Bloating indicates increased gas formation in the intestines. Normally, the daily volume of gas is 600-700 ml, and with flatulence it increases to three liters or more. This excess gas formation leads to heaviness and a feeling of fullness in the abdominal cavity. Nausea and belching are observed, painful spasms and stool upset may occur. All this negatively affects the human psyche, which is manifested by severe anxiety. A developing stressful situation aggravates bloating and heaviness in the abdomen and further aggravates these symptoms.
What foods can cause flatulence?
Food products that can provoke negative symptoms include:
- Foods containing fructose and coarse fiber: legumes and peas, turnips and cabbage, tomatoes, onions, apples and grapes.
- Products that activate putrefaction processes in the intestinal tract: rye bread and baked goods most often enhance fermentation.
- Foods containing gluten: various cereals, different types of sausages, sauces.
- Milk products. The difficulty lies in the absence of the enzyme that is responsible for digesting lactose. In this case, the body cannot absorb certain types of proteins.
- Carbonated drinks containing a large amount of sugar and yeast: lemonade, beer, kvass.
- Fast carbohydrates, always present in chocolate and confectionery sweets.
You need to eat food correctly. Swallowing large amounts of air is caused by:
- frequent snacks on the run;
- rapid absorption of food;
- very high-calorie, fatty and spicy foods;
- communication during lunches.
Some of the air from the stomach is removed with belching, creating an unpleasant situation for a person, and the remaining air leads to flatulence.
You should also not get carried away with newfangled diets high in fruits, vegetables and legumes. When these products accumulate in the intestines, they trigger a fermentation mechanism, which leads to a feeling of fullness. If you are trying to improve your diet, you should introduce plant foods gradually and preferably start with small portions so that this type of food is completely absorbed by the body and does not cause complications.
Not only mono-products can cause heaviness and bloating in the stomach. Often the trigger mechanism is a combination of:
- Fermented milk products and fresh baked goods (bread, baked goods).
- Cereals with sauces and marinades.
- Cereal porridge with added milk.
Avoid dehydration
Water is the source of life for humans. You need to drink enough water every day. Lack of water in the body is called dehydration, and this may well be the cause of abdominal pain. The recommended daily water intake is 2 liters. Just pure water, not tea, not Coca-Cola and not beer. Try drinking two liters of water during the day, and if your stomach does not stop hurting completely, then at least it will be much easier.
The stomach can also get sick due to overeating. Three meals a day is, of course, good, but you shouldn’t fill your stomach to capacity every time. It has been proven that it is healthier for the stomach to eat little and often than to fill it completely a couple of times a day.
Of course, abdominal pain is very unpleasant and distracts you from your normal life, but before taking pills or going to the doctor, try using our tips. Most likely, they will help you heal your stomach.
Axioms of proper nutrition
To reduce the discomfort from flatulence, you need to adhere to certain dietary rules:
- If you really like fruits, eat them at the end of your meal.
- You should not immediately eat fruit mix, as excess plant fiber will cause increased gas formation.
- Peel all fruits and vegetables, reducing the intake of hard fiber.
- It is better to eat vegetables and fruits stewed and baked.
- Bean dishes and beans must be prepared only from pre-soaked raw materials.
How to treat gastrointestinal disorders?
If your stomach is blowing, there is a feeling of heaviness, then the emergency treatment of flatulence at home is to take antispasmodics. “No-shpa” and “Spasmalgon” will help get rid of painful sensations and relieve spasms. “Smecta” and “Espumizan” gently eliminate flatulence, help relieve tension and the natural release of accumulated gases. "Hilak-Forte" will help improve the functioning of intestinal motility. Doctors advise taking a course of prebiotics to restore beneficial intestinal microflora. If you experience bloating after eating, it is recommended to take enzymes to stimulate digestive processes and sorbents.
Medicines help get rid of unpleasant symptoms, but they do not eliminate the main cause of flatulence and heaviness in the stomach. If symptoms occur systematically, you should consult a doctor.
Diseases with symptoms of flatulence
Bloating depends not only on the composition of food, but can also be a symptom of various diseases:
- Functional disorders: aerophagia, dyspepsia.
- Disturbed digestive processes:
- congestion in the gallbladder;
- reduction or absence of enzymes for digestion processes;
- insufficient production of acids in pancreatitis, gastroduodenitis, cirrhosis of the liver.
- Impaired intestinal patency due to the presence of anomalies, tumors and adhesions.
- Disorder of the mechanism of motility of the gastrointestinal tract. The passage of food is slowed down when:
- intoxications;
- infections;
- lack of physical activity;
- poor nutrition.
- Inflammatory diseases in:
- gallbladder;
- pancreas;
- intestines.
- Blockage of blood vessels in the abdominal cavity, swelling or inflammation of the intestinal walls.
- Inflammatory diseases of the female reproductive system, endometriosis, adhesive disease.
If a person develops flatulence due to the above diseases, then changing the diet will not give visible results. Professional examination and treatment of the abdominal organs by specialists or in hospitals is necessary.
Relax and relieve stress
One of the unobvious causes of pain in your stomach may well be stress, this is a scientifically proven fact. What to do? Try to relieve stress, obviously. Taking a break from work and relaxing will have a beneficial effect on both your psychological state and the state of your stomach. Whatever you are doing, stop for a while, take a few deep breaths, or even better, take a walk in the fresh air. This is good not only for your stomach, but also for the whole body as a whole.
How to deal with bloating
It is necessary to establish the cause of flatulence. If painful symptoms develop after a malnutrition, then a properly selected diet will help. It is necessary to analyze the diet and remove from it foods that contribute to the formation of gases: sweet soda, beans, high-calorie sweets, dairy products. It is worth excluding talking while eating, smoking, and chewing gum.
Drugs aimed at eliminating flatulence
If excess gases cause stomach or intestinal disease, then complex therapy is necessary to eliminate the cause of bloating. Most often the following medications are used for this:
- Enterosorbents that will absorb and quickly remove toxins from the intestines that trigger the formation of gases. These include:
- Activated carbon;
- enterosgel;
- smecta.
- Defoamers, which can be used to minimize the amount of gas produced and reduce bloating. This is espumizan or its analogue simethicone.
- Complex enzyme preparations to facilitate the digestibility of proteins and carbohydrates:
- Festal;
- Creon;
- Pancreatin.
- Dietary supplements, which include Orlix, contain a natural enzyme to break down oligosaccharides and prevent further bloating.
- Drugs that regulate gastrointestinal motility. For example, trimedate, which normalizes intestinal activity and timely removal of gases. It reduces abdominal pain and bloating.
Folk ways to combat flatulence
Traditional medicine recommends “carminative” decoctions based on:
- Fennel and dill fruits.
- Valerian roots, fennel fruits and peppermint leaves.
- Caraway fruits, chamomile flowers and oregano herb.
Diseases in the abdomen
Heaviness in the abdomen may be due to organ disease.
The stomach is part of the body. It contains the abdominal cavity with its walls. It consists of the following organs:
- digestion
- genitourinary
- nerve plexus
- large vessels
The complex structure of organs in the abdominal area may have distinctive features depending on the age and general physiological condition of a person. The following complications can cause poor health:
- pathology
- damage and injury
- organ diseases
Pathologies and developmental defects can cause inflammatory processes, including cancer. They also interfere with the normal development of the abdominal walls, which can cause a hernia.
The second group includes two types of damage: open and closed. The latter include bruises, ruptures and other various injuries that are severe. With closed injuries, internal organs retain their integrity.
However, closed injuries can damage parenchymal and hollow organs, which is a good reason for urgent hospitalization. Open injuries without penetration into the abdominal cavity are considered not dangerous. When touching the abdominal cavity, injuries cause damage to internal organs.
The most common diseases are the abdominal organs. After all, a person eats every day, and has the risk of contracting an infection or various other complications from a low-quality product. Diseases do not arise only from diet.
The reasons may be: non-compliance with sanitary and hygienic standards, contact with sick people, animals, long stay in places where infections may accumulate. Intestinal disorders belong to the last group. They come in different stages and can be the cause of many diseases in the abdominal area.
A feeling of heaviness in the abdomen mainly occurs due to problems with the organs of the digestive tract.
Prokinetics - drugs to combat heaviness in the abdomen and the consequences of poisoning
A substance from this category not only helps eliminate an unpleasant symptom in the stomach after eating, but also normalizes gastric motility, which also helps eliminate discomfort. This pharmacological group includes the following drugs:
- "Ganaton" - improves the passage of food in the intestines, also helps eliminate nausea and vomiting, and prevents increased flatulence. You cannot take more than three tablets per day;
- "Motilium" - effectively eliminates heaviness and a feeling of fullness in the stomach. The maximum permissible daily dose is eight tablets, but you must always check the safe amount of the drug with your doctor;
- "Gastrikumel" - improves the process of digestion of food in the stomach, effectively and quickly removes accumulated gases and eliminates cramps.
Like other medications to eliminate this clinical manifestation in the abdomen, they have several contraindications. Thus, drugs in this category are strongly not recommended for use if the following factors occur:
- presence and ;
- severe toxicosis;
- breastfeeding period;
- the patient’s age is less than 12 years, some drugs can be given to a child over three years old, but this needs to be clarified with the doctor individually;
- allergic reactions to certain components;
- internal bleeding.
Prokinetics are drugs that have an antiemetic effect. They are fast-acting drugs in case of poisoning, normalize the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract and prevent the formation of nausea-vomiting reactions and relapses.
Prokinetics in this area of application include:
- Motilium - the main effect is exerted by domperidone, it has no effect on gastric secretion and accelerates gastric cleansing. Copes with flatulence, nausea, heartburn;
- Cerucal;
- Other analogues of Motilium: Perinorm, Ceruglan, Intomed.
The number of drugs is exhaustive, but before resorting to their use, you must consult a doctor, undergo the necessary examinations, such as gastroscopy, fluoroscopy and ultrasound, take blood tests, and only after that the doctor will make the necessary prescriptions.
In order to prevent the appearance of painful sensations or prevent a relapse, it is necessary to carry out prevention; medications will also help with this, but of a milder effect with a cumulative therapeutic effect.
Treatment with medications and folk remedies
Do not self-medicate, as complications may arise. The treatment course should be prescribed by a doctor after a complete diagnosis and identification of the provoking part of the pathology. The gastroenterologist prescribes appropriate tablets for bloating and heaviness, and sets the required dosage.
The following drugs are prescribed:
- Enzyme products - Mezim, Creon and Pancreatin. With their help, the process of digestion and assimilation of food in the gastrointestinal tract significantly improves.
- Enveloping agents, special suspensions - Gaviston, Maalox and Phosphalugel. These drugs envelop the gastric mucosa, which prevents the process of damage to the walls by hydrochloric acid.
- Antispasmodics – Papaverine and No-Shpa. Thanks to their effect, the muscles located in the stomach relax, pain subsides, and spasms are relieved.
Sometimes symptoms such as bloating and heaviness occur due to nervousness. In this case, you cannot do without consulting a psychologist and taking sedatives.
Traditional medicine helps a lot. It is necessary to give preference to safe, effective methods that have proven themselves in the treatment of gastrointestinal diseases.
Alternative treatment for heaviness and bloating:
Recipe No. 1
Mix St. John's wort, calendula, and yarrow in equal quantities. Brew 2 tablespoons of a mixture of herbs in one liter of boiling water, leave for thirty minutes. Take ½ glass three times a day before meals. You can drink this decoction for 1-2 months, but not more than 90 days. Then you need a break.
Recipe No. 2
Pour two teaspoons of apple cider vinegar into a glass of warm water, then add 2 tablespoons of flower honey. Take before meals three times a day. Do not drink if there is high acidity of gastric juice.
Recipe No. 3
Mix one teaspoon each of tansy and chamomile and chop. Add a tablespoon of bitter wormwood. Stir and combine with liquid honey. You should get a viscous consistency. Make small anti-bloating tablets from the mixture, then roll them into a bread ball. Take the lumps four times a day.
Heaviness and flatulence are unpleasant symptoms that can be easily treated with timely initiation of therapy. Follow the recommendations of the gastroenterologist, and the symptoms will be eliminated in a short time.
Antacids
Such medications are used most often; their use, as a rule, is of an emergency nature and is possible without a doctor’s prescription.
The category of antacid medications includes:
- Phosphalugel is a drug that is used for both children and adults in situations with difficult digestion of food, gastritis, erosion and poisoning. Neutralizes acid, envelops, heals the gastric mucosa. Reviews of this drug are mostly positive, both as an aid for overeating and as long-term therapy.
- Maalox has a similar effect to phosphalugel, coats the walls of the stomach and reduces the acidity of gastric juice.
- Almagel.
Drugs of this pharmacological group include medications for heartburn; the following are considered the most effective:
- "Renny";
- "Smecta";
- "Phosphalugel";
- "Omeprazole";
- "Omez."
As for the release form, they can be in the form of lozenges, dissolved in water or in the form of suspensions. Some of them can also be used as an antidiarrheal agent (Smecta). Before use, it is strongly recommended to consult with your doctor, as there are several contraindications:
- in case of acute or liver failure;
- excessive calcium in the blood;
- hypersensitivity or complete intolerance to some components of the drug;
- period of bearing a child or breastfeeding. In such cases, heartburn pills are not strictly prohibited, but it is recommended to consult a doctor.
How to get rid of it (depending on the cause)
Treatment for stomach pain with medications and surgical interventions is contraindicated for pregnant women, since any external intervention can negatively affect the course of pregnancy, the health of the woman herself and her child. It is strictly forbidden to prescribe or take medications on your own. Observation and consultation of specialists are required even in the case of treatment with folk remedies.
Traditional methods of treating stomach pain during pregnancy include: • decoctions of valerian, lemon balm, motherwort to improve the general condition; • collection of herbs St. John's wort, chamomile and yarrow for the treatment of gastritis with high acidity (1 tablespoon of the collection per glass of boiling water is infused for two hours;
Diseases that cause illness
Did you snack on the run during the day, did your diet include fatty or fried foods, did you not feel full, and did breakfast smoothly turn into lunch and dinner? Then overeating took place, even if it seems to you that nothing major was eaten.
What sensations may there be:
- pain in the stomach, which directly depends on food intake and occurs during or after a meal;
- there is discomfort, a feeling that the food has not reached its “destination” and you may feel hungry, but it is unpleasant to absorb food;
- nausea;
- discomfort in the intestinal area, bloating.
If these symptoms occur, you should consult a doctor, because pain and discomfort can be caused by gastritis, duodenitis or colitis in the intestines - all these problems can be resolved at an early stage by following a diet and taking the necessary medications.
First of all, if you feel pain in the abdomen, on the right or left, determine the place of greatest localization of pain. Try to understand exactly where it hurts: left, right, above, below, in the chest, in the back, in the lower back. Try to more clearly define the nature of the pain in the abdomen: dull, aching, pressing (as if something is squeezing), sharp, dagger-like (as if a knife has been stabbed in a big way), bursting (as if you have swallowed a ball and are taking off your shoes).
The doctor or ambulance team will ask you to answer the following questions:
- how the abdominal pain appeared and how it developed: the pain appeared suddenly, after physical activity, after stress, after hypothermia;
- How much time has passed since the onset of pain;
- what kind of abdominal pain there was at first: mild, then intensified, immediately sharp, dull. Did the abdominal pain intensify later and how - quickly or gradually;
- has the pain changed its location: for example, with appendicitis, abdominal pain first appears in the iliac region - where the stomach is, and then goes down to the right;
- Is there irradiation of pain, that is, where does the pain in the abdomen go and under what circumstances: movement, coughing, bending, etc. For example, if it hurts in the right hypochondrium and the pain radiates under the scapula on the right, this is a sign of cholecystitis.
Severe, cutting pain in the abdomen may indicate the presence of appendicitis, gastric or duodenal ulcers, strangulated hernia, or volvulus. Even if you have very severe pain, do not place a heating pad with hot water or ice on your stomach. Take an antispasmodic such as no-shpa or drotaverine. Call an ambulance or see a surgeon the next day.
The left upper quadrant of the abdomen contains its own organs, and you need to know them to recognize the symptoms: this is where the spleen, stomach, pancreas (remember, it crosses the upper half of the abdomen), loops of intestines (like everywhere else in the abdomen) lie, and the left side of the diaphragm . There is no liver or gallbladder, so in general pain in the left upper quadrant is less common than pain in the upper right. But they happen nonetheless.
Is this pain in the spleen?
When the spleen becomes enlarged - which happens in a number of different diseases - the capsule, the enveloping part of the spleen, becomes stretched and this causes pain. Any careless movement, blow or jolt can rupture an enlarged spleen - the second reason why your doctor does not squeeze you too hard when examining it.
Sometimes an enlarged spleen ruptures on its own. A tell-tale sign of a splenic rupture, in addition to pain and tenderness in the corresponding area, is bluishness of the skin around the navel. This "TV" hue is a consequence of the accumulation of blood (which, by the way, is blue before it comes into contact with air) in this area.
Is it pain in the intestines?
Your symptoms, in addition to pain on the left side, will also include diarrhea and/or constipation, blood and/or mucus in the stool, and a slight fever.
Is it stomach pain?
Anything that irritates the stomach lining, gastritis or functional dyspepsia (whether the irritant is alcohol, bad food or daily aspirin) will cause pain. It is usually not too sharp, often aching and often accompanied by nausea and vomiting. Antacid medications will be of great help. If the pain lasts more than a day, see a doctor - you may have an ulcer. Much more likely, however, is that it is simple gastritis.
Is this a hernia?
Due to the acidic stomach contents, you feel pain in the left upper quadrant, but sometimes also in the chest. This, of course, raises concerns about the heart, but there is a difference between the symptoms: discomfort from a hiatal hernia is almost always worse when bending or lying flat, while heart pain usually does not respond to this. But since this distinction is not always clearly expressed, be examined in every case of chest pain, regardless of your assumptions.
Does your pancreas hurt?
You should suspect the pancreas if the pain on the left is very sharp, comes from the inside and is accompanied by fever, nausea and vomiting and if you belong to a group at increased risk for pancreatic disease, i.e. you have a problem with your gallbladder, you smoke a lot, drink, have diabetes, take diuretics or steroid hormones.
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Abdominal pain on the left - what else?
Viral pleurisy, pneumonia, or any process that irritates the lungs will cause a sharp, needle-like pain when you take a deep breath. If the irritation affects the diaphragm, you may feel the pain is in your abdomen. Rib pain gets worse when you cough, sneeze, move, or put pressure on the area where it hurts. Duodenal ulcers also often cause pain in the left upper quadrant.
Pain can be caused by irritation, inflammation or infection of the intestines (ulcerative colitis, ileitis, Crohn's disease or diarrhea caused by parasites such as amoebas or worms), shingles and compression of the nerves that come from the spine and end in this area. A kidney stone on its way down into the bladder will also cause excruciating pain in this quadrant.
If a woman has missed her next period and suddenly feels severe pain in the left or right lower abdomen, think first—and quickly—about a ruptured ectopic pregnancy. Pain that worsens during menstruation suggests endometriosis.
There are millions of us with a disorder that goes by various names: nervous stomach, spastic colon, irritable bowel syndrome. Sometimes painful phenomena can be relieved with medications or by removing any emotional factors that can worsen the condition.
Heaviness in the abdomen, distension, dull aching pain, cramping pain may indicate the presence or exacerbation of diseases such as:• gastritis;• cholecystitis;• pancreatitis;• colitis;• duodenitis;• duodenal ulcer, etc.
Exacerbation of gastritis can be indicated by burning pain, heaviness in the abdomen, and a feeling of fullness in the epigastrium. Chronic gastritis is characterized by dull, aching pain. Diseases of chronic duodenitis and duodenal ulcer are accompanied by intense, stabbing, spasmodic pain. Intense indicate exacerbation of cholecystitis, pancreatitis or colitis.
