Breathing exercises for aerophagia. Symptoms and treatment of neurotic aerophagia

There are a number of phenomena in the functioning of our body that we consider completely normal and do not pay any special attention to them. However, in some cases, they may be symptoms of various pathological conditions and require adequate correction under the supervision of a physician. Such is the case with burping, which all of us experience from time to time. But how do you know that such a phenomenon requires treatment? Let's talk about such an ailment as aerophagia, discuss its symptoms and find out how it is treated with medicines and folk remedies.

How does aerophagia manifest itself, what are its symptoms?

The term aerophagia should mean the same belching that becomes a functional indigestion. In this case, a person swallows an excess amount of air, and then burps it.

You can talk about pathology if the patient is worried about a loud, odorless eructation that occurs after a meal, and at other times. In certain cases, such a symptom appears almost constantly, disappearing only for a period of night rest. Sometimes patients also complain of hiccups.

With aerophagia, many patients note the appearance of a feeling of heaviness, as well as bursting in the area under the pit of the stomach, and they may also be disturbed by bloating of the entire abdomen.

In certain cases, for example, with hysteria, belching is accompanied by a sudden loud cry.

Sometimes aerophagia is also manifested by gastrocardiac syndrome. So in a number of patients, extrasystole may appear (as extraordinary heart contractions are called). Others are concerned about angina pectoris (pain in the region of the heart). Most often, gastrocardiac syndrome develops in patients with coronary heart disease.

Among other things, aerophagia can make itself felt by some breathing difficulties.

Is aerophagia corrected with medication? How exactly?

In general, doctors treat aerophagia, focusing on the causes of its development. The patient is strongly advised to change the rules of eating, refuse certain foods, do breathing exercises, etc.

If aerophagia is of neurological origin, the patient may be prescribed sedative medications, as well as tranquilizers. The selection of the right drug and the optimal dosage can only be carried out by a specialist psychiatrist.

Quite often, aerophagia therapy is carried out with the help of a medication such as chlorpromazine. This medication has antipsychotic and sedative properties. It is usually advised to take it in the form of dragees or tablets of 0.025-0.6 g per day. The dosage is selected individually, as well as the duration of therapy. It should be borne in mind that such a medicine has a number of contraindications, including impaired activity of the kidneys and liver, problems in the functioning of the hematopoietic organs, as well as systemic progressive ailments of the brain or spinal cord. Chlorpromazine is not used in the treatment of pregnant women and nursing mothers, it is not prescribed for brain injuries and gastrointestinal ulcers.

In some cases, aerophagia therapy may involve taking compounds such as Espumizan, Bebicalm, Cuplaton and Bobotic.

How is aerophagia eliminated by traditional medicine?

Aerophagia folk remedies are treated well. However, it is better to discuss the advisability of using certain formulations with your doctor in advance.

So a good effect is the use of a collection prepared from four parts of three-leaf watch leaves, three parts of yarrow inflorescences, peppermint leaves and dill seeds, as well as six parts of perforated St. John's wort herb. A couple of tablespoons of this composition should be brewed with two liters of boiled water only. Infuse the future medicine for two hours, then strain and consume one or two tablespoons about thirty minutes before the meal.

If aerophagia is of a nervous nature, combine two parts of hop cones, the same number of lemon balm leaves, three parts of St. John's wort (leaves and flowers) and the same amount. Also add two and a half parts of valerian root to the collection. Brew a couple of tablespoons of the resulting composition with half a liter of only boiled water. Infuse this composition for two hours, then strain. Consume a quarter cup about half an hour before a meal.

Combine half a glass of cranberry juice with exactly the same amount of aloe juice. Add to this composition a tablespoon of liquid honey and one glass of warm, pre-boiled water. Store the medicine in the refrigerator and take it three times a day for a tablespoon. The duration of therapy should be one week. Such treatment can be repeated in another month.

Traditional medicine experts say that taking goat's milk about half a liter a day immediately after a meal gives an excellent effect in the treatment of belching. Divide the recommended amount by three times.

You can also combine one hundred milliliters of potato and carrot juice and consume the resulting composition in half a glass three times a day shortly before a meal.

With nervous aerophagy, warm baths, for example, with pine needles, will also benefit. You can cook them yourself by brewing pine or spruce needles with boiling water and insisting for some time.

When aerophagia appears, it is worth seeking help from a doctor, because this phenomenon can be a symptom of many fairly serious conditions.

About what aerophagia is, its treatment with pharmaceutical preparations and using folk recipes, I told you, Ekaterina, www.site

P.S. The text uses some forms characteristic of oral speech.

Description:

Aerophagia (aerophagia; Greek aēr air + phagein eat, absorb) - swallowing excess air and then burping it out.
It is necessary to distinguish from aerophagy the physiological swallowing of a certain amount of air (this regulates intragastric pressure), which is not accompanied by belching, as well as belching due to the rapid filling of the stomach with gas when drinking carbonated water, beer or after taking baking soda.

Symptoms:

The diagnosis of aerophagia is established on the basis of anamnesis and objective examination data. Often a typical belching occurs during a medical examination, and the doctor can see the preparation for swallowing air: the patient pulls his head forward, presses his chin to his chest and makes empty swallowing movements. Percussion is determined by the extended space of Traube. An X-ray examination reveals a high standing of the upper dome of the diaphragm due to the large air bladder of the stomach and abundant accumulation of gases in the intestines; quite often find the functional cascade of a stomach.
With neurotic aerophagia, swallowing of air often occurs outside the process of eating. Patients complain of frequent empty and loud, sometimes "multi-story" eructations without smell, which in patients with hysteria in some cases is accompanied by a loud scream. observed both after eating and at any other time, sometimes it is almost constant and disappears only during sleep. With severe A., patients are disturbed by sensations of heaviness, fullness in the pancreas, and often swelling of the entire abdomen. In some cases, there is: sometimes (more often in people suffering from coronary heart disease). Less often at And. the difficulty of breath which was designated earlier as asthma dyspepticum is observed.
Aerophagia in children is observed most often in infancy when sucking on an empty nipple or low-milk breast, and severe aerophagia can sometimes cause severe malnutrition, accompanied by persistent regurgitation and progressive weight loss. Signs of aerophagia in infants are crying during meals, rapid bloating, and refusal to eat. When changing position, and sometimes on its own, the child has an eructation of air, after which he calms down and begins to suck again. The diagnosis can be confirmed radiographically. In some children, swallowing air is a habit that can be weaned off by strictly regulating food intake, and sometimes even using tube feeding. In most cases, aerophagia is associated with underdevelopment of the apparatus of nervous regulation of the digestive organs and disappears with age.

Causes of occurrence:

Aerophagia is observed in violation of the rules of eating (fast food, talking while eating), due to a disease of the respiratory tract (difficulty in nasal breathing) or the digestive system (especially diseases of the teeth, oral cavity), but as a stable pathological phenomenon of aerophagia that requires special attention, more often of all is a pathological conditioned reflex - a manifestation.

Treatment:

For treatment appoint:

Treatment is directed at the underlying disease; with neurotic aerophagia, the patient needs advice and medical assistance from a psychotherapist (sometimes a psychiatrist). In addition, the patient is advised to spit rather than swallow saliva, eat slowly, and not talk while eating. Assign a diet with the exception of drinks containing carbon dioxide. Systematic breathing exercises, physical education are advisable.

- This is the regular swallowing of a large amount of air, followed by belching. Normally, with each sip of food, liquid, saliva, up to 3 cm³ of air enters the stomach, which is then absorbed in the small intestine. With aerophagy, the volume of gas in the gastrointestinal tract increases significantly, which leads to a deterioration in well-being.

Aerophagia occurs at any age. The clinic of the disease is associated with stretching of the stomach and intestines with accumulated air. In adults and infants, pathology manifests itself in different ways and has its own characteristics.

Symptoms in adults and adolescents

With aerophagia, patients swallow air constantly, including outside the meal. Feeling worse after eating.

As the stomach is emptied of air, discomfort decreases.

Symptoms in babies

Excessive swallowing of air is one of the causes of infant colic, which occurs in 70% of children under the age of 4 months and resolves on its own by 6 months of age.

Is aerophagia dangerous?

Constant belching and hiccups lead to psychological discomfort, and abdominal pain disrupts the quality of life and reduces the ability to work. Regular swallowing of air can also lead to complications:

worsening of the underlying disease;
stretching, weakening of the lower esophageal sphincter;
diaphragmatic hernia;
reduction in weight gain in children.

Causes of the disease

Aerophagia is a functional pathology of the digestive tract. The reason for this depends on age.

In adults and adolescents

In children

Diagnostics

Constant belching and discomfort in the abdomen is a reason to contact a therapist and a gastroenterologist. The task of a specialist is to identify the pathology, clarify the cause, exclude organic diseases of the stomach and intestines.

Treatment

The main condition for the successful treatment of aerophagia is the elimination of the cause of air swallowing. To reduce the symptoms of the disease, therapeutic nutrition and medications are prescribed.

Follow these rules not only during the treatment period, but also in the future to prevent exacerbation.

Treatment and prevention of aerophagia in infants

To prevent swallowing air, follow these guidelines:

Health food

Dietary nutrition reduces clinical manifestations, improves well-being.

General principles

in order not to aggravate the symptoms of the disease, avoid;
exclude ;
eat 4-5 times a day;
if aerophagia is not associated with another disease of the stomach, any method of cooking is allowed; the most useful dishes are steamed and baked in the oven;
with concomitant diseases, the diet is prescribed according to the main diagnosis.

Grocery list

Medications

Other Methods

Patients with persistent aerophagia require the help of a psychiatrist, a psychologist.

Behavior Correction - arbitrary suppression of belching leads to a violation of the pathological conditioned reflex and reduces the swallowing of air.
Hypnotherapy - in severe cases, the patient is instilled with behavioral attitudes using hypnosis.
Diaphragmatic breathing training - Proper breathing normalizes the work of the intestines, lungs, reduces shortness of breath.
Training in the technique of auto-training - a special technique of psychotherapy based on self-hypnosis. Auto-training restores the work of the autonomic and central nervous system, neutralizes the negative effects of stress.

For belching and abdominal pain, consult a gastroenterologist. An integrated approach to the treatment of aerophagia, following the doctor's recommendations leads to a good result.

Aerophagia is a functional indigestion characterized by the swallowing of air. Normally, the upper esophageal sphincter is closed outside of swallowing. During eating, it opens, and a certain amount of air is always swallowed with food (about 2-3 cm 3 of air with each sip). In this regard, in the stomach there is normally up to 200 ml of air (“air”, “gas” bubble), which then enters the intestine and is absorbed there.

In a healthy person, gas is found mainly in the stomach and large intestine. The intestine contains an average of 199 + 30 cm3 of gas. About 70% of the gas contained in the gastrointestinal tract is swallowed air, the rest of the gas is formed by intestinal bacteria and when the digestive juices are neutralized with bicarbonates.

With aerophagia, the amount of air in the stomach and intestines increases significantly, since air is swallowed both during meals and outside meals.

Causes of aerophagia

The causes of aerophagia are as follows:

psychogenic factors, psycho-emotional stressful situations; in this case, aerophagia occurs as a reaction to various nervous shocks, fear, grief, etc. Often aerophagia is a manifestation of hysteria;
respiratory diseases that impede nasal breathing;
hurried fast food, loud champing while eating;
hypersalivation (during smoking, sucking lollipops, chewing chewing gum);
organic or functional diseases, accompanied by a feeling of pressure and overcrowding in the epigastrium (for example, chronic gastritis with secretory insufficiency);
diseases or operations that disrupt the function of the cardia (diaphragmatic hernia, etc.).

Symptoms of aerophagia

The main clinical manifestations of aerophagia are as follows:

loud eructation of air, especially with nervous breakdown, arousal. Often, belching worries patients regardless of food intake, sometimes involuntarily;
feeling of fullness, pressure, bloating in the epigastrium shortly after eating; these subjective manifestations are due to distension of the stomach by air and food and decrease after belching with air;
palpitations, interruptions, feeling of lack of air, shortness of breath, pain or burning sensation in the region of the heart after eating, decreasing after belching air. Pain in the region of the heart caused by aerophagy is called pseudoanginal syndrome and requires differential diagnosis with angina pectoris;
frequent hiccups;
bloating, especially in the upper section;
"high" tympanitis in the left hypochondrium (during percussion of the left hypochondrium, a tympanic sound is determined, the zone of which extends high up to the IV intercostal space, which makes it difficult even to determine the left border of the heart).

An x-ray examination determines the high standing of the diaphragm (mainly the left dome), a large gas bubble of the stomach is visible, a large amount of gas is detected in the left bend of the colon.

Clinical symptoms of aerophagia should be differentiated from ischemic heart disease, diaphragmatic hernia, cancer of the stomach, pancreas, colon, gastric ulcer, pyloric stenosis, intestinal dyskinesia and biliary tract. For this purpose, ECG, FEGDS, and ultrasound of the abdominal organs are used for differential diagnosis.

Aerophagy contributes to the stretching of the lower esophageal sphincter, its weakening and the development of hiatal hernia.

Aerophagia must also be differentiated from psychogenic enlargement of the abdomen (Alvarez's syndrome). This syndrome usually develops in nervous, hysterical women, sometimes it simulates pregnancy ("false pregnancy"). Psychogenic enlargement of the abdomen is due to contraction of the muscles of the posterior abdominal wall and a sharp relaxation of the anterior one. Excessive lumbar lordosis is formed, the diaphragm is reduced, the contents of the abdominal cavity are shifted forward and downward. Breathing becomes shallow, rapid. Abdominal enlargement usually develops slowly and is most pronounced in the afternoon; during sleep, the abdomen may take its usual shape.

With aerophagia, unlike Alvarez's syndrome, such a sharp increase in the abdomen is not observed. With Alvarez syndrome, a loud belching of air is not characteristic. It should also be taken into account that psychogenic enlargement of the abdomen disappears at night during sleep, and this is not associated with defecation or gas discharge.

Aerophagia is a pathological condition in which a person swallows a large amount of air while eating, which comes out in the form of belching. Normally, with each sip, a person swallows a little air, which passes unnoticed. Infants suffer from aerophagia, which is normal. Pathological aerophagia is more often observed in young women.

Aerophagia is almost always accompanied by epigastric discomfort.

Reasons for the development of the disease

The disease can develop against the background of organic changes in the digestive tract, pathologies of the heart or neurological disorders (neurotic aerophagia).

What diseases of the gastrointestinal tract lead to the ingestion of large amounts of air?

Chronic gastritis;
stomach ulcer;
Narrowing of the output section of the stomach, which is accompanied by a slow evacuation of gastric contents;
Weakness of the muscles of the stomach or esophagogastric ring;
Achalasia cardia - persistent expansion of the esophageal sphincter;
Hernia of the esophageal calving of the diaphragm.

In neurotic aerophagia, the patient does not have heart or stomach problems. Pathological swallowing of air occurs due to fast food, talking during meals, due to increased salivation, the desire to smoke, against the background of stress and emotional overstrain.

Sometimes the disease can develop due to persistent nasal congestion or improperly selected removable dentures (for several teeth).

Manifestations of the disease

The main symptom of aerophagia is frequent belching, both after eating and outside eating (air enters the stomach even when saliva is swallowed). Other symptoms of the disease that are not common to everyone include:

heaviness in the abdomen after eating, bloating;
shortness of breath, increased heart rate after eating;
hiccups.

Other signs of aerophagia are concomitant manifestations of the disease by which it is caused. These include heartburn, abdominal pain, stool disorders, nausea, heart pain, heart palpitations and others.

Symptoms of neurotic aerophagia are the same as with organic damage to internal organs: belching, periodic hiccups, heaviness in the abdomen, flatulence. Along with this, the presence of belching is noted, regardless of food intake, the release of which in some patients is accompanied by a scream. Symptoms are present throughout the day and disappear only during sleep.

A set of necessary examinations

The direct diagnosis of aerophagia is based on the identification of the patient's characteristic complaints. Then palpation and percussion of the abdomen is performed. The diagnosis is confirmed by performing a routine x-ray of the chest cavity with the capture of the abdomen. In such a picture, a large gas bubble of the stomach and a high standing of the diaphragm are well defined, which is characteristic of the disease.

Tip: If you have similar manifestations, consult a gastroenterologist, as there is a high probability of stomach diseases. In addition to general clinical studies, the gastroenterologist will prescribe FGDS to assess the mucosa of the esophagus and stomach, to exclude inflammation and hernia of the esophageal diaphragm.

In the neurotic form of the disease, a consultation with a psychotherapist is required, who will explain to the patient what it is, aerophagia, and prescribe the appropriate treatment. If there are complaints from the heart or if the disease appears after 40 years, you should contact a cardiologist and undergo an examination (lipidogram, electrocardiography).

Treatment of pathology

Symptoms and treatment of aerophagia are inherently linked, since the therapeutic tactics completely depend on the cause of the disease. Patients with pathology of the gastrointestinal tract are treated by a gastroenterologist, patients with problems of the heart and blood vessels are observed by a cardiologist or therapist, and people suffering from neurotic aerophagia are corrected by a psychotherapist.

Physiological aerophagia (in infants) is not subject to treatment. After feeding, the child should be given a vertical position until the condition is relieved (wait for air to escape).

This article aims to improve understanding of the pathogenesis of aerophagia and the importance of timely therapy. The information below is not a guide to action. Treatment should be carried out only by a doctor after a thorough examination.

Important: without treatment, aerophagia (pathological form) will sooner or later lead to undesirable complications: weakening of the esophageal-gastric sphincter with the appearance of reflux of gastric contents into the esophagus (reflux is accompanied by heartburn) and the formation of a hernial protrusion in the esophageal diaphragm.

Fast eating in large portions is almost always accompanied by aerophagia

Important Rules

Regardless of the form of the disease, people with aerophagia should follow the following rules:

Eat in a relaxed atmosphere, in small portions. Approximately 30 minutes should be allotted for eating.
Chew food thoroughly, give preference to soft foods, and grate or finely chop hard foods.
Do not drink carbonated drinks not only with meals, but also during the day.
After eating, do not lie down for about an hour.
Periodically spit saliva with hypersalivation.
If pathological swallowing of air prevents you from falling asleep, lie on your left side and lower your head.
Get rid of bad habits: smoking, drinking alcohol.

Patients with neurotic aerophagia are prescribed sedatives, small doses of anti-anxiety drugs and antidepressants, as indicated.

Tip: warm baths and a gentle massage of the abdomen after eating give good results. One of the main therapeutic measures is breathing exercises. Diaphragmatic breathing, based on the relaxation of the abdominal muscles and the lowering of the diaphragm, reduces pressure on the esophageal sphincter and reduces the swallowing of air. A psychologist or psychotherapist teaches such gymnastics.

After consulting with a doctor, you can turn to traditional medicine. The use of herbal teas and decoctions containing choleretic agents, liver fees, components that improve the functioning of the stomach will help to significantly alleviate the condition. Peppermint extract and artichoke are considered the most effective and safe.

Important: Artichoke has a powerful choleretic effect. It is contraindicated in persons with gallstone disease. Therefore, before using artichoke and products that contain this component, you should undergo an examination. This is especially true for individuals who have a predisposition to this pathology.

Prevention of aerophagia

Proper and regular nutrition.
Getting rid of bad habits
Exclusion of carbonated drinks, dry snacks.
Timely treatment of diseases of the gastrointestinal tract and correction of mental disorders.

The modern rhythm of life, poor nutrition and snacking on the go increase the risk of developing aerophagia. Therefore, everyone should pay attention to preventive measures. In addition, they will help not only prevent the development of the described disease, but also improve the functioning of the digestive system.

Rules for a healthy diet for a long and active life: