Definition
Aerophagy refers to the swallowing of air in the digestive tract, generally followed by eructation, painful abdominal tension, borborigmas and increased flatulence.
Causes
Normal aerophagia
After a hearty meal the aerophagia is, within certain limits, a physiological event, due to the swallowing of saliva and the introduction of food and drink.
Under normal conditions, about 70% of the air in the intestine comes from swallowing, 20% diffuses from the bloodstream and only 10% is linked to the bacterial fermentation of undigested organic residues. The elimination of these gases is entrusted to blood reabsorption, belching (aerophagia) and flatulence. For this reason, aerophagia is often a cause of meteorism and flatulence.
Pathological aerophagia
When it is not physiological, the aerophagia assumes pathological characteristics that recognize numerous predisposing conditions. At the origin of the problem can in fact coexist with disturbances of the psychic sphere (anxious states with aerofagic tics), organic affections affecting the digestive and biliary tracts (peptic ulcer, gastroduodenitis, cholecystopathies etc.) or, during pregnancy, hormonal modifications associated with stimuli pressure from the fetus.
Aerofagia can also appear in the processes of rhinitis and chronic sinusitis, due to the swallowing of considerable amounts of saliva.
Also hiatal hernia, irritable bowel syndrome, xerostomia (dry mouth) or sialorrhea (abundant salivation), excessive smoking and the use of inadequate dental prostheses, can favor the onset of the disorder. In many cases aerofagia is the inevitable consequence of bad eating habits, such as the habitual and excessive use of carbonated beverages, bicarbonate and gum, or the tendency to hastily consume various meals (tachyago).
Symptoms
In addition to the classic symptoms of atrophaia (eructations, abdominal tension, borborigmas and increased flatulence), the increase in the gastric air bubble can cause diffuse retrosternal pain, difficult to distinguish from the anginal attack (the onset of a deep chest tightness may be misinterpreted as a heart attack).
In particularly anxious patients, with reduced gastric extension tolerance, aerophagy may cause acute dilation of the stomach, followed by a sense of suffocation, anxiety, tachycardia and hyperventilation.
Cures and Remedies
The treatment of aerophagia differs based on the causative agent that supports it.
When too abundant meals are consumed, rich in sugars and more complex nutrients (fats, fibers and proteins), the times of digestion increase and the forced permanence of sugars inside the gastric sac gives rise to fermentations associated with swelling and acidity of stomach. In this case, herbal medicine can help us, thanks to herbal preparations based on lemon balm, mint, fibrino clover, caraway, holy thistle, coriander and horsetail ash. When the aerophagia is sustained by bad eating habits, it is necessary to re-evaluate the role of a good chewing, a requirement as simple as basic to favor the digestive processes.
If the urge to swallow air empty is linked to unconscious states or nervous tics, the use of psychotherapy, possibly associated with anxiolytic drugs, may be useful. The doctor should prohibit the use of medicines that can increase salivary secretions, in favor of others that counteract hypersalivation. When the aerophagia is caused by the opposite problem (dry mouth), in all probability the disorder is of psychic origin and finds relief in the use of anxiolytics.
