I believe everyone has the experience of rumbling, especially when hungry.
In medicine, this tummy purr is called [bowel sound] because the intestinal tract is moving.
Normal people’s bowel sounds are usually 4-5 times per minute, that is, when the stethoscope is placed on their stomachs, they can hear about 4-5 times per minute. Even if they are especially hungry, they are generally not more than 10 times per minute.
Because bowel sounds are the only information that doctors can obtain from auscultation on their stomachs, and they are also important clues to reflect intestinal health.
Therefore, if the belly is found to be crying too loudly or too lightly, it is possible that the intestinal tract is sick.
Why does the belly make a sound?
It is the intestines in the stomach that make the sound.
Our gut contains not only food and liquid, but also swallowed gases produced by the decomposition of microorganisms in the gut. These things mix together and move in the gut, making a purring sound, which is essentially the [sound of gas passing through water] caused by intestinal peristalsis.
Then why can you hear the sound of bowel sounds directly when you are hungry?
Because when hungry, the brain will send out signals, which will increase gastric juice and intestinal peristalsis. In addition, there is very little food entering the stomach and intestines at this time. These factors are combined to make the stomach purr very loud. Generally, it is good to eat something.
There is also a case where if you eat food that is not easy to digest or something that your body cannot digest (such as lactose intolerant people who have diarrhea when drinking milk), intestinal microorganism decomposition will produce excessive gas and you will also hear your stomach cry loudly.
My stomach is always growling, when should I go to the hospital?
There are many strange reasons for abnormal bowel sounds.
Serious, such as gastrointestinal hemorrhage, changes after gastrointestinal surgery, intestinal obstruction, etc., generally have abdominal pain, hematemesis, hematochezia and even life-threatening symptoms, most of which occur during hospitalization or on the way to the hospital;
Normal people or mild people, such as hunger, constipation and taking some drugs, may also have temporary abnormalities.
If your stomach is always growling, which has seriously affected your life and work, or if you have diarrhea, abdominal discomfort or dyspepsia, which are not too serious but annoying symptoms, you should consider going to the hospital for treatment.
The most common causes of these conditions are functional gastrointestinal diseases and food intolerance.
Patients with functional gastrointestinal diseases, such as functional dyspepsia and irritable bowel syndrome, generally suffer from not only bowel sounds, but also abdominal discomfort, diarrhea, dyspepsia and other gastrointestinal symptoms. At this time, they should go to the hospital and find a digestive doctor to treat the [root] of functional gastrointestinal diseases.
Functional gastrointestinal disease is a magical disease. People with mild symptoms do not necessarily suffer from mild troubles, while people with severe symptoms do not necessarily have worse quality of life.
However, most patients, according to the doctor’s guidance, apply spasmolytic drugs, probiotics and other drugs, pay attention to diet, and the troubles of various symptoms will generally disappear slowly.
If there is a particularly clear situation that what is uncomfortable after eating, the most important way is to pay attention to diet.
Since I know that eating some kind of food will make my stomach goo and diarrhea, why don’t I stop my mouth?
Abnormal bowel sounds may indicate what?
The bowel sound is mainly obtained by the doctor putting the stethoscope on the stomach. It is abnormal for the bowel sound to be too light, too loud or even disappear.
The weakening or disappearance of bowel sounds indicates the weakening or disappearance of intestinal peristalsis. Common causes include sleep, constipation, taking drugs (morphine and anticholinergic drugs), coma, recovery from abdominal surgery, and patients with paralytic intestinal obstruction.
The cause of sleep or constipation is usually considered normal, while the abnormal bowel sounds caused by taking drugs can usually return to normal after the drug effect is lost, and there is no what problem.
The enhancement of bowel sounds, especially those that can be heard without stethoscope, is the most common situation encountered in reality and also the most disturbing situation for everyone. The loud sound and frequent shouting all mean the increase of intestinal peristalsis.
Common causes include gastrointestinal hemorrhage, irritable bowel syndrome, food allergy, infectious diarrhea, mechanical intestinal obstruction and ulcerative colitis. These all need to seek help from a doctor.
Summary
Bowel sounds are an important clue to diagnose diseases, but it is not only necessary to rely on bowel sounds to judge whether there is illness or not. In addition to abnormal bowel sounds, diagnosis of gastrointestinal diseases also needs to combine medical history, physical examination and other physical symptoms.
However, unless the quality of life has been seriously affected or accompanied by other symptoms that should be treated, simple bowel sounds are abnormal and need not be worried in most cases.
The next time your stomach coos again, don’t just think that you are hungry. It’s time to eat. It’s right to care more about yourself.