WHAT ARE BURPS AND WHY DO THEY OCCUR? - GEOGRAFÍA - 2025

The belching are orally gases emitted by some living beings, like humans. They occur due to the accumulation of air that enters the body when food is eaten or liquid is drunk. The accumulated air at a certain point seeks its own exit routes.

The air that is sucked in contains gases such as oxygen or nitrogen and, many times, these gases must come out from somewhere. The excess gas is propelled from the stomach into the esophagus - the tube through which food passes and that connects the throat to the stomach - until it comes out through the mouth in the form of a burp.

In scientific terms: a burp occurs when the pressure of the lower esophageal sphincter is lower than the intragastric pressure, generating a pressure gradient from the stomach to the esophagus and mouth.

Scientific studies confirm that, in the general population, up to 7% of people suffer from excessive annoying belching, and 11% already have abdominal distension as a habit or, in other words, they frequently feel full, bloated and tight.

Why do belching occur?

In the stomach, where the gas to be burped comes from, gastric acids are stored, which sometimes give a bitter or sour perception to the burp. These acids also cause a retrosternal burning, called heartburn, which can reach the base of the neck or pharynx.

Although it is normal for people to pass gas or flatus ten times during the day, there are many reasons for having gas symptoms.

The most influential factors have to do with the amount of air swallowed, and the energy or efficiency of the person's gastrointestinal tract to remove or expel air or gases.

Another important factor has to do directly with the food eaten: it is the amount of gases produced by the bacteria that live in the colon and that act on the residues of the food that were not fully digested.

Some foods can also cause excess gas. Different people have different ways of fully digesting certain foods - some do it with difficulty, which can lead to undigested food going from the small intestine to the colon.

In this season another digestion process occurs thanks to a large number of bacteria that lodge in the colon. This process produces a huge amount of gases.

Other causes of belching

Swallowing too much air is one of the main causes of belching. People who eat too fast, who swallow food or gulp it without even chewing it well, are prone to ingesting more air.

Other habits such as using a straw or straw, chewing gum or gum, sucking on candy or pacifiers, also contribute to the accumulation of gases.

Foods that contain sugars are more difficult to digest, which is why they stay longer in the stomach and colon, and the bacteria act more strongly, causing flatus and belching in greater quantities. Grains like beans, lentils, and lima beans also cause burping and gas.

Another factor that must be taken into account is the tolerance and sensitivity of each person to retained gases, or to the passage of large or normal amounts of gases or flatus through their intestines.

Being a nervous person can also cause belching or flatulence: when a person is irritable or sensitive, the body responds with tics such as swallowing more frequently, an action that causes the consumption of air.

In the general population, the expelled gases that are caused by swallowed air represent 50%, an amount that increases among those who swallow air excessively.

Diseases related to belching

When a person burps excessively it can be due to symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).

Medications that try to relieve gas discomfort, such as simethicone, are useless most of the time: excess belching does not disappear just by taking a pill that will try to deflate the abdominal walls.

The best medicine is to change your lifestyle or some unconscious habits, such as eating too fast, consuming carbonated or carbonated drinks, chewing gum or gum, smoking cigarettes, among other practices.

It is advisable to do a study among the foods that cause the most gases and, from there, design a balanced diet.

When none of that works - not changing your lifestyle or following a favorable eating routine - the only thing that remains is the application of psychological treatments, such as relaxation therapy or behavioral therapy.

Another reason, although less frequent, why the origin of belching can increase, has to do with emotional reasons. The cases of individuals who swallow a lot of air due to anxiety or depression are known as psychogenic aeorophagia.

There is also Sjögren's syndrome (dry mucosa syndrome), a disease that affects the body's moisture-producing glands, often causing dry mouth, eyes, nose, throat, and skin.

Although it seems distant, this disease causes the production of saliva to drop and, therefore, the person tends to swallow more; therefore, gases inside the body increase.

Other forms of burping

Burping can also be a habit some people turn to when they want some relief from indigestion symptoms. In this way, burping can become a learned behavior that is now reproduced unconsciously.

There are also people who have the ability to expel air or gases voluntarily: they simply know how to swallow and create pressure in the stomach.

Inhaled or swallowed air that is not expelled through the esophagus, that is, by belching, is then directed and circulated through the digestive tract, eventually leaving in the form of flatulence through the rectum.

References

1. Bredenoord, AJ, & Smout, AJ (2007). Physiologic and Pathologic Belching. Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology Journal, 772-775.
2. McNally, EF, Jr., JE, & Ingelfinger, FJ (1964). Mechanism of Belching: Effects of Gastric Distension With Air. Gastroenterology Journal, 254-259.
3. Silva, AC, Aprile, LR, & Dantas, RO (2013). Esophageal motility in troublesome belching. Archives of Gastroenterology.
4. Szarka, L., & Levitt, M. (nd). Belching, bloating and flatulence. Minneapolis / Rochester.