Farting is usually nothing to worry about – everyone farts, some more than others. And there are different types of farts, from loud to silent and smelly.
Doctor Janine Bowring, a naturopathic doctor with more than 933,000 followers on TikTok, explained in a video on her channel what could be causing the nature of your farts.
Loud farts
Loud farts are caused by the muscles of the bowel forcing air out. Dr Bowring explained: “A loud fart means that there could be lots of trapped gas in the intestines and there is a higher velocity of that fart due to the tension in the sphincter as it’s escaping.”
Silent but deadly farts
Silent but smelly farts could be due to what you’ve eaten. Dr Bowring said: “The silent but deadly fart may be because you are consuming more sulphur, so things like broccoli can cause that type of silent but deadly fart.”
Wet farts
“The infamous wet fart,” said Dr Bowring. She continued: “That could mean there’s an incomplete evacuation from your last bowel movement in the last part of the intestines.
“And that is then when you do pass gas and have that fart that you have a bit of evacuation happening at that point.”
To fix your “farting environment”, Dr Bowring offered some tips, the first being to get outside in nature.
She said: “You’ve got to get outside into nature, into fresh air. That’s really going to do a lot for helping with your microbiome.”
Dr Bowring also recommended taking a supplement: “Take a high quality probiotic without any fillers or flow agents.”
Cut down excessive or smelly farts
The NHS recommends some things that could help:
- Eat smaller meals, more often
- Drink or chew food slowly, with your mouth closed
- Exercise regularly to improve how your body digests food
- Drink peppermint tea
You should avoid:
- Chewing gum, smoke, or suck pen tops or hard sweets (to avoid swallowing air)
- Wearing loose-fitting dentures
- Eating too many foods that are difficult to digest and make you fart
- Drinking too much beer, wine or fruit juice
A pharmacist may also be able to help with excessive or smelly farts.
But you should see a GP if:
- Farting is affecting your life and self help and pharmacy treatments have not worked
- You have a stomach ache or bloating that will not go away or comes back
- You keep getting constipation or diarrhoea
- You have lost weight without trying
- You’ve had blood in your poo for three weeks