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Introduction
Flatusor flatulence is air in the intestine that is passed through the rectum. Sometimes,it is also called gas. Gas is produced in the intestines as food is beingdigested. Gas can make you feel bloated, which can cause crampy or colicky painin the abdomen. The troubling part with flatulence is the great embarrassmentthat it cause when gas is passed at wrong time and wrong place. It is not acondition wherein there is any risk to the life of the patient but it is acause of great concern due to the social embarrassment that it causes. Thisembarrassment is many time the reason for the patient taking medical help.
Mostof the people produce about 1-3 pints of gas in a day and they can pass flatus14 times in a single day. The primary contents of the flatus are 5 odorlessgasses namely Nitrogen, Hydrogen, Carbon dioxide, Methane and Oxygen. The odorof the flatus is given by other trace gases like skatole, indole andsulfur-containing compounds present in it. Flatus can be flammable and thischaracteristic feature is attributed to the oxygen and methane content on it.These gases are produced when bacteria present in the intestines try to digestthe food. | |