How to manage trapped wind
If you suffer from trapped wind, you could try some of our tips to manage the symptoms and reduce the discomfort. Take a look at our suggestions below.
1. Your diet
Your diet plays a key role in dealing with trapped wind. Avoid foods that are high in saturated fat or contain artificial sweeteners because they are more likely to produce gas, which leads to bloating or flatulence. Your body may also produce more gas if you are lactose intolerant. Consider getting tested by your GP if you think you may have lactose intolerance, before making significant adjustments to your diet.
Besides that, incorporating prebiotics in your diet could help manage flatulence and other gastrointestinal symptoms. There is a wide variety of food containing prebiotics, such as garlic, leeks, etc that you could add to your meals every day. You could also try prebiotic supplements to offer extra support for your gut microbiome. Bimuno, an award-winning prebiotic supplement contains a fibre called galactooligosaccharide (GOS), which is targeted to specifically feed bifidobacteria, a type of good gut bacteria, and support gut health.
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2. Exercise
Physically moving around causes the intestines to also move around, meaning that the little bubbles of gas caused by eating and digestion can be released. You might not feel like jumping around after a meal but taking a walk soon after eating can really help with trapped wind pain.
If you still have trapped wind, you could try some gentle star jumps, touching your toes or running to help use gravity to force the trapped wind downwards
3. Reduce your dairy intake
Dairy products can be the cause of indigestion, bloating and stomach pain in many people. Most of the time, this is caused by lactose intolerance and a change in your diet may help manage it. Lactose is a sugar found in dairy that many people cannot break down, resulting in digestive problems. To see if dairy products, including cow’s milk, cream, cheese and yoghurts are causing your trapped wind, try reducing the amount of dairy you eat. If your symptoms ease, it might be a good idea to reduce or avoid dairy products on a long-term basis. Soya, coconut, rice, almond and cashew nut milks are all free from dairy and are good alternatives to cow’s milk. It may be that you can tolerate butter and yoghurt if you replace your milk with a dairy-free alternative and avoid cheese
4. Drink peppermint tea
Warm peppermint tea can help reduce the symptoms of trapped wind. It’s naturally caffeine-free and can, therefore, be drunk at any time of day. For the best results, drink a cup of peppermint tea before each meal. Chamomile tea is also a calming drink that many people drink before bedtime. It can also have a soothing effect on the digestive system and may help reduce the discomfort associated with trapped wind.
5. Increase your fibre intake
Working towards a healthy gut can help to keep trapped wind and bloating to a minimum. Eating enough fibre helps to feed the good bacteria that live in the gut. These bacteria help to break down our food and turn it into useful nutrients. They also help the gut absorb these nutrients and pass them into the bloodstream where they can be used around the body. Fibre also bulks up our stools, which moves them through the gut more quickly, helping to prevent constipation. The quicker food and stools move through the gut, the less time it has to hang around, fermenting and producing gas. High fibre foods include beans, legumes, broccoli, cabbage, brussels sprouts, bananas and wholegrain cereals. Try to increase your intake of these foods. Introduce them slowly, as eating too many of these foods when you’re not used to them can have the opposite effect and cause flatulence and bloating!
6. Sip warm water slowly
Gastroenterologist Dr Jamile Wakim-Fleming suggests sipping on warm water throughout the day. This will help to reduce trapped wind in two ways. Firstly, warm water helps move food along the digestive tract. The quicker the food moves, the less chance you have of gas building up. Secondly, warm water helps to calm the gut. To move food through the gut, especially without the presence of warm water, the gut must constantly expand and contract, a process called peristalsis. Warm water causes the gut to contract less intensely, causing less gas.
What is trapped wind?
Trapped wind is a common condition that causes pain and discomfort in the stomach and abdomen. It’s caused by a build-up of gas in the digestive system that puts pressure on the stomach area and causes discomfort. It’s perfectly normal to produce this gas.
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In fact, we all produce gas and need to pass wind to release it on average around 15 to 20 times a day. Holding it in can lead to painful trapped wind and noticeable bloating.
Trapped wind isn’t dangerous, but the pain and bloating associated with trapped wind causes discomfort, and sometimes embarrassment. The key to easing the problem of trapped wind is to reduce the amount of gas produced by the gut.
Causes of trapped wind
Gas is created during digestion. When we eat certain foods, the sugars and other carbohydrates in them aren’t broken down by the stomach or the small intestine. By the time they reach the large intestine, they’re still undigested.
Our large intestine is home to millions of friendly bacteria, who thankfully relish the task of breaking down these sugars, starches and fibres. The problem is, by doing so, they create a lot of gas. If we can’t release this gas through burping or passing wind, it remains trapped in the abdomen, causing pain and bloating
There are certain foods that are more likely to cause excess gas production, including:
- Dairy products such as cow’s milk, cheese and yoghurts
- High fibre foods including beans and lentils
- High fibre, cruciferous vegetables including cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli and brussels sprouts
- Onions and garlic
- Fruits containing high levels of fructose, a fruit sugar, such as strawberries, pineapples and bananas
- Wheat, barley and rye (but not other grains such as oats, buckwheat and quinoa)
- High fat, fried and spicy foods
- Fizzy drinks and alcohol
Everyone is different. Some of us may find dairy products cause excess gas, whilst others find beans and broccoli are the culprits. The most effective way to help control trapped wind is by making changes to your diet. Often, this is trial and error, whilst you work out which foods cause you to have the most amount of gas.
Trapped wind can also be caused by digestion. Some people’s digestive systems may be slower at processing and clearing gas than others, this could be because they lack the required enzymes in their intestine. It may also be related to digestion in the form of:
- Eating too much or too quickly
- Taking in too much air when you eat
- Chewing gum
Symptoms of trapped wind
Trapped wind symptoms normally appear quite suddenly, typically with uncomfortable sharp, stabbing pains.
Some of the most popular symptoms of trapped wind are as follows:
- A bloated stomach or abdomen
- Pain or cramps in the stomach or abdomen that can move upwards as far as the shoulder
- Flatulence
- Burping
- Loud gurgling noises coming from your stomach
- An uncomfortable feeling of fullness
What to do if you have persistent flatulence and trapped wind
If you suffer from trapped wind and bloating, try our tips above for several weeks to see if they make a difference. Many people find that these lifestyle and diet changes help significantly.
If your symptoms do persist, even after trying our tips, then make an appointment to see your doctor. They may be able to do some medical tests to see if your trapped wind is due to an underlying medical condition.
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