Complaints & connections · borters.ch
Eruktation
Mostly swallowed air, not the stomach — burning suggests reflux, early fullness a sluggish stomach.
Also known as: burping · belching · bringing up wind · air swallowing · aerophagia
Open in the tool — with search and all the links →This compilation is for information and replaces neither medical diagnosis nor treatment. If you have symptoms, see a doctor.
Burping is normal to begin with: everyone swallows air while eating and drinking, and it has to come out again. It becomes a nuisance when it happens constantly. The largest share comes not from the stomach but from swallowing itself — eating fast, talking while eating, chewing gum, smoking, straws and fizzy drinks bring a lot of air down. Anyone who is tense swallows more without noticing; a loop easily forms, because burping relieves briefly and is therefore repeated unconsciously. If burning or a sour taste comes with it, reflux is the main thing. A full feeling after only small amounts points more to a sluggish stomach. Certain carbohydrates that are not absorbed in the small intestine produce gas — but that mostly shows further down. The boundary matters: burping together with swallowing trouble, weight loss, vomiting or black stools is a different picture and should be assessed.
The most effective lever; it costs only attention.
No straws and no chewing gum either — a clean test with a clean answer.
Do not lie down for half an hour; this helps especially with acid rising.
Breathe calmly through the nose instead of swallowing — this breaks the loop.
Eat nothing in the last three hours before lying down, raise the head of the bed, stay upright or walk after eating.
Lightly crush a teaspoon of the seeds, pour over hot water, cover and steep for ten minutes.
A healthy person swallows two to three millilitres of air with each swallow; over the day that adds up to several hundred millilitres. Belching after eating is normal. It becomes notable when it comes in series and independently of meals — then there is often a learned pattern in which air is drawn into the oesophagus and released again at once; that can be unlearned with breathing and speech exercises over some weeks. Fizzy drinks, chewing gum and hurried eating raise the amount measurably.
Acid blockers help with acid belching, not with plain air belching — there no acid is involved, and that explains why they so often do not work. Simeticone breaks up gas bubbles in the stomach. What works for learned belching is not a tablet but breathing and speech practice with a speech therapist: slow breathing out through the mouth with the nose closed interrupts the pattern, usually within a few sessions.
The most common reason of all — and the easiest to test.
Then it is about reflux; the burping is only the visible part.
Points to a sluggish stomach; a conversation about emptying is worthwhile.
A different picture — that should be looked at soon.
Soluble fibres like psyllium and oats bind water and make the stool supple. Wheat bran and a lot of raw vegetables, by contrast, increase bloating and pain in a sensitive gut — this distinction explains most of the failures.
Fibre without water makes the stool harder instead of softer. The two belong together, and the effect only sets in after some days.
Draws water into the bowel and therefore works with a sluggish stool. The belly shows the upper limit: if the stool gets too loose, the dose at once was too high.
Yoghurt, kefir, sauerkraut and the like bring living cultures with them. Many tolerate them well; with a strongly bloated belly they can also do the opposite in the first weeks.
Offered when stomach acid is low. Barely studied, and the wrong choice with reflux or an ulcer — the same complaints arise from too much acid as from too little.
The treatment with a proven enzyme deficiency, without shown benefit otherwise. Frequent belching mostly comes from swallowed air — fast eating, straws, chewing gum, fizzy drinks.
Effective when deficient; effects on sleep and stress plausible but moderate. Too much causes loose stool.
Gastrin drives acid production. Acid blockers lower the acid, to which the body answers with more gastrin — which is why complaints often come back stronger on stopping abruptly. Tapering over weeks avoids that.
Fat in the duodenum releases this hormone; it slows the stomach and relaxes the lower gullet muscle. That is why fatty meals in the evening favour belching and reflux.
Most of the air is swallowed, not made in the belly. These three are the most common sources — and the easiest to leave out.
Eating in under 10 minutes swallows considerably more air. 20 minutes for a main meal is the mark at which this measurably changes.
Fennel, anise and caraway are the traditional choice for air in the upper belly.