What’s Causing My Abdominal Bloating, and How Do I Treat It?
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Abdominal bloating can interfere with your ability to work and participate in social or recreational activities. Bloating is common among both adults and children.
Abdominal bloating occurs when the gastrointestinal (GI) tract is filled with air or gas. Most people describe bloating as feeling full, tight, or swollen in the abdomen. Your abdomen may also be swollen (distended), hard, and painful. Bloating is often accompanied by:
- pain
- excessive gas (flatulence)
- frequent burping or belching
- abdominal rumbling or gurgles
Gas and air
Gas is the most common cause of bloating, especially after eating. Gas builds up in the digestive tract when undigested food gets broken down or when you swallow air. Everyone swallows air when they eat or drink. But some people can swallow more than others, especially if they are:
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- eating or drinking too fast
- chewing gum
- smoking
- wearing loose dentures
Burping and flatulence are two ways swallowed air leaves the body. Delayed emptying of the stomach (slow gas transport) in addition to gas accumulation can also cause bloating and abdominal distension.
Medical causes
Other causes of bloating may be due to medical conditions. These include:
- irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
- inflammatory bowel disease, such as ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease
- other functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs)
- heartburn
- food intolerance
- weight gain
- hormonal flux (especially for women)
- giardiasis (intestinal parasite infection)
- eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa
- mental health factors such as stress, anxiety, depression, and more
- some medications
These conditions cause factors that contribute to gas and bloating, such as:
- overgrowth or deficiency of bacteria within the GI tract
- gas accumulation
- altered gut motility
- impaired gas transit
- abnormal abdominal reflexes
- visceral hypersensitivity (feeling of bloating in small or even normal body changes)
- food and carbohydrate malabsorption
- constipation
Serious causes
Abdominal bloating can also be a symptom of several serious conditions, including:
- pathologic fluid accumulation in the abdominal cavity (ascites) as a result of cancer (e.g., ovarian cancer), liver disease, kidney failure, or congestive heart failure
- celiac disease, or non-celiac gluten sensitivity
- pancreatic insufficiency, which is impaired digestion because the pancreas cannot produce enough digestive enzymes
- perforation of the GI tract with escape of gas, normal GI tract bacteria, and other contents into the abdominal cavity
