It’s never pleasant to feel bloated and sluggish, regardless of whether your symptoms are mildly uncomfortable or on the more painful side. In either case, suffering from stomach bloat is not an ideal situation only made worse if you’re not sure why you’re feeling that way or how to treat the symptoms.
Luckily, you can help to beat the bloat with a few easy steps and remedies.
AVOID FIZZY DRINKS
As a general rule, you should be trying to avoid fizzy drinks whenever possible. Their high sugar content is not only bad for your teeth and your weight, but the air released by carbonated drinks can also cause bloating too. Many of these fizzy drinks are carbonated to give them bubbles and this excess carbon dioxide can easily become trapped in the digestive system, leaving you feeling unnecessarily bloated.
If you do drink quite a lot of fizzy drinks, or you believe that’s what has caused your bloat, try to swap this out for water in future and see if that can help you beat the bloat.
EAT A REGULAR AND BALANCED DIET
Similarly to drinking less fizzy drinks, eating a more balanced diet, at routine times, can also help to reduce the uncomfortable bloating that you may be experiencing. Large fatty meals are an obvious culprit when it comes to bloating, as they are harder to digest than smaller, more regular portions containing the correct amount of vegetables and fibre that your body needs.
Thoroughly chewing food and avoiding talking while eating can also help you to deal with the effects of bloating. If you chew properly and keep your mouth closed, then you are less likely to take in any excess air. This air can quickly become trapped in the stomach and easily lead to an unpleasant bloating sensation.
TRY TO AVOID CHEWING GUM
If you find that you’re dealing with bloating more often than you’d like, and you also happen to chew gum a lot of the time, those two things may actually be connected. In fact, the NHS specifically recommends that if you’re experiencing bloat then it may be time to stop chewing gum.
Not only can the constant chewing lead to you swallowing too much air, but when this air mixes with your digestive gases, then this trapped air can quickly increase the pressure in your stomach and give you that unpleasant bloated feeling. If you feel that you can go without chewing gum for a while, give it a try and see if it helps.
A HOT BATH
While taking a hot bath is not necessarily a remedy for dealing with stomach bloating as such, it can help with the pain that sometimes accompanies bloating and abdominal discomfort. If you’re experiencing bloat, then this can put increased stress on the abdomen, and heat therapy is great for abdominal pain.
The heat of the water, whether it’s a hot bath or a hot water bottle, can help to promote blood flow by dilating the blood vessels which, by extension, promotes circulation and helps tired muscles relax.
TRY RENNIE DEFLATINE
If you find the bloating continues, you could try an over-the-counter treatment. Rennie Deflatine contains an active ingredient called simeticone, which effectively acts to disperse the gas accumulated in the digestive tract. As such, it helps to relieve trapped wind and bloating, as well as other digestive conditions such as heartburn and acid reflux.
SEE A DOCTOR OR PHARMACIST
If your problems persist and you can’t find a reliable method to effectively treat your bloating or stomach pain, then it’s always worth getting a medical opinion from a doctor or pharmacist. Not only will this give you the most reliable advice, but it could also give you peace of mind if you’re concerned that the problem may be more serious than it actually is.
TIPS & ADVICE
Take a look at out tips and advice on how to have a happier digestive life.
