Symptom: Flatulence

Introduction: Flatulence

Flatulence: Gas passed from the anus. See free access online books about Flatulence below. See detailed information below for a list of 103 causes of Flatulence, including diseases and drug side effect causes.

» Review Causes of Flatulence: full list

Causes of Flatulence:

The following medical conditions are some of the possible causes of Flatulence. There are likely to be other possible causes, so ask your doctor about your symptoms.

• Normal physical needs
• Normal infant
• Habitual air swallowing
• 3-month colic - the common flatulence in infants up to 3 months due to immature gut.
• Gallbladder disease
• Colon cancer
• Diverticulitis
• Diverticulosis
• Peptic ulcer
• Stomach infection
• Gallstones
• Irritable bowel syndrome
• Food allergies
• Aerophagia - swallowing air creates both belching and also flatulence
• Gut fermentation - creates additional gas in the intestinal tract.
  • Gastroparesis
  • Intestinal motility disorders
  • Colonic bacterial fermentation
  • Malabsorption
  • Malabsorption syndromes
  • Pancreatic insufficiency
  • Pancreatic carcinoma
  • Biliary disease
  • Celiac disease
  • Small intestine bacterial infection
  • Lactose intolerance - which causes malabsorption
  • Lactase deficiency
  • Milk allergy (type of Food allergies)
  • Giardiasis
• High-fiber diet

See full list of 103 causes of Flatulence

» Review Causes of Flatulence: full list

Flatulence: Multiple Symptom Checker

Listed below are some combinations of symptoms associated with Flatulence, as listed in our database. Visit the Multiple Symptoms Checker, to add and remove symptoms and research your condition.

Multiple Symptom Checker - Other Symptoms

• Flatulence: Multiple Symptom Checker

Multiple Symptom Checker Combinations

• Flatulence and Abdominal symptoms (66 causes)
• Flatulence and Digestive symptoms (66 causes)
• Flatulence and Pain (61 causes)
• Flatulence and Nerve symptoms (56 causes)
• Flatulence and Sensations (53 causes)
• Flatulence and Bowel problems (50 causes)
• Flatulence and Stool symptoms (50 causes)
• Flatulence and Belching (47 causes)
• Flatulence and Abdominal pain (45 causes)
• Flatulence and Bowel movements (44 causes)
• Flatulence and Weight loss (42 causes)
• Flatulence and Abdominal swelling (39 causes)
• Flatulence and Diarrhea (39 causes)
• Flatulence and Body symptoms (39 causes)
• Flatulence and Weight symptoms (39 causes)
• Flatulence and Bowel incontinence (38 causes)
• Flatulence and Swelling symptoms (37 causes)
• Flatulence and Vomiting (30 causes)
• Flatulence and Eating symptoms (29 causes)
• Flatulence and Stool color (29 causes)

See full list of 445 Multiple Symptom Checker combinations related to Flatulence

Home Diagnostic Testing and Flatulence

Home medical tests possibly related to Flatulence:

• Colon & Rectal Cancer: Home Testing
  • Home Colorectal Cancer Tests
  • Home Fecal Occult Bleeding Tests

Causes of General Symptom Types

Research the causes of these more general types of symptom:

• Digestive symptoms (2184 causes)
• Abdominal symptoms (1374 causes)

Causes of Similar Symptoms to Flatulence

Research the causes of these symptoms that are similar to, or related to, the symptom Flatulence:

• Belching (73 causes)
• Abdominal bloating (414 causes)
• Abdominal distention (57 causes)

Diagnostic Guides for Flatulence

12 MEDICAL SYMPTOM BOOKS: FULL TEXT ONLINE! Read the full text of published book sections related to Flatulence from the following published medical books for more detailed information about Flatulence. Free access (no registration): read all online diagnostic book sections about Flatulence

Copyright notice for book excerpts: Copyright © 2008 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. All rights reserved.

Misdiagnosis and Flatulence

Chronic digestive conditions often misdiagnosed: When diagnosing chronic symptoms of the digestive tract, there are a variety of conditions that may be misdiagnosed. The best known, irritable bowel syndrome, is over-diagnosed, whereas other...read more »

Intestinal bacteria disorder may be hidden cause: One of the lesser known causes of diarrhea is an imbalance of bacterial in the gut, sometimes called intestinal imbalance. The digestive system contains a variety of "good"...read more »

Antibiotics often causes diarrhea: The use of antibiotics are very likely to cause some level of diarrhea in patients. The reason is that antibiotics kill off not only "bad" bacteria, but...read more »

Food poisoning may actually be an infectious disease: Many people who come down with "stomach symptoms" like diarrhea assume that it's "something I ate" (i.e. food poisoning). In fact, it's more likely to be an ...read more »

Mesenteric adenitis misdiagnosed as appendicitis in children: Because appendicitis is one of the more feared conditions for a child with abdominal pain, it can be over-diagnosed (it can, of course, also fail to be...read more »

Celiac disease often fails to be diagnosed cause of chronic digestive symptoms: One of the most common chronic digestive conditions is celiac disease, a malabsorption disorder with a variety of...read more »

Chronic digestive diseases hard to diagnose: There is an inherent difficulty in diagnosing the various types of chronic digestive diseases. Some of...read more »

Read more about Misdiagnosis and Flatulence

Diagnostic tests for Flatulence:

Various tests are used in the diagnosis of Flatulence. Some of these are listed below :

• General inspection - note gulping of air and repetitive belching.
• Physical examination
  • Examine the gastrointestinal system to exclude signs of organic disease - e.g. bowel obstruction, abdominal masses.
• Blood tests
  • Hemoglobin looking for anemia that may suggest malabsorption of iron, folate, B12

See full list of 21 diagnostic tests for Flatulence

Diagnosis Checklist: Questions your doctor may ask (and why!)

During a consultation, your doctor will use various techniques in their assessment of Flatulence. Your doctor may ask several questions when assessing your condition. It is important to remember that your consultation is a two-way process and any extra information you can share with your doctor about your symptoms may help them with their diagnosis. Some of the questions your doctor may ask are listed below:

• How long have you noticed a problem with flatulence (gas passed from the anus)? - to establish if acute or chronic.
• Frequency and volume of flatus? - to attempt to establish if flatulence is possibly within the realms of normal physical needs. Average number of times flatus is passed in a normal healthy person is 13 times per day.
• Are you conscious of swallowing air? - swallowed air is the major source of gas in the upper gastrointestinal tract. In most cases of excessive belching and excessive flatulence there is no underlying pathology and the situation probably represents an acquired habit. Air is sucked into the esophagus with each belch, thus the most useful therapeutic option is to concentrate on avoiding the next belch.
• Ethnic origin? - In adults, lactose intolerance is the normal state in non- Caucasian populations.
• Dietary habit history - ingestion of poorly digestible but fermentable foods (such as sorbitol in diet drinks or chewing gum), high fiber diet, high legume diet and high brassica vegetable diet (cabbage and brussel sprouts) may increase the risk of excessive flatulence.

See Diagnosis Checklist for Flatulence (14 listings)

Diagnosis Checklist: Associated symptoms your doctor may ask about (and why!)

Sometimes, other symptoms may be present and may help your doctor analyse your condition. The symptoms your doctor may ask about (in association with Flatulence) may include:

• Heartburn or regurgitation? - would suggest reflux oesophagitis, gastric or duodenal ulcer or chronic cholecystitis.
• Abdominal pain or abdominal distension? - would indicate the possibility of partial intestinal obstruction, steatorrhea (excess fat in the stools due to malabsorption), diverticulitis or irritable bowel syndrome.
• Symptoms of anxiety, panic disorder or emotional upset? - e.g. nervousness, shakiness, tremor, restlessness, irritability, insomnia, poor concentration, heart palpitations, racing heart, sweating, dizziness, diarrhea, loss of appetite, lump in throat - may indicate that aerophagia (swallowing air) is the cause of flatulence.
• Symptoms of Irritable bowel syndrome? - e.g. bloating, abdominal distention, alternating constipation and diarrhea, nausea, excessive flatus.
• Symptoms of gallstones? - e.g. sudden onset of severe constant epigastric pain which may pass into the back. Symptoms are induced by a fatty meal.

See Diagnosis Checklist for Flatulence (14 listings)

Stories from Users for Flatulence

Real-life user stories relating to Flatulence:

• Bloating/Farting
• Awful Smelling Flatulence...Please help!
• Flatulence
• flatulence
• flatulence

Symptom specific forums: The following patient stories in our interactive forums and message boards relate to Flatulence or relevant symptoms:

• Cardiovascular (Heart and Blood Circulation) (171)
  • Chest pain and shortness of breath
  • Hand numbness
  • Purple-blue skin color
  • Need help with diagnoses
  • Anxiety and high BP
  • More user stories
• Gastrointestinal (Food - from entry to exit) (452)
  • Bloating/Distention/Intestinal Gas
  • Intense Abdominal Pain
  • Help Please! Extreme Abdominal Pain/Gas/Bowel Symptoms ++
  • Feels like a baby kicking-not pregnant
  • 7 year old with severe heartburn/stomach aches
  • More user stories
• Neurological (Nerves) (357)
  • Could this be MS?
  • Numbness and tingling all over
  • Tingling/numbness in arms/hands/legs/face/head [more symptoms]
  • Eye twitch
  • Essential tremor
  • More user stories

Videos for Flatulence

Patient Surveys for Flatulence

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Medications or substances causing Flatulence:

The following drugs, medications, substances or toxins are some of the possible causes of Flatulence as a symptom. Always advise your doctor of any medications or treatments you are using, including prescription, over-the-counter, supplements, herbal or alternative treatments.

• Cinoxacin
• Cinobac Pulvules
• Alka-Mints
• Amitone
• Biocal

See full list of 36 medications causing Flatulence

Drug interactions causing Flatulence:

When combined, certain drugs, medications, substances or toxins may react causing Flatulence as a symptom. Always advise your doctor of any medications or treatments you are using, including prescription, over-the-counter, supplements, herbal or alternative treatments.

• Donepezil and Paroxetine interaction

See full list of 1 drug interactions causing Flatulence

Article Excerpts about Flatulence

Another common complaint is passage of too much gas through the rectum (flatulence). However, most people do not realize that passing gas 14 to 23 times a day is normal. Too much gas may be the result of carbohydrate malabsorption. (Source: excerpt from Gas in the Digestive Tract: NIDDK)

Another common complaint is passage of too much gas through the rectum (flatulence). However, most people do not realize that passing gas 14 to 23 times a day is normal. Too much gas may be the result of carbohydrate malabsorption. (Source: excerpt from Gas in the Digestive Tract: NIDDK)

Definitions of Flatulence:

Flatulence: Presence of an excessive amount of gas in the stomach and intestines. [Mod. L. flatulentus, fr. L. flatus, a blowing, fr. flo, pp. flatus, to blow]
Source: Stedman's Medical Spellchecker, © 2006 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. All rights reserved.

A state of excessive gas in the alimentary canal
- (Source - WordNet 2.1)

Organs affected by Flatulence:

The list of organs typically affected by Flatulence may include, but is not limited to:

• Large bowel
• Small bowel
• Stomach

Detailed list of causes of Flatulence

The list below shows some of the causes of Flatulence mentioned in various sources:

• 3-month colic - the common flatulence in infants up to 3 months due to immature gut.
• Accessory navicular bone - flatulence
• Achlorhydria - gas
• Acinic cell carcinoma - flatulence
• Aerophagia - swallowing air creates both belching and also flatulence

See full list of 103 causes of Flatulence

How Common are these Causes of Flatulence?

This information refers to the general prevalence and incidence of these diseases, not to how likely they are to be the actual cause of Flatulence. Of the 103 causes of Flatulence that we have listed, we have the following prevalence/incidence information:

• 4 causes are "very common" diseases
• 9 causes are "common" diseases
• 1 causes are "uncommon" diseases
• 0 causes are "rare" diseases
• 9 causes are "very rare" diseases
• 86 causes have no prevalence information.

See the analysis of the prevalence of 103 causes of Flatulence

Conditions listing symptoms: Flatulence:

The following list of conditions have 'Flatulence' or similar listed as a symptom in our database. This computer-generated list may be inaccurate or incomplete. Always seek prompt professional medical advice about the cause of any symptom.

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Causes of Flatulence Based on Risk Factors

This information shows analysis of the list of causes of Flatulence based on whether certain risk factors apply to the patient: