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If you’re riding the pain train after eating a beefy, beany burrito, the weirdly specific sensations happening in your stomach are probably testing your ability to do anything comfortably. So here you are, frantically searching “how to get rid of gas pain” online.
Before you get too freaked over this, rest assured: “We all produce quite a bit of gas—up to a few quarts a day,” Rudolph Bedford, MD, a gastroenterologist at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, California, tells SELF.
And your digestive tract is pretty efficient at moving this gas through your system, Kyle Staller, MD, MPH, a gastroenterologist at Massachusetts General Hospital, tells SELF. Sometimes you don’t even notice it, or it might make its presence well-known with a big ol’ burp or fart.
But when all that gas builds up and gets a bit stuck (for reasons we’ll get into), it can trigger gnarly symptoms and leave you desperate for relief. Below, GI docs explain why you might be in this situation in the first place, and how to get rid of gas pain fast.
What does gas pain feel like, specifically?
It depends on where the gas is trapped inside your body. “Gas pain from air stuck in the stomach can feel like a rising pressure in the chest or like it’s harder to catch your breath,” Ellen Stein, MD, a gastroenterologist and associate professor at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Jersey, tells SELF.
If the gas is camping out in your small bowel, it can cause your stomach to feel bloated, Dr. Stein says. Or if you have gas rumbling around in your colon, it may manifest as deep pressure in your butt (kind of like you have to go); you may feel a similar pressure or ache in one side of your abdomen too, she says.
“Most people have cramps and bloating from gas,” Dr. Bedford adds, “but it can also feel like a shooting pain [in your stomach] sometimes.”
So what causes gnarly gas pain?
Why can gas hurt so bad that you’re wondering whether you should check yourself into the ER? Good question. There are a few driving forces behind excessive gas (and the pain that can come with it) to be aware of if you’re dealing with this frequently.
You’re swallowing excess air: While it’s unlikely that you’re actually trying to suck down a bunch of oxygen, certain habits like slamming carbonated drinks, eating too fast, and chewing gum can cause you to take in more air than normal. When this leads to gas, it’s typically released when you burp, since the air comes back up before it reaches your stomach.
Food sensitivities are causing mayhem: Your body doesn’t entirely break down certain carbohydrates that you eat, so they end up getting to your large intestine intact. There, bacteria produce gas as they process these undigested sugars, fibers, and starches. Certain foods, including dairy products and cruciferous vegetables like brussels sprouts, are more likely to cause gas than others, but everyone’s triggers are different.
There’s a larger health issue at play: Yep, gas pain can happen on the regular if you have a health condition that largely affects your digestive system, like irritable bowel syndrome, SIBO, celiac disease, ulcerative colitis, or Crohn’s disease.
How to get rid of gas pain
There isn’t one magic remedy that will give you instant relief. (As Dr. Staller notes, “Figuring out how to cure gas is the holy grail for [gastroenterologists].”) There is, however, a solid lineup of tricks you can try to feel a little bit better until it all passes.
This simple step does two things, according to Jamile Wakim-Fleming, MD, a gastroenterologist at the Cleveland Clinic: Water helps push any gas-causing foods in your system through the digestive process, and it makes it harder for your intestines to contract in a way that, well, gasses you up. Your intestines need to contract to keep food moving, and if they contract too strongly or for too long, that can lead to or exacerbate gas pain. Warm water, in particular, can really set things in motion, Dr. Bedford has noticed.
Keep in mind: Straight-up glugging can be counterproductive here. Until the pain lets up, avoid little habits that can cause you to swallow a ton of air, like taking big gulps of liquid, using straws, drinking fizzy beverages, downing your food too quickly, talking a lot while eating, and chewing gum, Dr. Wakim-Fleming says.
If plain, warm water sounds…unappealing, consider brewing some tea instead.
It’s not just for your breath—peppermint can act as a spasmolytic, meaning it may help stop your intestines from spasming too much (which is one factor that increases gas), says Dr. Staller. While this mechanism has mainly been studied in regard to IBS, the muscle contractions in that disorder are the same ones that can make trapped gas feel so terrible, he says.
As for ginger? Research suggests it can soothe your stomach in all sorts of ways, but it’s worth noting that most studies are usually based on more concentrated forms of the root. Ginger is most popular for its nausea-reducing effects, but it doesn’t hurt to try if you’re feeling gassy too. (Again, simply having a warm, water-based beverage might be helpful here.)
While a five-mile run probably isn’t the first thing on your to-do list when you’re doubled over in pain, if you can manage a quick walk or other gentle forms of movement, that can potentially help you pass gas and reduce bloating.
As Dr. Wakim-Fleming puts it: “Exercise helps exercise your intestines too.” Experts don’t fully understand why a burst of movement can sometimes help move things along, but the theory is that physical activity helps to boost your intestines’ muscle activity, Ashkan Farhadi, MD, the director of MemorialCare Medical Group’s Digestive Disease Project in Fountain Valley, California, tells SELF. (This is one reason some forms of exercise also seem to help constipation—another potential cause of pent-up gas.)
Speaking of movement: Dr. Stein suggests doing some relaxing stretches, like the supine twist, when gas pain hits. She recommends starting the move on your right side first, followed by your left side to help follow the natural positioning of your colon. This should help encourage the gas to release, likely in the form of a fart.
It’s not a hard sell when you feel like crap: Getting under a blanket with a heating pad will always feel good, but there’s some science to back this up, too. Like peppermint, warmth may have an antispasmodic effect and help your intestines to relax instead of contracting too hard or too much, Dr. Wakim-Fleming says.
Giving your stomach a little rub-down can encourage gas to hit the nearest exit. Dr. Bedford recommends tracing the natural shape of your colon with your hands. Here’s how to do it:
- Start on the right side of your abdomen, down by your pelvic bone. From there, gently move your hand in a circular motion up the right side of your body until you reach your ribs. Spend about a minute on this side.
- Move across to the left side of your abdomen. For another minute, keep massaging in the same circular motions as you work down toward your pelvic bone and then back toward your belly button.
According to Dr. Staller, you can try a product like Beano if the tips above aren’t doing the trick. “It has enzymes that can be helpful for people with excessive gas,” he says. The enzyme in question, alpha-galactosidase, helps break down the carbs in beans and other veggies when you take it before you eat.
Another option is the drug simethicone, found in medicines like Gas-X, which is designed to reduce bloating and pain by dispersing gas bubbles in your GI tract. “Anecdotally, people say it helps,” Dr. Staller says. And if you’re dealing with a dairy intolerance, you might try a lactase enzyme supplement like Lactaid (more on this below). Just keep in mind that you should always check in with your doctor before taking any new OTC remedies, especially if you’re pregnant and breastfeeding, according to Dr. Bedford.
Think back to how much cheese, milk, and ice cream you had recently—even if you don’t think you’re lactose intolerant. You can spend years having zero issues when you drink a venti latte in the morning, followed by a grilled cheese at lunch…until you suddenly do. “Many people in their 20s and 30s have symptoms and don’t suspect that it’s the dairy,” Dr. Staller says.
As you get older, your body might make less lactase, an enzyme that breaks down lactose, the sugar in dairy products, he explains. This is one cause of lactose intolerance. As your digestive system’s bacteria try to break down lactose without enough lactase to do the job, you may experience symptoms like more painful gas than usual, as well as bloating, abdominal pain, diarrhea, and even vomiting.
If you think this might be messing your stomach, try nixing dairy from your diet for a few weeks (or at the very least, the rest of the day) and see where that gets you.
If it feels like you’ve tried everything, do your best to keep a very low-stakes log of what you’re generally eating and drinking each day. In addition to dairy, you might be over-loading on high-fiber foods, or your body might be sensitive to sugar substitutes, fried items, foods that are high in fat, or even carbonated beverages like soda and seltzer, Dr. Bedford says. Since there’s a broad range of potential culprits, keeping a food diary for a few weeks will be useful information to have when you check in with your doctor about your symptoms, what might be causing them, and how to handle your diet from there (if your diet is indeed the issue), he says. It can also give your provider a window into whether any health conditions may be fueling your discomfort.
In most cases, gas pain doesn’t require medical attention, Dr. Bedford says. But if you’re consistently struggling with frustrating symptoms and nothing is helping, make an appointment with a health care professional. You could have a deeper problem to unravel, and the sooner you can ID it, the sooner you’ll find much-needed relief.
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