Help! I can’t stop farting!

Q: Help! I farted in class and someone heard me!  What can I do to get rid of my gas??

A: Believe it or not, the normal frequency of passing gas is 14-23 times per day!  There are two major sources of intestinal gas: swallowed air and gas produced by bacteria in the colon.  Most people who have problems with gas don’t actually have excess gas in their intestines, but rather an increased sensitivity to normal amounts of gas. 

If you’re farting more often than 24 times a day (that’s not a challenge, guys) or you’re having difficulty keeping it from happening at inopportune times, you should take a look at what you’re eating and how fast you’re eating it. 

Air swallowing is the major source of gas in the stomach.  It’s normal to swallow some air while eating, but drinking carbonated beverages, drinking through a straw, chewing gum and eating too quickly can cause you to swallow an excessive amount of air.  Most swallowed air is released through burping, but what doesn’t come up must go down.

Certain high-fiber and carbohydrate containing foods such as cabbage, Brussels sprouts, asparagus, beans, broccoli, and some whole grains may not break down well in your digestive tract.  When they come into contact with the bacteria in your colon they ferment and produce lots of gas, as artfully demonstrated in the following classic scene from Blazing Saddles

(C’mon – there had to be a fart joke in here somewhere and this is the Mona Lisa of fart jokes!  Question the taste and maturity level of the clip all you want, but I’ll bet you a bottle of Bean-O you laughed…) 

If you’re having uncomfortable amounts of gas and bloating, you can do some things to help.  In addition to avoiding the above mentioned foods and activities, you should:

  • Increase your non-carbonated fluid intake, particularly water
  • Minimize alcohol consumption
  • Eat slowly and chew your food thoroughly
  • Do not smoke or use other tobacco products
  • Keep calm – tension can cause you to swallow air
  • Exercise regularly
  • Avoid dairy products if you are lactose intolerant

Some over-the-counter medications may also help:

  • Simethicone containing products (Maalox Anti-Gas, Mylanta Gas, Gas-X, Phazyme) cause gas bubbles to break up, which may decrease discomfort
  • Bean-O is an enzyme supplement that helps break down carbohydrates and may help if your gas is caused by foods such as beans and broccoli
  • A lactase supplement (LactAid) will help gas caused by lactose intolerance

Of course, excessive intestinal gas may also be a sign of a more serious problem.  If the above steps don’t help, be sure to come and see us at the Student Health Center.

Angela Walker, Med IV (Ohio State College of Medicine)

John A. Vaughn, MD (Ohio State Student Health Services)

107 thoughts on “Help! I can’t stop farting!

  1. Is there a way to make farts less stinky? I hate making a stink. I’ve been dreaming of peppermint smelling farts. I wish someone would invent a gas pill that would provide a peppermint likes stink. It would be so much better than smelling like poops in the bathroom.
    I fart the most either when I’m around and people exercising. It my yoga class it seems the most rememberable. Our yoga master has us bending, squatting, or stretching or opening our hips with pigeon stretches my farts are loud, profound, stinky and embarrassing. I try my best to hold my but cheeks muffle my farts, but they still seem quite loud and always making a stink.
    P.S. This blog is so funny somebody should write a short story on farting and include it! Lol

    • It’s most likely your diet . Dairy being one can make your farts stink , anyone that drinks protein shakes knows what I’m talking about .milk ,cheese eggs .also gassy foods like beans and broccoli are a factor .best advice is to write down what u eat and try to eliminate or cut down on the foods that make up fart .I workout myself 4 times a week and ever since drinking rotten shake my farts have increased and smell ,I also eat broccoli and beans and eggs ,it is what it is and don’t plan on changing my diet as these foods are important in my diet working out ,then again I have a home gym so I don’t care, I’ve learned to walk away when I fart in public and the faces people make are halirious

    • Poor you ,if it’s anything to you I went to a Hatha yoga class about 25yrs ago with my cousin who had given birth 3mths earlier and we were instructed to do a shoulder stand and my cousin let out the hugest fart on the planet !In fear she lowered her legs and let out an equally loud fanny fart (we call our front bits ,vaginas fanny in the UK and what you guys call an ‘ass’ we say arse) ..a classy lot indeed!! LOL ANYWAY ..the fanny fart sounded exactly like someone stretching the opening of a balloon combined with a dolphin..LOL..Needless to say she NEVER went back to class LOL..
      If I was you I’d try an elimination of say dairy for a week and keep a diary each day and introduce it back into the diet say like with your breakfast cereal..if you start farting then you have an idea..Try that with a few other things ,believe me I have Lupus and have Crohns with it and have been a vegan for 40yrs and I personally believe stress plays a massive part of bringing gut problems on..Also try drinking fennel tea and eating slowly but regularly..Good luck to you and hope my yoga tale made you laugh ,just glad it wasn’t me LOL..love Sophie Wilde x

    • If your blog is kind of funny but you haven’t smelled mine I stand up I sit down my smell like rotten eggs I’m on Miralax because of my meds and I’m on that stuff for life hope we both have a toote life

  2. I can’t breathe anymore, this is killing me, because all I read applies to me. I farted like 10 or 15 times during reading this and probably another 10 times writing this. I fart over 50 times a day easy, it smells like dead people, even worse, it smells so extremly intense that it sometimes burns away my ass and nose hair, not kidding. Sometimes I fart that much, that I started believing that I fart out what I inhale through my lungs and not exhale anything. I eat exactly the same as everyone else eats in this household, but still I am the one that farts at least twice every 10 minutes. I fart so much that I am able to feel when a fart comes 2 minutes before it comes, I am even able to control if it makes a sound or not… and as already mentioned its extremely heavy stuff, like it smells beyond evil. I was eating for a long time a “certain” way with “certain” foods, but it never made a difference, i still kept farting. Can someone help me, what am I supposed to do? My mum just tells me its from eating to fast or not taking a walk after, but even if I do all she tells me, I fart like a machine gun… help… please…

    • Make sure none of your foods contain sugar alcohols as sweeteners. These will end with “itol” (example mannitol). These sweeteners have a laxative affect and produce a lot of gas. If that is not the case, I would suggest you avoid all carbohydrates and sugar for a week and see if your symptoms improve. You can have a overgrowth of bacteria or Yeast in your bowels. These organisms feed on sugar and carbs and in turn they release a lot of gases. Avoid carbs for a week and if your situation improves significantly you should look into treatments for sibo, small intestinal bacterial overgrowth

    • Try some pickles or 2 tablespoons of pickle juice it will reduce your farts down to practically nothing my husband farts constantly so one day I said you got to do something about them farts I can’t take it no more after we had left Walmart and he caught one so bad and then left the scene and I was standing there with my nose all crinkled up people looking at me like as if I had done it so I pointed to him I said oh hell no he’s the one that did

  3. I have been getting this problem since i was 14 ..and now i am 19.I have checked out my diet ..still there’s the problem.Now the problem is i m getting embarrassed becoz of this and getting frustruated all the time.I can’t concentrate on my work.Psychologically its giving me a great problem.And i am feeling helpless becoz i can’t say this problem to others ..if i say also, other will say its normal.Plz help me what can i do to enjoy my life without fart.

    • Hey don’t feel bad ,many people go through the same thing but don’t admit it , try eating a cleaner diet and drink lots of water ,eliminate soda,beans,broccoli,and dairy or have very lil .hopefully that will help ,if u exercise that will help us sweat and take out toxins in body ,and so are you using the bathroom everyday? Cause the longer ppl hold it in the more toxic it is. I hope things get better or u can hook up with a guy that’s not judgemental towards you (like me) best of luck namor2385@aol.com

    • I have the same problem. It’s embarrassing, even my husband has made comments when we’re together, out or at home. I have spoken to my doctor and he says it’s gonna happen. There’s really nothing you can do. Because of my health issues prevent me from going to the gym and working out at this time. Eventually, I should be able to do water exercises a little yoga and a couple of the equipment from a gym that I actually have at home. However, with dieting, my doctor stated I need more green vegetables, fruit etc. Water isn’t a problem. I am lactose intolerant and I switched milk products . I need the vitamins. I have great bone density for my age. The gas is still there. Luckily it doesn’t have an odor. I am really frustrated with this problem. Over the counter meds do not work. I’ve tried several. Any thoughts on this? I’m really frustrated at this point.

    • I actually found the solution to my problem, others should try this too! It was actually so simple, so I read somewhere here that milk products could be the cause of my problem, so I said to myself lets eat one week without milk products. So absolutely nothing, no cheese, no yogurt, no chocklate nothing that contains milk in any form and guess what: On my first day of this experiment, I didnt fart at all, as soon as I stopped eating milk products, my extreme farting stopped as well. Since then I don’t have any problems 🙂 try it!

    • I agree ,I haven’t stopped drinking milk and dairy products ,but stopped taking protein shakes that I had daily and it’s a lot better then what it was ,not as funky and definitely reduced a lot of gas .stopping dairy products completely will probably solve that issue but living a normal life and farting every once in a while is normal just listen to your body

  4. My husband is always farting it’s killing me.Maybe I need to put wall in between our bed . Don’t beliEve her she stinks without farting

  5. It started about 2008: huge gases building up inside my belly at work. With no option of release, as it would be an extremly long and loud fart, I had to constantly push it back, wich made my belly growl as loud as an earthquake. It’s like sitting on a bomb, every 4 or 6 minutes comes another push, you try to hold it in and it makes you stressed, and that stress produces even more growls…

    Sometimes it growls like a human voice and people ask me what I have said to them.

    If I fart it’s often very loud, like an explosion. I think exercises for the belly and the right food play a major role, so I’m on my way to help my intestines as I’ve noticed that the digestive system plays a major role in our wellbeing and well feeling. A good digestion lightens up the mood and empowers you.

    • Are you serious? Holy cow this was the funniest thing I heard in a while , I swear you had me tearing up and coughing lol
      But for real if you really have a problem change your diet ,try to cut out dairy ,soda anything that makes you gassy . You should see some type of results .it def helped me alot cutting protein shakes ,and cheese but I drink 2% milk for cereal. 10 weeks later I can say I’m farting like a average healthy human .be in tune with your body and what u consume yull figure it out like me

  6. Dear! I am male and 29 years old,I have a serious farting problem for the last 8 years. Because of this I discriminated from work and people.My life as a whole in trouble. what I can do? Is there any curing medical solution? please,advise me!!!!

  7. I eat a primarily vegan diet – but sometimes will eat some basic dairy products like feta. No milk or yoghurt. And guess what – I fart well over 50 times a day, and farts of the most insidious composition. I’m talking bio-weapon material.

    The only time the farts went away – was when I fasted for five days and only 3 days in did it stop.

    We’re doomed fart-friends.

  8. I am an indian from africa and i have a very bad case of stinky farts i go to bathroom daily but right after my bathroom i start to fart i am diabetic and i take medication for it and also pain pills i only eat indian food i don’t eat out i cook my food daily as healthy as possible but sometimes i eat fried food too but problem is if i stay hungry all day then NO farts but as soon as i put any kind of food in my stomach my stinky farts start.i had colonoscopy and Top done and no problem showed. need help very bad and urgently I have tried all over the counter med i was fired from work because all people complained

  9. I remember farting in a lineup and it was so noxious that guys were running, girls were crying and a couple of kids were knocked down. The best thing to do in this situation is trying to blame it on someone else. Just look around and start walking backward. Usually, there will be someone who can’t smell anything and they are blamed.

  10. My husband gets very upset every time I pass gas and he always tells me how disrespectful I am, but honestly I can’t help it. I’m so sad even thou I could probably hold it in. I would t because I know that could get me sick. But I’m so annoyed of myself passing so much gas and I don’t know what to do. My farts are so loud but they don’t stink is like just air in my body. Sometimes they do stink but rare. Most of the time is just gas without the bad smell. 🙁 please someone help me. I would like to prevent it.

  11. EVERYONE I FOUND THE SOLUTION!

    It’s actually pretty simple, just don’t eat ANY kind of MEAT or MILK products. What I mean with that is literally NOTHING. Check the back of every product to make sure that there is nothing in any kind related to milk. Change to a plant based diet. I have farted my entire life like a pig. I tried eating a different style and it worked, I am not farting at all anymore. Try it out and see yourself you can thank me after.

  12. I have a problem I been farting since I was a little girl I have tried to take pills to stop farting and I just can’t stop I can’t seem to be able to hold in my farts I’m embarrassed I fart at every time moment day everyday it’s so embarrassing I think I have a problem idk what to do help

  13. Many people have small intestinal bacterial overgrowth and don’t even know it. This could be an overgrowth of pathogenic bacteria or Yeast, or both. If you eat a diet high in carbohydrates or you have taken antibiotics you are at risk. Antibiotics kill off the beneficial bacteria that is necessary to keep the pathogenic bacteria in check. Carbohydrates feed the bad bacteria, when they are fed they release gases. Avoid all carbs for a week and see if your symptoms improve. If so, it is likely you have an overgrowth. A low-carb diet keeps your symptoms at Bay, but you still have to treat the overgrowth with either natural or prescription remedies and probiotics

  14. I have wet myself and farted at least 50 times while reading all these funny comments cos every one of them relates to me. I do wet farts, dry farts, but every one is a noisy fart. In the morning while standing to pee,it sounds like a thundEr storm outside. And I never bend over in a supermarket……………..I have no control!!!!

  15. Here is the solution. The key active ingredient to remedy the gas is alpha-galactosidase which is why I choose Beano. There are other products but make sure it contains that ingredient. Since I am also lactose intolerant i take Lactaid. Two to three pills at each meal and you will have no embarrassing accidents.

  16. When possible try to blame your farts on someone else. This works with the SBD fart. Silent but deadly. Just get a look on your face and back away. Works in public places.

  17. Really funny all of the comments. My farts are okay-ish… they can be silent and not smelly but the mayor problem is that they are so frequent. I stay at my boyfriend’s or the other way around for a couple of days a month and I have to go to the bathroom or to another room every 5 minutes to let them out…. it’s annoying, specially when we are in the mood and I’m holding one, it’s so inconvenient and awkward.

  18. I was recently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. I’ve been on metformin for about 6 months. I’ve also changed my diet to less carbs and more veggies and proteins. I have BAD gas about 5 days in seven: rotten egg burps, painful bloating and a TON of large, stinky farts. My doctor says that the effects of the medicine would have worn off by now. I’m not sure how to combat this gas. It’s awful.

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