Trapped Wind Relief

There are many things that can cause trapped wind, like swallowing too much air when eating or talking - this is typically when you’re eating too fast, chewing gum, or drinking something fizzy.

Certain foods (beans, cabbage, sprouts and onions, for example) can cause trapped wind as they create gas while your body digests them.

Trapped wind can also occur when you consume something you're intolerant to, like milk if you’re lactose intolerant.

If you suffer from IBS (irritable bowel syndrome), trapped wind may be one of your symptoms.

Trapped wind is totally normal in babies, it’s why you need to burp them after a feed.

With that being said, it can happen any time and there are a couple of symptoms you can look out for.

The first is the most obvious — crying.

Trapped wind can make your baby very uncomfortable and the only way they can let you know about it is by crying.

You may also notice that they are arching their back, clenching their fists, or bringing their knees up to their chest.

When you’ve fed your baby, it’s always a good idea to burp them, which can help to reduce trapped wind.

Winding your baby helps wind to move through their digestive system so they can pass it more easily, preventing bloating and irritation.

If your baby often suffers from trapped wind, you may want to consider sitting or holding them upright during feeds, as this can help to keep them from swallowing air.

It’s thought that the cause of colic could be a digestive issue, so if you find that your baby has colic, you may want to consider whether they’re suffering from trapped wind.

If you think your baby has colic, indigestion, or any other health condition, speak to your doctor or other health care professional for advice.

We don’t know what causes colic, but many people believe it happens because babies struggle to digest their food when they’re young.

The discomfort caused by this indigestion makes your baby cry, and anyone who’s ever had trapped wind can tell you that it’s very uncomfortable.

This is why many colic treatments are designed to help reduce trapped wind and indigestion, as it may be treating the cause of their colic.

Of course, if you’re worried that your baby is crying very often we would recommend checking in with your healthcare team, just to make sure that your little one is healthy and happy.

There are a couple of ways you can wind your newborn and help them pass any trapped gas.

To start, make sure your baby’s head and neck are supported and that their body is straight — not scrunched or curled up.

Then gently place your baby over your shoulder or across your lap or sit them up on your knee.

Keeping their head supported without placing pressure on their throat, gently rub or pat their back until they burp.

If your baby is still uncomfortable, you can try lying them on their back and gently moving their legs like they’re pedalling a bicycle. You can also give their tummy a gentle massage.

These can help to promote digestion and encourage any trapped wind to move through their system.

If you have any concerns you should speak to your GP or health visitor and ask for their advice.

A popular remedy for trapped wind is simeticone, which works by combining the tiny gas bubbles in your stomach into larger bubbles, making them easier to pass so they can leave your system and reduce your bloating.

Any trapped wind remedy will work best when you make changes to your diet, such as eating more fibre, avoiding food you’re intolerant to, limiting the number of fizzy drinks you consume, eating slowly and eating small portions often.

You may also want to consider keeping a diary of your food and any symptoms you experience.

Over time, you may notice patterns that link your bloating to different foods, giving you a better idea of the dietary changes you can make to reduce trapped wind.

If you’re suffering from trapped wind, you may notice a few telltale symptoms.

For starters, you may notice bloating, which is where your stomach feels fuller or larger than usual, almost as if it has inflated like a balloon.

You may also experience pain or discomfort in your stomach caused by the built-up gas.

This can be accompanied by nausea, a rumbling in your stomach and farting or burping more than usual as your stomach tries to pass the excess gas.

There are a few everyday things which can cause trapped wind, which is why it’s such a common problem that people deal with day in and day out.

One of the most common causes of trapped wind is swallowing too much air during eating or talking, which can happen if you’re eating too fast, chewing gum, drinking fizzy drinks, or talking a lot.

Eating certain foods can also cause trapped wind as they create gas while they digest, with some of the most common culprits being beans, cabbage, sprouts, and onions.

You may also experience trapped wind after eating a food that you have an intolerance to, for example, after drinking a glass of milk if you’re lactose intolerant.

If you suffer with IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) then you may also be prone to trapped wind as one of the symptoms of your condition, with many people who have IBS suffering with bloating in the evening.

Bloating is one of the symptoms of trapped wind, and you’ll often hear them spoken about almost interchangeably.

This is because bloating is usually caused by gas build up in the stomach that makes your stomach expand — essentially, trapped wind in your stomach.

It can happen for lots of different reasons, including indigestion, IBS, and constipation.

Some people also experience bloating around their period, when it’s caused by hormonal changes throughout their monthly cycle.

There are a few things you can do to reduce bloating, starting with changing your eating habits.

Taking your time to eat more slowly can mean you’ll swallow less air when you eat, reducing gas buildup.

Drinking fewer fizzy drinks can also help with reducing the amount of gas you swallow.

If you find that you feel bloated at certain times or after certain meals, consider keeping a food diary to help you work out which foods trigger your symptoms.

You can also try to exercise more, as regular activity helps to improve your digestion.

If you’re suffering from trapped wind, you can also try to give your stomach a helping hand by gently massaging it from left to right.

This can help your wind to move through your system and relieve your discomfort.

Many people find that different foods cause bloating, and there are a few common culprits.

Some of the most well-known foods that cause gas include beans, cabbage, and lentils, but there are other foods you’ll need to look out for too.

For example, processed foods or foods that contain a lot of fat or sugar can cause indigestion, leading to trapped wind.

Spicy foods can also cause indigestion in some people, especially if you don’t eat them very often.

It isn’t just foods you need to look out for, drinks containing caffeine or alcohol can also irritate your stomach, causing gas.

We would also recommend cutting down on fizzy drinks, which contain a lot of gas that can then get trapped in your digestive system.

It’s important to take note of when you experience bloating and if there are certain foods which trigger it.

It could be a sign of food intolerance or could at least give you an idea of which foods to avoid if you want to beat the bloat.

Bloating usually goes away within a few hours, as the excess gas will pass from your system.

However, if your bloating lasts for a long time (3 weeks or more) or you get bloated very often (more than 12 times a month) you should speak to your GP.

Severe or persistent bloating can be a symptom of an underlying health condition like IBS, coeliac disease, or ovarian cancer.

You can feel symptoms of trapped wind in your chest for a number of reasons.

For example, if the gas has gathered in a certain part of your digestive system or if you’ve simply swallowed a lot of air while eating.

The discomfort caused by gas can sometimes be mistaken for acid reflux, which also causes chest pain in the form of heartburn — you may even experience both at once.

If you’re ever concerned about chest pain, we’d recommend speaking to your pharmacist or GP so they can check out the cause and help you get proper treatment.

Andrews Salts are a remedy for indigestion, working as an antacid and a laxative.

Constipation is a common cause of trapped wind — if your bowel is fuller than usual it can keep you from passing gas as you usually would causing buildup.

In helping to clear your constipation Andrews Salts can help to relieve your trapped wind too.

By working as an antacid, this product also helps to relieve indigestion or an upset stomach, which are both common causes of bloating.

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Whilst heartburn and wind can happen at the same time, especially after a big meal, they’re usually separate problems that need to be treated separately.

Gaviscon works specifically to relieve the symptoms of heartburn and indigestion, so probably won’t help with excess gas.

If you’re feeling gassy, the best medicine to try is simeticone, which works by bringing together the small gas bubbles in your gut to form bigger bubbles that can pass through your body more easily.

There are two products from Rennie that are specifically formulated to help relieve trapped wind — Rennie Heartburn, Indigestion & Wind Relief tablets and Rennie Deflatine.

Both of these medications contain simeticone, an active ingredient that helps bring together the gas bubbles in your digestive system.

By combining all the little bubbles into a larger bubble, these treatments make your gas easier to pass, reducing bloating.