Wind
There are three main sources of wind.
- Everyone's gut contains gas because we cannot help swallowing air when we swallow food, when we drink and when we swallow our saliva
- Carbon dioxide is produced by chemical reactions within the gut: saliva contains bicarbonate, which reacts with acid in the stomach to produce carbon dioxide gas; and stomach acid releases carbon dioxide when it reacts with pancreatic digestive juices in the upper part of the intestine.
- About 500 types of bacteria live in our intestines. Some of them act on food residues in the lower gut, releasing hydrogen, methane and carbon dioxide gases.
What happens to the gas in the gut?
Some of the intestinal gas is absorbed into the bloodstream and is eventually exhaled by the lungs. In social situations, we try to hold gas in and more passes from the gut into the bloodstream and then into the lungs; researchers have found that, in social situations, our breath contains increased amounts of hydrogen.
Most intestinal gas, however, has to be got rid of through the mouth (belching, eructation) or through the anus (flatulence, farting, breaking wind).
Why wind smells
The main gases in wind nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide, hydrogen and methane have no smell. The unpleasant smell of a fart is due to very tiny amounts of sulphur-containing gases, which have a smell disproportionate to their volume.
Farting and belching may be healthy or can they spread germs?
Some experts believe that our attempts to hold gas in are an unnatural result of our enclosed lifestyles and the build-up of pressure is responsible for bowel diseases, such as diverticulosis; when we lived mainly in the open air, farting was not a problem and no one was worried about letting wind pass out naturally. In the early 1990s, a publicity campaign was launched in Holland (by the National Liver and Intestine Foundation) to encourage people to break wind at least 15 times a day.
Wind is never serious, except as a cause of embarrassment, unless there are other gut symptoms as well, such as abdominal pain, constipation, loss of weight, pale faeces that are difficult to flush away, or blood in the faeces.
No one knows whether wind can spread germs. The magazine New Scientist (30 June 2001) reported an experiment in which a volunteer was asked to lower his trousers and break wind very close to a special dish (blood agar plate) used by laboratories to grow bacteria. The next day, there were lots of gut bacteria growing on the plate. At the edge, there were some skin bacteria that must have been blown onto the plate by the wind.
Written by: Dr Margaret Stearn
Edited by: Dr Margaret Stearn
Last updated:
Friday, February 26th 2010
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Comments on this article
Posted by Optional on 26/02/2010 at 02:35:37 pm
I have excessive flatulence which started about 10 years ago and has steadily got worse. It doesn't smell though. I don't eat fast and drink a lot of water (hot and cold). My friends all eat and drink faster than me and they don't suffer the same - why is this.
Posted by Optional on 26/02/2010 at 05:32:07 am
is it normal for my partner to fart every 10 mins when we go to bed, once he lie down thats it every 10 mins
Posted by Optional on 23/02/2010 at 10:00:29 am
I was searching for tips about moving abdominal wind pain post colonoscopy/ + rubber banding of haemorrhoids
Posted by smelly on 17/02/2010 at 11:25:12 am
just wish i could stop farting it does my head in
Posted by Anonymous on 15/09/2009 at 05:30:00 pm
I seem to have quite bad wind and it has really got embarrassing. It's usually around lunchtime right through until the end of the day....please help!
Posted by Anonymous on 24/04/2009 at 01:35:00 pm
i break wind on climaxing and this is extremely embarrising why does this happen and what can i do?
Posted by Salvi on 01/04/2009 at 09:07:00 am
How can we get rid of wind in the stomach which causes stomach blotting.
Posted by Tiko on 25/03/2009 at 10:57:00 am
I have IBS and the same problems with gas. What is making it worse is that I'm having difficulty to expel intestinal gas although defecating has not been a problem so far. Any advice would would be much appreciated.
Posted by Anonymous on 10/03/2009 at 09:28:00 pm
i am in terrible pain with gas in my stomach/intestines that is trapped...i can't fart easily. when i do, i feel so much better and get relief. is there any over the counter meds that make you flatulate?? i know certain foods make you gassier but i also suffer from irritable bowel syndrome and my stomach is very sensitive right now. any help out there?
Posted by jmr on 23/02/2009 at 11:35:00 pm
my partner believes when you fart you spread feacal matter in the air and that goes into your nose. i don't believe the faecal matter can penetrate the clothes and it's just gas that comes out and just dust and tiny bugs up your nose??
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Fascinating facts
Methane is one of the most potent greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Cow's and sheep's wind is responsible for almost a third of the methane in Europe that passes into the atmosphere. A single sheep typically produces 25 litres of methane a day, while a cow can produce an amazing 280 litres a day (New Scientist 15 June 2002)
In the 1960s, NASA was worried that a build-up of hydrogen from astronauts wind might accidentally explode in the spacecraft. This stimulated a lot of research into bowel gas
At any one time, there is about 200 mL (a mugful) of gas in each person's gut
Most people expel about 600 mL of gas/day, but some people produce up to 2 litres
Gut gases are 90% nitrogen; the remainder is carbon dioxide, hydrogen, methane and sometimes hydrogen sulphide
Healthy young men break wind 14-25 times a day and women half as often
Women produce stronger smelling flatus than men, but men produce a greater volume
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