No, not pills that make you fart, pills that supposedly stop you farting. People fart on average about 14 times a day, although this varies enormously from person to person and is probably dependent to a significant extent on diet. Mrs JDM claims to never fart at all, while one of my colleagues is rather famous for his ability to pass gas. Of course, mild gastrointestinal upsets like diarrhea can produce increased gas in the system. On the other hand, some people become a bit over obsessed about their otherwise normal flatulence. So, what has a leading high street pharmacy got for us in this department?
Windeze - (simeticone)
WindSetlers - (dimeticone)
Both of these remedies contain polydimethylsiloxanes, or silicones. They are thought to act by reducing the surface tension of gas bubbles, making them coalesce. They were introduced into medicine to aid gastroscopy - all the little bubbles in your stomach make getting a clear image rather difficult. They have also been used to assist imaging at the other end, in colonoscopy. But do they stop you farting?
Here's a cynical answer: Some chiropractors chose dimetacone as a "control" to test their spinal wizardry against in colicky infants. It's no surprise to find, then, that we've known for quite a while that they are ineffective in colic, and that chiropractic is only equally ineffective. That's not farting though.
A more complete answer is that there is no evidence that these compounds provide relief from excessive farting, and we've known that for a considerable time. The trick is to stop feeding the gas-producing gut flora by avoiding foods that are rich in carbohydrates that aren't fully absorbed by the body, such as those in beans and cabbage.
Another sugar to avoid is lactose, so don't expect homeopathic fart pills to have the desired effect!
Another sugar to avoid is lactose, so don't expect homeopathic fart pills to have the desired effect!
I didn't even know these were being sold! So these compounds get rid of the bubbles? But the 'wind' is still there? Maybe they make the farts less noisy... are there any studies on what kind of air makes the noisiest trumps?
ReplyDeleteNot that I know of. Maybe there's a whole field of research dedicated to it.
ReplyDeleteBut I doubt it...
This doesn't sound plausible to me. Let's say for the sake of argument that these pills really do make gas bubbles coalesce. That means that instead of several small bubbles, you'd now have one big one.
ReplyDeleteSo if these pills do what they claim, then rather than farting in a relatively unobtrusive way 14 times a day, you'll fart just once a day, but in a manner that will immediately attract the attention of everyone within a 500-yard radius.
I've not looked into it any further, but I wandered across the suggestion that they could be used for that effect in the stomach - settle a gassy stomach with a big huge belch.
ReplyDelete