"Burp!" You cover your mouth with your hand, but it's too late. The
people at the next table in the food court already heard. As you
turn back to your soda, you think: Where did that burp come from?
A burp - sometimes called a belch - is nothing but gas. When you eat or
drink, you don't just swallow food or liquid. You also swallow air at the same
time. The air we breathe contains gases, like nitrogen (say:
ny-truh-jen) and oxygen (say: ahk-sih-jen).
Sometimes when you swallow these gases, they need to get out. That's where
burping comes in! Extra gas is forced out of the stomach, up through the esophagus (say:
ih-sah-fuh-gus, the tube for food that connects the back of the throat to
the stomach), and out of the mouth as a burp.
Some kids find that drinking soda or other carbonated beverages makes them
burp more. Can you guess why? If you're thinking that it's because these drinks
contain extra gas, you're right! The gas that makes the drinks fizzy is
carbon dioxide (say: kar-bon dy-ahk-side), another gas that
can bring on big burps. Sometimes eating or drinking too fast can make a person
burp because this can send extra air into the stomach. The same thing
happens when you drink through a straw: extra air in = more burps out.
Burping is almost never anything to worry about. Everybody does it at least
once in a while, and it's very unusual for burping to mean something is wrong in
a kid's body.
What can you do if you're around people and you feel a burp coming on?
It seems like the only people who can get away with really loud burps
are little babies - their parents cheer when they burp because it means
that the babies won't feel the extra gas in their stomachs and cry. But unless
you're tiny and bald, it's probably a good idea to be polite when it's time
to burp. Try to burp quietly and cover your mouth. Of course, whether your burp
is loud or quiet, saying "excuse me" can't hurt either.
Updated and reviewed by: Mary L. Gavin,
MD
Date reviewed: September 2003
Reviewed by: Steven Dowshen, MD, and Neil
Izenberg, MD