Digestion: Painful Bubbles

The average fellow who occasionally complains "I've got gas on my stomach" may indeed be uncomfortable be cause gas is distending some part of his digestive tract. If he chews a few antacid tablets, he most likely will do himself no good, but neither will he do any harm. To guard against recurrences, he should avoid eating pulse vegetables such as navy or lima beans (as every high-altitude flyer and astronaut knows) and roughage foods such as cabbage, Brussels sprouts and celery. These two classes of foods, by different biochemical mechanisms, promote the formation of gas in the digestive tract.

A considerable amount of gas passes through a normal, healthy digestive system. Dr. Ivan E. Danhof, of the Uni versity of Texas' Southwestern Medical School in Dallas, told the American Medical Association last week that the average amount ranges from a quart to a quart and a half a day. Some of the gas is plain air, of which a little is swallowed unconsciously, especially at meal times and in emptying the mouth of saliva. Another gas usually ingested in harmless quantities is carbon dioxide, from the bubbles in soft drinks and the soda in Scotch and soda. But the body is also a versatile gas factory. By fermentation and similar processes, it can manufacture an excess of carbon dioxide, as well as hydrogen, methane (all odorless) and hydrogen sulfide (which has an unpleasant odor). At times, excessive production of such gases can be painfully serious.

Reassurance & Tranquilizers. Among a sampling of 88 patients who complained of painful gas, Dr. Danhof found that 25% had simply swallowed too much air. Some of these patients, suffering from anxiety, could not expel all the air by belching, and retained so much that it caused painful distention in the gastrointestinal tract. In these cases, said Dr. Danhof, the most effective treatment is reassurance, which may be reinforced with tranquilizers and accompanied by instructions to exhale completely before swallowing food or drink.

Nearly as many gas patients, about 20% of the total, produce either too much or too little gastric acid. Shortage of acid favors establishment of abnormal bacteria that ferment food in the intestines; this condition usually can be corrected by medicine containing dilute hydrochloric acid. Hyperacidity and peptic ulcer may lead to an excess production of carbon dioxide, and hence to flatulence, through the interaction of gastric acid on bicarbonates from the digestive juices. Standard ulcer medicines —antacids in liquid or tablet form—and diet should relieve this type of gaseousness.