Causes, symptoms and treatment of flatulence in adults and children. The role of diet

Flatulence is an increased flatulence that causes bloating. Often, a diet for flatulence and bloating helps to get rid of these unpleasant phenomena without the use of drugs. But in many cases, medical intervention is necessary, because flatulence can often accompany serious organic pathologies of the digestive system.

Increased production of biological gases, which do not have time to leave the gastrointestinal tract naturally, is not a separate disease, but a symptom that can occur in a number of pathologies of the gastrointestinal tract. It is no coincidence that one of the most common questions at a gastroenterologist's appointment is how to quickly get rid of severe flatulence?

food that stimulates flatulence - it includes almost all legumes, cabbage, apples (especially sweet varieties), carbonated beverages (and mineral water);
products that cause fermentation in the intestine - is rye bread and products made from it (kvass), beer, lean meat;
dairy products in case of intolerance by the intestine (due to lactose intolerance);
mineral water with a high titer of organic matter.

Organic causes of flatulence can be failures in the production of biological gases, which are observed in a number of diseases and conditions:

acute and chronic inflammatory processes in various parts of the gastrointestinal tract (pancreatitis, enteritis, colitis, enterocolitis);
dysbacteriosis;
infectious lesion of the intestine;
parasitic invasion (helminthiasis);
mechanical obstruction to the discharge of gases - in particular intestinal obstruction.

Knowing the causes of flatulence in a particular patient is important for treatment - yes, activated charcoal in flatulence will not help if you have developed intestinal obstruction with gas retention.

Flatulence can occur as a functional disorder without organic damage to the gastrointestinal tract (due to accidental violation of diet or consumption of products that increase flatulence).

Diseases and conditions that are not directly related to changes in the gastrointestinal tract can lead to this pathology. 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 conditions, as a result of which the nervous regulation of the intestine is disturbed.

Signs of flatulence are very indicative and do not require special diagnostic analysis. Such symptoms include:

On examination, the abdomen is swollen, on palpation its wall is tense, but painless, on percussion - the sound, as when tapping on the drum, on auscultation - increased peristaltic noise.

Severe abdominal pain in irritable bowel syndrome (functional pathology of the intestine) should be distinguished from pain that occurs in flatulence caused by organic lesions of the gastrointestinal tract (ulcerative colitis, intestinal obstruction). Differential diagnosis can be performed using instrumental methods of examination, which will detect organic pathology.

fibrogastroduodenoscopy (examination with a probe with optics of the stomach, duodenum and the initial part of the colon);
colonoscopy (examination with a probe with optics of the colon);
irigoscopy (X-ray examination of the colon using a contrast agent).

Symptoms of increased flatulence, which are manifested by the gastrointestinal tract, may be accompanied by deterioration of the general condition of the patient, as biological gases when they are delayed in the body cause a kind of self-poisoning. In particular, there are:

Flatulence does not cause particularly sad consequences and does not provoke critical conditions, but can cause feelings of discomfort.

Treatment of flatulence in adults and children should begin with the elimination of the causes of increased flatulence in the intestine. Flatulence in most cases is associated with the intake of foods that stimulate the production of biological gases, so they should be excluded from the diet - at least until the symptoms of flatulence stop, but it is better permanently if the body is prone to flatulence.

Drugs for flatulence after a meal help at once, but do not eliminate the tendency of the intestine to increased flatulence, especially do not treat diseases that are accompanied by flatulence. If the cause of flatulence is organic diseases (intestinal obstruction due to tumor, ulcerative process), it is necessary to apply pathognomonic treatment. If the increased flatulence is provoked by organic pathology, the products that cause flatulence should still be excluded from the diet.