Bloating

What is bloating?

Bloating is when your tummy feels full, stretched, or bigger than usual. It's very common and most people experience it from time to time. Your stomach might feel uncomfortable, make rumbling noises, or you might pass wind more than normal.

What causes bloating?

The most common cause is having too much gas in your gut. This can happen because of:

Food and drink:

• Fizzy drinks that contain gas bubbles
• Vegetables like cabbage, beans, and lentils that create gas when digested
• Eating too quickly and swallowing air

Digestive problems:

• Being constipated (difficulty opening your bowels)
• Not being able to digest certain foods properly (food intolerance)
• Coeliac disease (where your body reacts badly to gluten)
• Irritable bowel syndrome (when your gut is extra sensitive)

Other causes:

• Women often feel bloated around their period
• Sometimes serious conditions like ovarian cancer can cause bloating that doesn't go away

How to reduce bloating

Things that help:

• Exercise regularly - even a gentle walk can help your digestion
• Chew with your mouth closed to avoid swallowing air
• Drink plenty of water throughout the day
• Eat foods with fibre if you're constipated (like fruit, vegetables, and wholegrain bread)
• Eat smaller meals more often instead of big meals
• Gently massage your stomach from right to left to help trapped wind move

Things to avoid:

• Too many fizzy drinks, alcohol, or drinks with caffeine
• Foods that make gas worse (like cabbage, beans, or lentils)
• Large meals late at night
• Slouching when you eat
• Processed, sugary, spicy, or very fatty foods
• Foods you know you can't tolerate

Getting help from a pharmacist

Your local pharmacist can suggest:

• Laxatives to help if you're constipated
• Medicines like Buscopan that can help ease bloating

When to speak to your GP

You should see your GP if:

• You've felt bloated for 3 weeks or more
• You feel bloated regularly (more than 12 times a month)
• Changing what you eat hasn't helped
• You have a swelling or lump in your tummy
• You have bloating plus being sick, diarrhoea, constipation, losing weight, or blood in your poo
• The bloating stops you doing normal daily activities

When to get emergency help

Call 999 or go to A&E straight away if you have:

• Sudden, severe stomach pain
• Pain when someone touches your stomach
• Vomiting blood or vomit that looks like coffee grounds
• Blood in your poo or black poo
• Can't pee, poo, or pass wind
• Difficulty breathing
• Chest pain

Don't drive yourself to A&E - ask someone else to drive you or call an ambulance.

Treatment

Often, bloating gets better on its own without treatment. If you need help, your GP might:

• Refer you to an NHS dietitian for specialist diet advice
• Arrange tests to find out what's causing your bloating
• Refer you to a specialist if needed

Remember, most bloating is harmless and gets better with simple changes to what you eat and drink.

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Based on NHS.uk guidance. Written by Dr Krishnan Pasupathi, NHS GP.