P.U.! What's that smell? How can your body make something so
stinky?
Farts - also called flatus (say:
flay-tus) or intestinal (say:
in-tes-tuh-null) gas - are made of, well, gas!
When you eat, you don't swallow just your food. You also swallow air,
which contains gases like nitrogen (say: ny-truh-jen) and
oxygen (say: ahk-sih-jen). Small amounts of these
gases travel through your digestive system as you
digest your food. Other gases like hydrogen (say:
hy-droh-jen), carbon dioxide (say: kar-bon
dy-ahk-side, the gas that makes soda fizzy), and methane
(say: meth-ain) are made when food is broken down in the
large intestine. All of these gases in the digestive system have to escape
somehow, so they come out as farts!
Gases are also what can make farts smell bad. Tiny amounts of hydrogen,
carbon dioxide, and methane combine with hydrogen sulfide
(say: suhl-fide) and ammonia (say: uh-mow-nyuh) in
the large intestine to give gas its smell. Phew!
All people fart sometimes, whether they live in France, the Fiji
islands, or Fresno, California! If you have a dog, you may have even been
unlucky enough to have heard (or smelled) Fido farting. Intestinal gas is
totally normal, and it's very rare for farting to be a sign that something
is wrong in the body.
If you're feeling particularly farty and you want to get rid
of some gas, try cutting back on foods like beans, onions, and fried
foods. These can release larger amounts of gas as they break down in your
body. If you have a lot of gas after you eat ice cream, yogurt, or milk,
talk to your parent about it - your body may have a difficult time
digesting the natural sugar called lactose, which
is found in dairy foods. And don't forget that farting can sometimes be
your body's sign that it's time to take a trip to the bathroom.
The bathroom is also a good place to go if you're feeling
particularly gassy because it's not polite to fart in social settings,
like in class or at the dinner table (Yuck!). But don't worry if this
happens accidentally. Just remember to say "excuse me!"
Updated and reviewed by: Mary L.
Gavin, MD Date reviewed: September
2003 Originally reviewed by: Steven Dowshen, MD, and Neil
Izenberg, MD |