Stomach Gas

Everyone has gas in the stomach of one form or another, at one time or another. Since it tends to cause a certain amount of discomfort, it's usually expelled (discreetly, we hope) through the mouth or the rectum.

The gas that's normally referred to as stomach gas is usually comprised of odorless vapors like carbon dioxide, oxygen, nitrogen, and hydrogen. There's also methane sometimes.

It's normal for an adult human to produce 1 to 4 quarts of gas a day. Amounts can vary, of course, depending on the kind of food the individual has recently consumed. Normally, a healthy individual will expel gas of one form or another around a dozen times a day.

Even though some of these gases aren't even in the stomach, people tend to lump them all together under the term "stomach gas." The most common are:

Belching -this, of course, is actually the act of expelling built up stomach gas through the mouth. For more information, see stomach gas and belching.

Stomach Bloating - a bloated stomach usually results from a buildup of gas in the stomach, typically from poor digestion. But there are also a number of other causes of stomach bloating. Stomach bloating from gas actually makes a person look heavier, and in some cases may make women appear to be pregnant.

Abdominal Bloating - this type of bloating is usually comes from what is called an "intestinal motility disorder" like Irritable Bowel Syndrome. In this case, there may actually be little gas in the intestines, but the sufferer may just be more sensitive to it because of abnormal movements and contractions by the muscles of the intestines.

Abdominal Gas - in this situation, there actually is gas present in the intestines. Sometimes this gas will collect on the right side of the colon. When this occurs, it may seem like symptoms of gallstones or appendicitis. When there's a gas buildup on the left side of the colon, it can actually be confused with heart disease.

Flatulence - the distinctly unpleasant smell of flatulence results from the odor of bacteria in the large intestine. These bacterial release tiny amounts of vapors that contain sulphur. that release small amounts of gases that contain sulfur.

Although having "stomach gas" in all of it's forms is fairly common, most people still find it distasteful or even embarrassing to talk about. It can be physically uncomfortable as well.

For additional information, click on folk medicine stomach gas relief home remedies and stomach gas prevention.