Bloated Stomach

A bloated stomach is a common feeling of tightness, pressure or fullness in your belly. It can range from mildly uncomfortable to intensely painful. It usually goes away after a while. But for some people, bloating is a frequent problem.

A common cause of stomach pain and bloating is excess gas. If you have bloating after eating, it may be a digestive issue. It might be as simple as eating too much, too fast. Or you may have a health condition, like constipation, inflammatory bowel disease, a diverticular disorder or a food intolerance.

Most cases of bloating go away with home remedies. You may have to change your eating plan or increase your physical activity. If you have persistent bloating, seek medical attention. Your healthcare provider can complete a specific treatment depending on the cause.

What does bloating feel like?

A bloated stomach can feel full, hard and tight. You may also have a visibly distended abdomen. Other bloating symptoms may include:

• Abdominal pain or discomfort
• Frequent burping
• Flatulence (farting)

What are the most common causes of bloating?

The most common cause of a bloated stomach is excess gas. Gas is a natural part of the digestive process. But if you have too much, it can become very bothersome.

You take in gas by swallowing air or drinking carbonated beverages. But these gases can escape through burping before they reach your intestines. Gases in your intestines are mostly produced by gut bacteria that are digesting carbohydrates. This is a process called fermentation.

If there’s too much fermentation, it’s because too many carbs weren’t fully digested earlier in the digestive process. That could happen for several reasons, including:

• Carbohydrate malabsorption: Many people have trouble digesting certain carbs (sugars). You may have an intolerance or sensitivity to lactose, fructose or the carbs in wheat and beans.
• Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO): SIBO happens when gut bacteria from your colon overflow into your small intestine. The overgrowth of these bacteria can also overwhelm other bacteria that are meant to balance them.
• Functional digestive disorders: When your body struggles with digestion for unexplained reasons, you may have a disorder like functional dyspepsia.
• Visceral hypersensitivity: Some people feel like they’re gassy and bloated even when their volume of gas is normal. This often happens with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and other disorders involving your gut-to-brain neural pathways.

Other bloating causes include medication side effects and lifestyle factors, like being inactive and not getting physical activity.

In addition, the contents of your digestive system, your hormones and, sometimes, serious health conditions can cause bloating.

Digestive contents

Digestive contents include solids, liquids and gases. They can build up in your digestive system when there’s a backup. They can also collect when the muscles that move them along aren’t working properly. Causes of a buildup can include:

• Constipation
• Bowel obstruction
• Motility disorders, like intestinal pseudo-obstruction or gastroparesis
• Recent weight gain around your abdomen
• Recent surgeries
• Weight loss or muscle loss

Hormones

Abdominal bloating can occur during your period or pregnancy. It’s also common during the hormone fluctuations of perimenopause. This happens because estrogen causes water retention. When estrogen spikes and progesterone drops, fluids can build up.

Hormones also interact with your digestive system. Estrogen and progesterone can cause intestinal gas by either slowing down or speeding up how food moves through your gastrointestinal (GI) tract.

Serious health conditions

Bloating that comes and goes usually involves stress, changes to what you eat, medication side effects, or digestive or hormonal issues. If your bloated stomach doesn’t go away or gets worse, seek medical attention. Also see provider if you have additional symptoms, like fever, rash, weight loss, bleeding or vomiting, to rule out other conditions. These may include:

• Ascites
• Pancreatic insufficiency
• Stomach inflammation (gastritis)
• Intestinal inflammation (enteritis)
• Inflammatory bowel disease
• Certain cancers, including ovarian, colon and pancreatic cancer

How is bloating treated?

You can treat most causes of bloating at home with over-the-counter solutions, including:

• Antacids
• Magnesium supplements
• Probiotics
• Psyllium husk (fiber supplement)
• Laxatives

You should also avoid medications that cause constipation as a side effect.

Other ways to manage a bloated stomach include regular physical activity, like walking, to help move gas through your gut. Avoid prolonged sitting. You may also need to change what you eat, like cutting back on salt and carbonated drinks.

How to prevent bloating

If what you’re eating or drinking causes bloating, you can help prevent it by making some changes to your daily routine. Steps you can take include:

• Eating enough fiber: High-fiber foods like beans and broccoli will cause more gas at first. But fiber will help eliminate the bacteria that’s stuck in your gut.
• Drink enough water: This will encourage movement along your digestive tract. It keeps the food that’s digesting from becoming too hard and compacted to pass through.
• Get active: Physical activity helps prevent water retention and keeps your bowels moving. It can also help prevent the rapid weight gain that often goes straight to your belly.
• Avoid processed foods: Processed foods are low in fiber and high in salt, preservatives and fat. Salt causes water retention, and fat slows down the digestive process because it takes longer to digest.
• Practice mindful eating: Chew thoroughly and stop eating before you’re full. Feeling full is a delayed reaction. That’s because it takes a while for the food you eat to reach your stomach.
• Notice sensitivities: Pay attention to which foods you’re sensitive to. Some people use a food journal to track how different ingredients make them feel.

If food intolerance or a medical condition causes bloating, you might need help from your healthcare provider. They may suggest:

• Elimination diet: A dietitian can help you identify your food sensitivities. They may suggest trying a low-FODMAP diet.
• Hydrogen breath test: This relatively simple test is an easy and effective way to screen for a few different digestive disorders.
• Targeted probiotics: If you have SIBO or another gut bacteria imbalance, you can reintroduce specific bacteria to your gut to help balance it out.
• Biofeedback: This is a kind of mind-body therapy that can help you relax and retrain your bodily functions.

When should bloating be treated by a doctor or healthcare provider?

See your healthcare provider if your bloated stomach:

• Lasts more than a week
• Is very painful
• Comes with symptoms like fever, vomiting, bleeding, weakness or unexplained weight loss