That stomach gas is coming out one way or the other, so if you can’t burp, you’re going to fart. — dpa
For those who can’t stifle a burp before scurrying out of earshot, it’s worth knowing that there’s something worse than letting that belch burst forth in polite company.
Being unable to burp is not a good thing, researchers from Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in the United States have found, not least as it means you are more likely to do something more embarrassing: fart.
The inability to burp is medically known as retrograde cricopharyngeus dysfunction (R-CPD), referring to “the cricopharyngeal muscle’s inability to relax to allow the retrograde passage of gas”, according to the scientists.
In a survey published in the journal Neurogastroenterology & Motility, they found that nine out of 10 respondents who said they could not burp, ever, suffered abdominal bloating, “socially-awkward gurgling noises” and excessive flatulence instead.
More than half said they had trouble vomiting.
Not only are the findings a reminder that stomach gas has to go somewhere – and what can’t go up must go down – they show how being unable to burp “encompasses more than just the physical challenge” and “also profoundly impacts people’s daily lives and mental well-being”.
“Overwhelmingly, we found that respondents had felt anxiety, depression, embarrassment and awkwardness in relation to their inability to burp,” the scientists said, urging that more awareness was needed about its symptoms to increase diagnosis and treatment rates, as R-CPD was only relatively recently classified as a medical condition in 2019.
The main treatment for the condition is an injection of botox into the affected muscle. – dpa
