Guide to Understanding Supragastric Belching: Causes, Diagnosis, and Treatment

What is Supragastric Belching?

There's more to supra gastric belching than a tiny burp. Belching comes out when trapped air escapes from your oesophagus (food pipe) through your mouth.

What really happens inside your stomach is a defect in coordination between the diaphragm (muscle below your lungs, responsible for breathing) and upper esophageal sphincter (UES, the valve that stops food coming back from the food pipe).  In a healthy person, the UES must contract and relax as per the movement of diaphragm, to prevent air entry into the food pipe.

But, this coordination does not work in someone with supragastric belching.

The UES relaxes at times it actually should not, which allows air entry into the food pipe during inhalation. Then, when you exhale, the diaphragm pushes this air forcefully out of the food pipe resulting in that uncomfortable ‘burp.’

It is all good until this keeps happening repeatedly. Your whole digestive health takes a toll.

• With excessive air swallowing, you may experience bloating and distention of the abdomen.
• When air keeps moving constantly in the oesophagus, it disrupts the flow of food and gastric contents causing regurgitation or acid reflux.
• Frequent burping or belching can also have a psychological impact.

Is Supragastric Belching the Same as GERD ?

Many commonly think that beching is same as acid reflux or GERD (Gastroesophageal reflux disease). But that is not true.
Supragastric belching mainly involves air escaping due to improper UES and diaphragm coordination. Whereas GERD is the reflux of stomach acid into the oesophagus. When you have GERD, you may feel different other symptoms, such as a burning sensation and pain in the chest.

If you think you have GERD, then find quick natural remedies with Nirva. Read this article to know more - Know Everything About Your Sour Troubles With Gerd

What Does Supragastric Belching Feel Like?

Symptoms of supra gastric belching are often distressing, which has a major impact on daily life. They may be;

• Excessive burping
• Bloating and Distention
• Chest Discomfort
• Regurgitation
• Audible belching or belching sound

When you experience symptoms such as audible belching, it affects social interactions, work environment and personal relationships. The same also interferes with eating patterns.

Potential Causes of Supragastric Belching

As you have read in the previous section, the main cause of this condition is a lack of coordination between UES and the diaphragm. However, the development of this off-timing can bud from different reasons such as;

Psychological Factors

Stress, anxiety and being highly sensitive to emotions can lead to an abnormal activation of the diaphragm and UES. 

Carbonated Beverages

Carbonated beverages contain high gas content. When you consume them, you automatically swallow air.  The carbondioxide gas in the drink releases as bubbles in the stomach.This causes belching. So, making carbonated beverages a habit can repeatedly lead to unhealthy belching.

Gastrointestinal Disorders

Even if supragastric belching is different from conditions like GERD or functional dyspepsia (recurring symptom of stomach upset without any cause), these have associated symptoms of belching. Bloating, acid reflux and indigestion also can trigger supragastric belching.

It is possible that multiple factors together can cause this condition. 

To make sure what exactly is the cause, your healthcare expert may suggest two popular investigations.

• Oesophageal manometry: This test measures the pressure and strength of your oesophagal sphincter.
• pH monitoring: This test evaluates if acid and other gastric juices reflect back into your food pipe, as seen in GERD.

So, stop getting confused, get in touch with an expert to know what you are experiencing right now.

Treatment Options for Supragastric Belching

As multiple factors are involved in the development of this condition, you need a multifaceted approach to solve the issue.

Lifestyle Modifications

• As you already know that stress and anything related to mental disturbances can irritate the function of your gastrointestinal tract. That is why you must practise stress reduction techniques. Some easy ones are deep breathing, meditation and mindfulness based practices.
• Try to change your diet and see how it changes your belching. Avoid trigger foods like carbonated drinks, fatty foods, spicy and fried foods, alcohol and caffeine. Stop yourself from eating a stomach full that tends to push everything out of your tummy with a lot of gas.

Behavioural Therapy

Practising behavioural therapies are said to decrease up to 50% of belching-related symptoms. 

• Practising diaphragmatic breathing improves the coordination between the diaphragm and UES.
• CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) is of utmost benefit in managing the emotional and other psychological aspects of supra gastric belching. If you don't know where to look to get a CBT done, connect with our experts who practise Ayurveda psychotherapy (smriti meditation). 

Some of the common conventional medications used for supra gastric belching are;

• Prokinetic medications that promote regular gastric motility.
• Acid reflux medications are used to prevent any acidity-related symptoms.

Holistic Approach to Treating Supragastric Belching

Remember these tips the next time you go out with your friends or family to stop being distressed from repeated belching.

• Eat and drink slowly to prevent swallowing air.
• Avoid fizzy drinks.
• Avoid chewing gum or hard candy.
• Do not smoke.
• Move often.
• Cut back on food high with starch.

Herbal Remedies for Belching for Quick Relief

It is quite easy to find some quick home remedies for supragastric belching. So, use them! 

• Ginger : Ginger will help relieve gastrointestinal irritation that will push gas out of the stomach. It will also prevent indigestion from which gas can buildup in your tummy. Add a piece of ginger in boiling water and sip it.
• Fennel seeds: Chewing fennel seeds after meals will help expel gas from the intestinal tract and aid in digestion.
• Chamomile tea: Sipping on chamomile tea will help you reduce sulphur burps.
• Mix a tablespoon of curd, a little salt and a pinch of asafoetida to a glass of warm water and drink it everyday.
• Add a paste of mint leaves to a glass of water and have it for two weeks.

Keep these quick ideas in your mind for the next feast with friends and family.

Look Out for Emergencies

Look out for these symptoms associated with supra gastric belching.

• Diarrhoea
• Severe belly pain
• Bloody stools
• Colour change of stools
• Losing a lot of weight
• Chest discomfort
• Loss of appetite

These can be a signal of some underlying health condition. So, it can mean that it is time to get hold of an expert to get to the root cause of your belching.

Wrapping Up

You can always manage supra gastric belching with patience and persistence. Keep a positive mindset and focus on self-care. But first, try to find out what is really causing the symptoms from a consultation.