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The Doctors Book of Home Remedies: Belching

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Belching

10 Steps to Squelch the Problem

Belching is often caused by aerophagia, a medical term for swallowing air. Everyone carries a certain amount of air and other gases in the gastrointestinal tract all the time. On average, this tends to be slightly less than 1 cupful. Yet the body is constantly acquiring air and other gases throughout the day, taking some in through the mouth and producing some on its own. In all, it works out to almost 10 cupfuls of gas in 24 hours, about 9 cupfuls more than we can carry. The body constantly seeks ways to vent this excess. One of those ways is belching.

Soft drinks and beer are guaranteed to cause problems, but your saliva also contains tiny air bubbles that travel to the stomach with every swallow.

Those of us who swallow air along with our food are asking for trouble, but belching is a problem that seems infinitely curable right at home. Most of us can, with practice, control the amount of air we swallow and save the doctor for something more important.

Become aware of air. "You can swallow up to 5 ounces of air every time you swallow," says André Dubois, M.D., a gastroenterologist in Bethesda, Maryland. "And people who are nervous will do this quite frequently."

Dr. Dubois notes that some people are compulsive swallowers and create a problem simply by swallowing too much saliva. "You can improve this by learning to control your swallowing reflexes," he says. "This is best done by simply becoming aware of it. Ask your friends or relatives to tell you if they notice you swallowing a lot. You probably won't notice it in yourself."

Sometimes It's Better to Belch

Many physicians see no physiological need to stifle belching. They view it simply as a natural body function.

"Some societies think belching is good for you," says Richard McCallum, M.D., professor of medicine and chief of the Gastroenterology Division at the University of Virginia Health Sciences Center. "And we have a couple of people from India and other Eastern countries who tell me that it's perfectly normal to belch in public."

Well, Doc, this ain't Calcutta—but favorable feelings about belching do make perfect sense. With this in mind, Dr. McCallum and others might suggest you remember this old saw:

'Tis better to belch

And bear the shame,

Than squelch a belch

And bear the pain.

Once you're aware of an excessive swallowing habit, you will automatically curb it, says Dr. Dubois. There are also some personal habits you can change to help you take in less air.

Avoid carbonated beverages.

Eat slowly and chew your food completely before swallowing.

Always eat with your mouth closed.

Avoid chewing gum.

Do not drink out of cans or bottles, and do not drink through a straw.

Avoid foods with a high air content such as beer, ice cream, soufflés, omelets, and whipped cream.

Nix a nervous belching habit. It's been noted that chronic air swallowers can belch forever, since belching tends to beget more belching. Yet even chronic nervous swallowers can be helped.

Marvin Schuster, M.D., chief of the Department of Digestive Diseases at Francis Scott Key Medical Center in Baltimore, Maryland, sometimes prescribes a pencil for those who swallow air and start bloating up during tense situations.

"Clamping your teeth around a pencil, or a cork or your finger, keeps your mouth open and makes swallowing difficult," he says.

Say good-bye to gassy goodies. We will all eat a little too much a little too quickly and burp, says Samuel Klein, M.D., assistant professor of gastroenterology and human nutrition at the University of Texas Medical School at Galveston. But that's different than people who belch hour after hour, day after day. That's chronic belching.

For those people, it may be useful to decrease their intake of foods that produce upper digestive system gas. Generally speaking, those include fats and oils such as salad oil, margarine, and sour cream.

Smash bubbles with soothing simethicone. To help alleviate a problem that already exists, digestive experts sometimes recommend over-the-counter antacids containing simethicone, such as Mylanta, Mylanta II, Maalox Plus, or Di-Gel.

"Simethicone will break large bubbles into small bubbles in the stomach, which may decrease belching," says Dr. Klein. "It does not reduce the amount of gas present."

PANEL OF ADVISERS

André Dubois, M.D., is a gastroenterologist in Bethesda, Maryland.

Samuel Klein, M.D., is assistant professor of gastroenterology and human nutrition at the University of Texas Medical School at Galveston. He is also an editorial adviser to Prevention magazine.

Richard McCallum, M.D., is a professor of medicine and chief of the Gastroenterology Division at the University of Virginia Health Sciences Center in Charlottesville. He does research on gastrointestinal problems.

Marvin Schuster, M.D., is chief of the Department of Digestive Diseases at Francis Scott Key Medical Center in Baltimore, Maryland, and a professor of medicine and psychiatry at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore.

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