Belching, also known as burping, ructus, or eructation, involves the release of gas from the digestive tract (mainly esophagus and stomach) through the mouth. It is usually accompanied with a typical sound and, at times, an odor.
Physiology
Belching is typically caused by swallowing air (aerophagia) when eating or drinking and subsequently expelling it, so in this case the expelled gas is mainly a mixture of nitrogen and oxygen. Burps can also be caused by drinking carbonated drinks such as beer, soft drinks, or champagne, in which case the expelled gas is carbon dioxide from the drink itself. Common diabetes drugs metformin [1] and Byetta [2] can cause belching, especially at higher doses. This often resolves in a few weeks. Belching combined with other symptoms such as dyspepsia, nausea and heartburn may be a sign of an ulcer or hiatal hernia, and should be reviewed by a physician. [3]
The sound of burping is caused by the vibration of the upper esophageal sphincter[4] as the gas passes through it. The current Guinness world record for the loudest burp is 118.1 dB, set by Paul Hunn from London, England in 2000.[5] (This would be noticeably louder than a chainsaw at a distance of 1 meter.)
Social context and etiquette
In many parts of the world, audible burping is not much appreciated and is therefore considered to be somewhat impolite (although generally not as much as flatulence). However, in other areas it can be considered a sign of completion of a meal or a form of applause for the cook. Sometimes, children and teenagers engage in burping contests to determine who can produce the loudest burp, the longest burp, the most guttural burp, the burping of words, songs, or even the alphabet.
Infant burping
Babies are particularly subject to accumulation of gas in the stomach while feeding, and this can cause considerable agitation to the child unless it is burped. The act of burping an infant involves placing the child in a position conducive to gas expulsion (for example holding the infant up to the adult’s shoulder, with the infant’s stomach resting on the adult’s chest) and then lightly patting it on the lower back so that he or she burps. This practice is not universal, for instance in the Czech Republic, there is no tradition of burping babies.[6]
Because burping can cause vomiting in infants, the burp cloth or burp pad is sometimes employed on the shoulder to protect the adult’s clothing.
In animals
Many other mammals, such as cattle, dogs, and sheep also burp. In the case of ruminants, the gas expelled is actually methane produced as a byproduct of the animal’s digestive process. Anaerobic organisms such as Escherichia coli (E. coli) and methanogenic archaea produce this effect. An average cow is thought to emit between 542 litres (if located in a barn) and 600 litres (if in a field) of methane per day through burping and exhalation, making commercially farmed cattle a major contributor to the greenhouse effect. 95% of this gas is emitted through belching.[7] This has led scientists at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation of Perth, Australia, to develop an anti-methanogen vaccine to minimize methane in cattle burps.[8]
Some fish are also known to expel air from their gills; here the burp is produced by gas being expelled from the gas bladder.
Homeopathy Treatment for Belching
Keywords: homeopathy, homeopathic, treatment, cure, remedy, remedies, medicine
Homeopathy treats the person as a whole. It means that homeopathic treatment focuses on the patient as a person, as well as his pathological condition. The homeopathic medicines are selected after a full individualizing examination and case-analysis, which includes the medical history of the patient, physical and mental constitution, family history, presenting symptoms, underlying pathology, possible causative factors etc. A miasmatic tendency (predisposition/susceptibility) is also often taken into account for the treatment of chronic conditions. A homeopathy doctor tries to treat more than just the presenting symptoms. The focus is usually on what caused the disease condition? Why ‘this patient’ is sick ‘this way’. The disease diagnosis is important but in homeopathy, the cause of disease is not just probed to the level of bacteria and viruses. Other factors like mental, emotional and physical stress that could predispose a person to illness are also looked for. No a days, even modern medicine also considers a large number of diseases as psychosomatic. The correct homeopathy remedy tries to correct this disease predisposition. The focus is not on curing the disease but to cure the person who is sick, to restore the health. If a disease pathology is not very advanced, homeopathy remedies do give a hope for cure but even in incurable cases, the quality of life can be greatly improved with homeopathic medicines.
The homeopathic remedies (medicines) given below indicate the therapeutic affinity but this is not a complete and definite guide to the homeopathy treatment of this condition. The symptoms listed against each homeopathic remedy may not be directly related to this disease because in homeopathy general symptoms and constitutional indications are also taken into account for selecting a remedy. To study any of the following remedies in more detail, please visit the Materia Medica section at www.Hpathy.com.
None of these medicines should be taken without professional advice and guidance.
Homeopathy Remedies for Belching :
Acon., aesc., agar., ali-c., ambr., ant-c., ant-t., arg-n., arn., ars., asaf., asar., bar-c., bell., bism., bry., calc., camph., canth., carb-ac., carb-an., carb-s., carb-v., caust., cham., chel., chin., cinnb., cimic., cocc., colch., con., croc., cupr., cycl., dios., dulc., eup-per., ferr., ferr-i., fl-ac., gels., graph., guai., helon., hep., hydr., hydrog., ign., iod., ip., iris., jug-c., kali-bi., kali-c., kali-p., kali-s., kalm., lac-ac., lac-d., lach., laur., lec., lyc., mag-c., mag-m., med., merc., mez., mur-ac., nat-a., nat-m., nat-p., nat-s., nit-ac., nux-v., ox-ac., petr., ph-ac., phos., plb., psor., puls., ran-b., ran-s., rhus-t., ruta., sabad., sars., seneg., sep., sil., suil., stann., staph., sul-ac., sulph., tarax., tarent., thuj., valer., verat., verb., zinc.
References
- ^ DailyMed: About DailyMed
- ^ DailyMed: About DailyMed
- ^ Eructation (Professional Guide to Signs & Symptoms (Fifth Edition)) – WrongDiagnosis.com
- ^ GI Motility online: Upper esophageal sphincter – Ivan M. Lang, D.V.M., Ph.D.
- ^ Guinness World Records – Guardian (UK)
- ^ Common Sense about Babies and Children, H Jolly – 1983 – Unwin Paperbacks
- ^ MyCattle Health News
- ^ Burp vaccine cuts greenhouse gas emissions – New Scientist
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