Belching is a common occurrence in almost everyone, and occasional belching after a full meal is not a pathology. However, if belching is frequent and the stomach and abdomen are full, be alert – frequent belching is one of the common symptoms of various digestive tract diseases, especially GERD, chronic gastritis, peptic ulcer, etc., which are often accompanied by belching symptoms; at the same time, in some functional gastrointestinal diseases, belching and bloating may also be caused by mental factors, to put it bluntly, the In some functional gastrointestinal diseases, belching and bloating may also be caused by psychological factors. Why is acid reflux accompanied by belching? There are many reasons for frequent belching, including organic, functional, psychosocial and dietary factors. Organic factors include GERD, peptic ulcers, chronic pharyngitis, hyperthyroidism, and obstructive rhinitis. The incidence of GERD is 6.7%, and white-collar workers who are under a lot of pressure are “favored” by it. Gastroesophageal reflux disease is a disease related to gastric acid and gastric dysfunction, in which gastric contents, including gastric acid, bile, pancreatic enzymes, etc., reflux into the esophagus, causing inflammation, erosion, ulceration and other complications of the esophageal mucosa. Gastric acid has a pH value of 1-1.5, which is a very acidic substance. Its reflux into the esophagus not only causes great damage to the esophageal mucosa, but also constantly irritates the pharynx. Patients often instinctively make swallowing movements in order to relieve pharyngeal discomfort, unknowingly swallowing too much gas and causing frequent belching. “For this group of patients, in addition to avoiding full meals (especially eating before bedtime), it is usually necessary to take acid-control and acid-suppressant drugs to control stomach acid and relieve symptoms such as acid reflux and belching.” ”Similarly, patients with chronic pharyngitis often make unconscious swallowing motions due to discomfort in the throat. Swallowing a breath will swallow 15-20 ml of gas, so that a person unconsciously swallows a large amount of gas and often belches.” Zhu Forest said. For chronic pharyngitis-induced belching and other discomforts, the primary cause of pharyngitis needs to be actively treated in order to fundamentally improve belching symptoms. It is the habit of many people to get high at leisure, such as watching TV at night while knocking. People do not know that swallowing melon seeds constantly can also swallow a lot of gas, which can cause bloating and belching symptoms. Frequent snacking and chewing gum can also cause belching. If you are already suffering from belching and bloating, you should change these eating habits and consume less food that can cause bloating (such as soda and beer) to reduce the gas in the gastrointestinal tract; eat less indigestible food and stimulating food (such as large amounts of fat, protein, soy products, potatoes, spicy food). Belching, mostly due to mental factors Many people are unaware that the etiology of digestive disorders includes not only physiological, but also psychological factors become important causative factors. In patients with belching, early satiety and bloating, there is a prevalence of tension, anxiety and depression. Among them, nearly 40% (39%) are accompanied by insomnia and depressive tendencies, 47% with anxiety tendencies, and 65% with depression and anxiety. Many patients with belching experience frequent epigastric discomfort, belching, intestinal tinnitus, or feeling full after eating a little. After several visits to the hospital and a series of tests (e.g., abdominal ultrasound, gastroscopy, blood tests, etc.), they are told that there are no organic abnormalities. These patients usually feel confused: “I am so uncomfortable, why can’t I find out the cause?” In fact, the disease that troubles these “healthy people” is gastrointestinal dysfunction, and the real cause is mostly psychological. Among our organs, the gastrointestinal tract is the organ most capable of expressing emotions. For example, if a person’s mood is abnormal, it will directly affect the appetite and digestive and excretory functions. In mild cases, symptoms such as anorexia, bloating and discomfort may occur, and in severe cases, belching, nausea and even vomiting may occur. For example, excitement and anger are among the most common emotions we experience, which can put the sympathetic nervous system in an abnormal state of tension, which in turn can cause hyperactive motor and secretory functions of the gastrointestinal tract, leading to vomiting, nausea, abdominal pain, bloating, diarrhea and so on. In addition, when the mind is stressed and depressed, it also affects the sympathetic nerves and makes them overstressed, which inhibits the peristaltic and emptying functions of the stomach, resulting in corresponding digestive symptoms. These emotional abnormalities can be accompanied by an imperceptible increase in swallowing movements and a continuous accumulation of large amounts of air in the stomach, producing symptoms such as belching, gastrointestinal distention, intestinal tinnitus or excessive exhaustion. It can be said that a person’s mental state plays an important role in the development of gastrointestinal disorders. The so-called digestive symptoms are likely to be the somatic manifestations of anxiety and depression, and these somatic symptoms in turn aggravate the mental and emotional ill state, and emotions and symptoms are interlinked and mutually beneficial. However, some organic diseases (such as gastric ulcer, duodenal ulcer, gallbladder and pancreatic diseases, etc.) may also be accompanied by abdominal distension, early satiety, belching, etc. Therefore, doctors may recommend patients to undergo some tests (such as gastroscopy, ultrasound, etc.) to exclude organic diseases before diagnosis. For those patients with abdominal distension and belching determined to be triggered by psychosomatic factors, low-dose antidepressant therapy or psychological intervention may be given on a case-by-case basis. Meanwhile, patients are advised to maintain good sleep and emotional stability.