Farts. This isn’t exactly a topic most people discuss over lunch with friends, but it’s a perfectly normal, healthy part of daily life. People pass gas, or fart, anywhere between eight to 14 times a day.Some people fart more—up to 25 times a day is considered normal.
If you notice that you’re farting more than usual, or having abdominal pain with your gas, see your healthcare provider.
In this article, you’ll read about why we fart, what a fart is, what causes flatulence, and how to manage it.
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What Is a Fart?
Causes
There are also health conditions that can cause gas. These can include:
If you are noticing a change in your farting habits or gas production, talk with your healthcare provider.
Constant Gas
Constant gas is not typical. Sometimes there are health conditions that cause more gas than usual. If you have constant gas all of a sudden, first check your diet to see if your eating or drinking habits have changed recently.
Treatment
If you’ve been diagnosed with a medical condition that involves excess gas, your healthcare team will go over your treatment options.
Simethiconeproducts are marketed as treatment for excess gas but their efficacy has yet to be determined; the same with charcoal tablets.Weak abdominal muscles may benefit from abdominal-tensing exercises, but this is difficult in older individuals. Antibiotics can help with bacterial overgrowth, but your healthcare provider will have to do an evaluation to see if this is the cause.
Prevention
If you do not have a medical condition that explains your excess gas and you’re looking for help to reduce the amount of gas you have, things you can do include:
Try to reduce or eliminate only one thing at a time to see which one is causing the issue. If nothing provides relief, see your healthcare provider or a nutritionist about which foods tend to give you more gas symptoms. They can work with you to create a diet that minimizes gas and accompanying symptoms like pain and/or bloating.
Summary
Farts can be embarrassing to talk about, but it’s a natural occurrence that everyone does. If you’re wondering whether your gas is excessive or if there’s something abnormal about it, ask your healthcare provider. They can do an exam and order any tests that can shed light on your gastrointestinal habits.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, there are ways to help yourself pass gas. Some ways include:Lying on your sideExercising or physical activitySquatting
Yes, there are ways to help yourself pass gas. Some ways include:
Everyone is different with farting, but if you notice more gas at night, there’s a common-sense reason for this: your body has had all day to break down foods and swallow air, allowing the gas to build up. When you sleep, your muscles relax, including your anal sphincter. The sphincter does not relax enough to have a bowel movement, but just enough that nocturnal farting occurs.
Farting is not an effective mode of burning calories. You may experience a reduction in abdominal bloating when you pass gas, which can make you “feel” thinner, but farting itself is passive and not a form of exercise.
When you swallow air, there are also gases like nitrogen and oxygen in the air. As food is broken down in the intestines, other gases are made like carbon dioxide, methane, and hydrogen.All of these gases, along with hydrogen sulfide and ammonia, combine to make up a fart.
3 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Symptoms & causes of gas in the digestive tract.American College of Gastroenterology.Belching, bloating, and flatulence.Nemours Kids Health.What’s a fart?
3 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Symptoms & causes of gas in the digestive tract.American College of Gastroenterology.Belching, bloating, and flatulence.Nemours Kids Health.What’s a fart?
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Symptoms & causes of gas in the digestive tract.American College of Gastroenterology.Belching, bloating, and flatulence.Nemours Kids Health.What’s a fart?
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Symptoms & causes of gas in the digestive tract.
American College of Gastroenterology.Belching, bloating, and flatulence.
Nemours Kids Health.What’s a fart?
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