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What happens if you hold in
your farts too long?
We've all been taught that
farting loudly and proudly
in public is not okay.
So instead,
we all try to keep our farts inside,
no matter how much pain or discomfort
they cause.
But could this social norm
be endangering our health?
On average, a healthy person farts
about 12 to 25 times a day,
resulting in a release of
0.6-1.8 liters (20-61 oz) of intestinal gas.
That means you could fill
a one or two-liter pop bottle
with the amount of gas you produce each day.
That's a lot of gas to keep
building up inside you.
If you never let any of it out,
would your intestines eventually explode?
Before we answer that,
let's talk about
where all that gas comes from
in the first place.
And no, the answer is not
"from pulling my finger."
Your body creates intestinal gas as
part of the digestive process.
This gas can come from the air you swallow
while eating, drinking, or smoking.
It can also be produced
when bacteria break down food in your colon.
Some foods cause larger,
smellier amounts of gas
because they contain sulfur.
These foods include things like cauliflower,
beans, and dairy.
So you probably shouldn't order that
creamy cauliflower bean soup on a first date.
Intestinal gas can either be released
as a burp through the mouth
or as a fart through the anus.
While both are frowned upon in public,
farts are particularly offensive.
But maybe we should worry less
about these social norms
and more about what holding in
farts does to our bodies.
As you fart,
gas moves from your intestines
into your rectum
and then leaves
through your anus.
When you hold in a fart,
you tighten your anal sphincter muscles,
and the pressure builds
on the gas in your digestive system.
In the short term,
this can cause immediate pain,
bloating, and heartburn.
The longer you hold it in,
the louder, stinkier, and more embarrassing
it will be when it eventually finds its way out.
And one way it could find its way out
is through your mouth.
But it's not as gross as it sounds.
If the gas is trapped in your body long enough,
it can be absorbed into your bloodstream,
passed into your lungs, and eventually exhaled.
And that's
probably the best-case scenario
of holding in all your farts.
Another possibility
is that you could develop swollen
and inflamed pouches
that form along your intestinal wall.
This condition is known as diverticulitis.
It can lead to diarrhea,
fever, and bleeding from the rectum.
And in case that doesn't sound fun enough,
if your farts are held in because
something is blocking your colon,
then your colon will start to expand
until it pops.
This only happens in rare situations
with very ill patients.
But the idea is
still enough to make you think twice about
holding everything in.
After all, a fart is a natural bodily function,
and there shouldn't be such a
negative stigma around it.
Maybe we should just relax
and let them all out at the same time.
But that's a story for another WHAT IF.