What is Chronic Flatulence?

Chronic flatulence is a condition where flatulence is extremely persistent or constantly recurrent. There are many different possible causes for this condition, and it can sometimes be hard to isolate the cause of a particular case. Some of the most common causes include various dietary intolerances and gastrointestinal disorders like Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). Sometimes, it can also be a behavioral issue involving the way individuals eat food, and many people who think they have chronic flatulence are actually overestimating the extent of their problem.

In some cases, chronic flatulence can be persistent enough to bother someone for years, or it can only linger for a few weeks or months. The length of time that a person has to deal with the disorder will generally depend on the cause. Even though it can be embarrassing, flatulence is not actually dangerous, but sometimes the underlying cause can be fairly serious.

The most common cause of repeated flatulence is an intolerance for some particular food or ingredient. Lactose intolerance is one of the more frequent examples, but other ingredients can have a similar effect on some people. Sometimes the food item causing the intolerance issue can be something very unlikely, like corn, and some people have major allergies to food components like fructose. For most people, the best way to deal with this kind of flatulence is to remove the offending food from the diet.

Another major cause of chronic flatulence is IBS, which causes the muscles of the large intestine to contract inappropriately. For some people, these muscles may contract with more force, or they may stay contracted too long. IBS can cause a wide range of digestive-related symptoms, and sometimes it can be quite painful. The syndrome can cause excess gas, and this often leads to flatulence.

Some people suffer from excessive flatulence simply because they may open their mouths too wide when they eat, allowing too much air to enter. That air is trapped in the digestive system and builds up. Eventually, it has to escape, and it will either come out through flatulence or burping.

In certain cases, people may think they have chronic flatulence, but it may actually be a relatively normal amount of flatulence. A totally normal body will produce about a quart of gas every day, and that gas has to go somewhere. In general, everybody has flatulence on a daily basis, and flatulence is not necessarily a sign that a person has any problem at all.