract (due to an accidental violation of dietary nutrition or the use of products that increase gas formation).Diseases and conditions that are not directly related to changes in the gastrointestinal tract can lead to this pathology. For example:
- late pregnancy, when the enlarged uterus with the fetus presses on the loop of the intestine. How to treat flatulence during pregnancy in women is a common problem;
- neurotic states, as a result of which the nervous regulation of the intestine is disturbed.
Symptoms of increased gas production
Symptoms of flatulence are very indicative and do not require special diagnostic analysis. These symptoms include:
- abdominal bloating;
- weakening (or complete absence) of gas emissions;
- severe spasm-like pains throughout the abdomen.
On examination, the abdomen is distended, on palpation, its wall is tense, but painless, on percussion - a sound, as when tapping on a drum, on auscultation - increased peristaltic noises.
Pronounced abdominal pain in irritable bowel syndrome (functional intestinal pathology) should be distinguished from pain that occurs in flatulence caused by organic damage to the gastrointestinal tract (ulcerative colitis, intestinal obstruction). Differential diagnosis can be carried out with the help of instrumental methods of examination, which will allow to detect organic pathology. For this purpose, the following are used:
- fibrogastroduodenoscopy (probe examination with optics of the stomach, duodenum and the initial part of the jejunum);
- colonoscopy (examination of the large intestine with a probe with optics);
- irigoscopy (X-ray examination of the large intestine with the use of a contrast agent).
Symptoms of increased flatulence, manifested from the gastrointestinal tract, may be accompanied by a deterioration of the patient's general condition, since biological gases, when retained in the body, cause a kind of self-poisoning. In particular, the following are observed:
- deterioration of well-being;
- headaches;
- increased fatigue;
- decrease in working capacity.
Flatulence does not cause particularly sad consequences and does not provoke critical conditions, but it can cause a feeling of pronounced discomfort.
Treatment. Diet for flatulence and flatulence
Treatment of flatulence in adults and children should begin with the elimination of the causes that cause increased gas formation in the intestine. Flatulence in most cases is associated with taking products that stimulate the production of biological gases, so they should be excluded from the diet - at least until the symptoms of flatulence stop, but better permanently if the body is prone to flatulence.
Medications for flatulence after meals help at once, but do not eliminate the tendency of the intestine to increased gas formation, and even more so do not treat diseases that are accompanied by flatulence. If the cause of flatulence is organic disease (intestinal obstruction due to tumor, ulcerative process), it is necessary to apply pathognomonic treatment. If increased gas formation is caused by an organic pathology, still products that cause flatulence should be excluded from the diet.
The following drugs are used for the symptomatic treatment of flatulence:
- absorbents (absorb gases);
- ventilants (improve the removal of gases in a natural way).
In order to normalize the digestion process and prevent fermentation in the intestine, enzyme preparations are used.
If the child has a bloated stomach, the mother should not rush to stuff it with medicinal products or forcefully drink herbal decoctions. With intestinal colic, such a simple remedy for flatulence in children as a light massage of the abdomen often helps. You can also put a gas tube, which will greatly facilitate the removal of gases from the intestine. Often, the symptoms of flatulence go away if you exclude some types of complementary foods from the child's diet. Medicines for constant flatulence in an infant should be prescribed only by a doctor.
You can read more about how to treat flatulence on our website https://dobrobut.com .
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