Aerophagia is a condition where people swallow air, causing bloating, gas, and belching. It can be caused by non-invasive ventilation, bad eating habits, stress, anxiety, or certain medical conditions. Lifestyle adjustments and therapy can help manage the condition.
Aerophagia is a condition where people swallow air. Swallowed air can create a bloated or distended feeling in the stomach and cause gas or belching as the body tries to express it. There are a number of causes for aerophagia and this condition can often be treated or managed with some lifestyle adjustments. It may be helpful to see a respiratory therapist or other respiratory specialist to learn more about how to prevent aerophagia.
A common reason patients experience this problem is non-invasive ventilation such as using a CPAP machine. If the settings are incorrect, the system may force the patient to swallow air. Because these systems are often used while sleeping, the patient may not be aware of the problem. If someone on a CPAP machine wakes up feeling uncomfortable, bloated, or full of gas, aerophagia could be the reason. A doctor can adjust the recommended settings to reduce the incidence of air swallowing.
Another cause of aerophagia can be bad eating habits. People who gulp food or eat in a hurry may swallow air along with the food. Similarly, people under stress and anxiety may gulp air. The physical discomfort associated with aerophagia can sometimes increase stress, as can the belching that often accompanies this condition. Doing deep breathing exercises, eating more slowly, and managing stress and anxiety can sometimes resolve aerophagia.
Another condition that can lead to aerophagia is a spinal cord injury, head injury, or developmental disability. In these cases, people may have impaired swallowing and breathing reflexes that could result in swallowing air. Sometimes physical therapy can fix the problem and help the patient feel more comfortable. Regular therapy for recovering from traumatic brain injury and spinal cord injury may include opportunities to work on breathing and swallowing so people can eat and communicate with others more comfortably, and this could solve the problem.
If anyone is experiencing this problem, it is definitely worth visiting the doctor to talk about the situation. Your doctor can confirm that aerophagia is really what’s happening, explore possible causes, and make recommendations for management and treatment. There may be a few simple steps that can be taken to address the problem and this could greatly increase someone’s quality of life. Low-level aerophagia can be intrusive enough to be irritating without being obvious to diagnose, and once identified and addressed, a patient may find that they feel much more comfortable than she is.
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