Belching means a small passive outflow of gas through the mouth due to the reduction of the diaphragm. It is accompanied mainly by a characteristic sound, and in some cases by a smell. Most often this is a harmless phenomenon, which occurs due to the fact that a large amount of air enters the stomach with food, water or during a quick conversation - a person just involuntarily swallows it.
But belching with air and pain in the chest , temperature can be symptoms of serious disorders of the digestive tract. These cases will be considered later in the article.
If burping is frequent
Normally, in our stomach there is always some amount of gas that stimulates the secretion and motor function of its walls in it. But sometimes, for some reason, the volume of gas becomes excessive, and this causes an increase in pressure, which provokes a contraction of the gastric muscles in parallel with a decrease in tone in the lower esophageal sphincter. So there is a frequent burping of air.
Pain in the chest, as well as other unpleasant symptoms that attach to it, as a rule, indicates problems in the esophagus or stomach, for example, impaired peristalsis in these organs, diaphragmatic hernia, kink or stenosis of the stomach, and the like. .
But belching can occur with problems with the gall bladder, liver, and even with cardiac pathologies. Let's take a closer look at this.
Gastroesophageal Reflux
Most often, belching with air and chest pain are the main symptoms of a disease such as gastroesophageal reflux (in medicine it is also known as gastroesophageal).
This pathology is the movement of the food lump in the opposite direction - from the stomach to the esophagus. At the same time, the patient has heartburn, frequent belching and pain in the left side of the chest or behind the sternum. The voice becomes hoarse, a cough appears, and the enamel on the teeth begins to rapidly decay.
The most common causes of reflux include insufficiency of the esophageal sphincter, which does not create a reliable barrier to the reverse movement of the contents of the stomach.
In this case, pain in the chest is caused by inflammation of the mucous membrane lining the esophagus, provoked by constant contact with the acidic contents of the stomach. In addition, the development of inflammation is also helped by the digestive enzymes that make up the gastric juice.
The disease is treated depending on the severity of the course. So, with short-term attacks, changing the diet and dieting is enough to improve the patient's condition. And severe cases require constant use of drugs that reduce acidity and reduce acid production in the stomach. If this therapy is unsuccessful, the patient requires surgical intervention.
Achalasia Cardia
Another disease of the esophagus, which may be accompanied by symptoms such as belching of the air and pain in the chest after eating, during it, and even regardless of the meal, is cardiac achalasia.
Cardia is a part of the stomach that is located in close proximity to the esophagus, at the junction with it. The muscle layer of this part of the stomach in the normal state opens when food is swallowed and closes when its digestion begins. With violations in the parasympathetic nervous system, malfunctions in the functioning of the cardia can occur, which leads to the disease in question.
If there is a suspicion of achalasia, difficulty in swallowing, which appears suddenly and for no apparent reason, joins the above symptoms.
Achalasia is a serious disease, and its treatment requires the restoration of patency of the cardia, which is possible only with surgical dissection of the muscles or by balloon dilatation. Drug therapy relieves the symptoms of the disease and in this case is auxiliary in nature.
Esophageal diverticulums
Belching with air and chest pain can also be caused by diverticula of the esophagus. The basis of the problem most often lies inherent features of the development of the food tube, which lead to the protrusion of its walls in the form of a bag.
But diverticula can also be acquired. In this case, they are caused by inflammatory processes in this part of the gastrointestinal tract of various etiologies, injuries of the esophagus, as well as chronic reflux of stomach contents into it.
The main sign of the disease is a putrid odor during belching, a sensation of a coma or foreign body in the throat, as well as soreness and difficulty while swallowing food. The salivation in this case, as a rule, increases, and in the neck, when the head is tilted back, in some cases, a protrusion that is soft to the touch can be found.
With the development of complications and the growth of the diverticulum, the patient needs surgery to remove it.
Esophageal hernia in the diaphragm
Diaphragmatic hernia appears when the ligaments that hold the esophagus and diaphragm are dilated, the diaphragmatic opening is expanded and the abdominal organs located under it are expelled into the chest.
Quite often (in almost half of patients), this pathology has minor symptoms. As a rule, this is heartburn that occurs after eating or when the body is tilted, belching with air, and chest pain. That this is associated with a hernia, the patient understands only after fluoroscopy, which is carried out for another reason.
Diaphragmatic hernia can be infringed, causing bleeding, anemia and other serious consequences. The choice of conservative or surgical treatment of the disease depends on the severity of the symptoms.
What causes diaphragmatic hernia
It is important to know that a hiatal hernia , as well as concomitant burping of air and chest pain occurs as a result of any problem that can increase intra-abdominal pressure. This can be a chronic cough, constant tension of the abdominal muscles, the appearance of tumors in the digestive tract, pregnancy, etc.
Gastrointestinal diseases, accompanied by a sharp contraction of the muscles of the esophagus, can also provoke its appearance. Inflammation of the gallbladder, gastric ulcer, pancreatitis or gastroduodenitis - all this leads to an increase in the tone of the esophagus, and it shifts upward, closer to the chest.
Peptic ulcer
If a patient has frequent belching of air and chest pain, nausea with periodic vomiting, severe heartburn, lack of appetite, if he noticeably loses weight, then, most likely, we have symptoms of gastric ulcer.
This ailment is characterized by the appearance of ulcerations on the gastric mucosa. As a rule, the reason for this is the imbalance between the aggressive environment (hydrochloric acid, which is part of the gastric juice) and the protective abilities of the mucosa.
Launched peptic ulcer leads to serious consequences in the form of perforation - the appearance of a through hole through which the contents of the stomach enter the abdominal cavity, which means that you should immediately consult a doctor.
Belching with air and chest pain: how to treat
In order to get rid of belching and uncomfortable sensations, you need to get rid of the underlying disease that causes such symptoms. And this requires a different treatment. But in all cases, foods that cause increased gas formation or are long digested in the stomach, as well as carbonated drinks, are excluded from the diet.
With the correct diagnosis and the correct treatment, you will leave exhausting belching with air and pain in the chest. Treatment with folk remedies will help alleviate some manifestations of these diseases.
- So, beets both in fresh and in boiled form help to reduce acidity.
- And with a stomach ulcer, cabbage juice is very useful, which is taken for 2 months before meals (30 minutes) in a quarter cup. Gradually increase the dose, bringing to a whole glass.
- With an exacerbation of an ulcer, a decoction of oats is also good. Its washed and dried grains (1 cup) are ground and poured into boiling water (2.5 l), the fire is reduced and cooked, stirring, for 45 minutes. The broth is filtered through cheesecloth and drunk in a warm form. Dose: 0.5 cup 2 times daily before meals. Store in the refrigerator.
- Chinese schisandra relieves burping and pain . Juice is prepared from its fruits and is drunk a tablespoon three times a day after meals (after 20 minutes). The action lasts up to 5 hours and occurs within 40 minutes after administration.
Belching with air and chest pain during pregnancy
Separately, mention should be made of belching and chest pain that appears in pregnant women. Most often, such troubles happen in the third trimester. This is usually facilitated by the growth of the uterus and an increase in the production of certain hormones, leading to some weakening of the muscles of the stomach and esophagus. It is these phenomena that cause belching along with the heartburn that joins it. By the way, sometimes they are in no way connected with meals.
In such cases, pregnant women are offered to adjust the diet (it is made fractional, which reduces the burden on the stomach), remove products from the menu that the body reacts noticeably, and in certain cases, use sedatives.