A burp, a belch — or an eructation, as medical professionals refer to it — is your upper digestive system’s way of clearing out excess air. It often comes along with an upset stomach, called indigestion or dyspepsia.
Everyone belches, usually three to five times after each meal. And occasionally, we all feel a little too full after eating.
Though we barely notice some belches, we can feel, hear, and even smell others. Sometimes they’re stinky, and sometimes it’s uncomfortable.
Luckily, you can take action to reduce burping and indigestion. If you want to know how to stop burping, read on.
What Causes Indigestion and Burping?
Our bodies take in some air every time we swallow while eating or drinking. Most of the air gets trapped, stretching your stomach and exiting through your esophagus — the tube between the throat and the stomach — until it returns to your mouth as a burp.
If your belching seems excessive but isn’t uncomfortable, it’s usually nothing to worry about. But if it comes with indigestion or happens often, you may want to talk to your doctor about it.
Indigestion, sometimes called dyspepsia or an upset stomach, is discomfort or pain in the upper abdomen after eating. It can include a feeling of fullness, belly pain, or a burning sensation. Other symptoms may include nausea, belching, gas, and regurgitating food or fluid (like stomach acid) into the esophagus.
Indigestion has many causes. When stomach acid irritates the stomach lining or throat, it’s acid reflux or heartburn. Reflux is a common cause of indigestion.
It can also cause burping. If you have heartburn, stomach acid flows back into your esophagus, making you swallow more frequently and leading to swallowing more air, causing burping.
You can get indigestion from what you eat, what medications you take, and other lifestyle factors like your weight, pregnancy, and smoking. These can all affect your stomach.
Can anxiety cause indigestion and burping?
Stress and anxiety can also contribute to indigestion and burping. When you’re anxious, your body can produce more stomach acid, leading to an upset stomach.
Anxiety may also cause you to swallow more air, which may increase belching. Managing stress through relaxation techniques, like deep breathing or mindfulness, may help reduce symptoms.
This connection between anxiety and digestive issues underscores the importance of addressing both physical and mental health when treating your symptoms. If stress is causing your indigestion or burping, consider discussing stress management strategies with your doctor.
What Can Stop Excessive Burping and Belching?
Foods and activities that make you swallow air are major causes of burping and belching.
To prevent belching, limit these burp-inducing activities:
- Chewing gum.
- Eating too fast.
- Sucking on hard candies.
- Smoking cigarettes.
Wearing old or loose dentures is a common cause of swallowing air and belching in older adults. Air entering the esophagus through gaps around the dentures can enter the stomach and cause indigestion and abdominal pain. Ask your dentist for a fitting if your dentures are old or loose.
Do certain foods trigger burping?
Certain foods, such as carbonated beverages, can make you belch more.
If drinks with bubbles make you burp, limit your intake of:
- Beer.
- Carbonated malt beverages.
- Hard ciders, ice teas, and lemonades.
- Mixers, such as club soda and tonic water.
- Soda pop.
- Sparkling (carbonated) water.
Also, if heartburn triggers your belching, limit your intake of
- Acidic foods like tomatoes.
- Greasy, fatty foods.
- Spicy foods.
Drinks with caffeine and alcohol can also trigger excessive burping.
How to prevent indigestion
In addition to the tips to prevent burping, you may also want to take additional steps if you’re feeling a lot of indigestion.
To prevent indigestion, you can try:
- Avoiding bending or lying down after eating.
- Eating smaller, more frequent meals and snacks instead of large meals.
- Taking time with your meal and eating in a relaxed way.
- Timing your evening meal at least three to four hours before bed.
How to Relieve Excessive Burping
Now that you know what causes excessive burping, avoiding foods and activities that cause indigestion or make it more likely is the best way to relieve it.
Here are some other ways to reduce belching:
- Avoid products that produce gas, like cabbage, beans, and dairy.
- Chew slowly with your mouth closed.
- Follow a low FODMAP diet.
- Take a walk after eating to help your digestion.
- Try drinking warm ginger tea during meals or shortly after (not ginger soda or ginger beer).
What medicines to take for excessive burping
If home remedies and diet changes aren’t helping your indigestion, burping, and heartburn, you can try medicines.
Several different types can help:
- Antacids — These medicines neutralize existing stomach acid. Brand names include Tums, Rolaids, or other chewables with calcium carbonate. You can take these occasionally after meals if you’re dealing with indigestion.
- Gas remedies — These over-the-counter medicines include simethicone (Gas-X) or bismuth subsalicylate (Pepto-Bismol). You can take these remedies shortly after your meals if you feel indigestion.
- H2 blockers — These medicines reduce stomach acid and help with burping and indigestion from heartburn. These include cimetidine (Tagamet) and famotidine (Pepcid).
- Proton pump inhibitors — These medicines treat chronic acid reflux. Examples include esomeprazole (Nexium) and omeprazole (Prilosec). Talk to your doctor if you need to take these regularly or for a prolonged period.
When Should I Call My Doctor?
There are a few cases you should mention to your doctor.
Talk to your doctor if your belching occurs with frequent:
- Abdominal cramps.
- Bloating.
- Feeling full quickly while eating.
- Gas.
- Heartburn.
- Indigestion.
- Problems with bowel movements, including blood in the stool.
- Upset stomach.
“If your indigestion or burping occurs more than you would expect or more than usual, notify your doctor and ask for additional recommendations,” says Jennifer Chennat, MD, a UPMC gastroenterologist specializing in upper-GI treatments. “At UPMC, we evaluate patients with indigestion and burping and, if clinically appropriate, perform an endoscopic evaluation to rule out gastroesophageal reflux disease or GERD, upper GI tract inflammation, or peptic ulcer disease.”
In addition, belching accompanied by severe indigestion can signal a more serious health problem, including heart attack. If you have unusual indigestion with shortness of breath, chest pain, sweating, or pain radiating to the jaw, neck, or arm, call 911. Seek medical attention immediately.
Editor's Note: This article was originally published on , and was last reviewed on .