How Heating Pads Can Help With Painful Gas

by Bill Lantz September 8, 2022

Gas is uncomfortable for all of us.

Whether it is when it happens or how loud it is when it happens, we are all a little uncomfortable.

But we all experience it, so we shouldn't be so embarrassed about it.

Sometimes, though, gas makes us physically uncomfortable because we can't get it out and it hurts.

In these cases, a heating pad can help us relax our muscles and then allow us to relieve the gas that is built up.

Read more to find out how to prepare your heating pad.

What causes gas

According to the Mayo Clinic:

"Gas in your stomach is primarily caused by swallowing air when you eat or drink. Most stomach gas is released when you burp.

Gas forms in your large intestine (colon) when bacteria ferment carbohydrates — fiber, some starches and some sugars — that aren't digested in your small intestine. Bacteria also consume some of that gas, but the remaining gas is released when you pass gas from your anus."

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/gas-and-gas-pains/symptoms-causes/syc-20372709#:~:text=Gas%20in%20your%20stomach%20is,digested%20in%20your%20small%20intestine.

As you can see from above, gas is naturally occurring based on the fact that we eat.

And while we eat, we sometimes swallow air that then goes through the same process that our food does.

But our body doesn't have a way to process the air that way, so it ends up coming out of us either as burps or farts.

There is also gas formed in our large intestines through the processing of carbohydrates, and that gas is then released when you fart.

And when you do some research, you'll find out that there are particular foods that can give you more gas.

These foods include, but are not limited to:

Fruits
Vegetables
Whole grains
Beans
Peas

There are other dietary factors that cause more gas well.

This would include drinking carbonated beverages. The carbonation is a gas, and as you take that into your body, you are causing yourself to process more gas.

Your eating habits could also cause you more gas. This would include eating too fast (because you have to breath in-between bites, which in turn means you are swallowing some air instance of breathing it in normally), drinking through a straw (since you have to either stop drinking to breathe or you breathe in while you are drinking), and chewing gum while talking.

So keep in mind that if you are eating mostly the above foods, you will be causing yourself more gas than you would normally have.

And as we mentioned earlier, gas is a naturally occurring process for humans and not something someone should be embarrassed about.

The point where we do need to consider it a problem is when it becomes painful gas.

What causes painful gas

One of the most common reasons you get painful gas are from food intolerances.

The common intolerances that cause gas pains are lactose intolerance and gluten intolerance.

Lactose intolerance manifests as your body not being able to break down the sugars found in dairy.

Dairy includes milk, yogurt, etc.

So when you take these items into your body, your body is not able to process the sugars correctly and then that will lead to painful gas.

And at that point you might find yourself in the bathroom for longer periods of time then you might have hoped.

Gluten is a big part of foods you find made from wheat. So any flours would contain parts of gluten.

So someone that has a gluten intolerance wouldn't be able to eat breads or other foods made with flour.

And just like with lactose intolerance, someone with a gluten intolerance would have an upset stomach and painful gas after eating bread.

There are also other medical conditions you might have that would contribute to extra gas.

There are different intestinal diseases that increase intestinal gas.

These include, but are not limited to, diverticulitis (inflammation or infection of one or more small pouches in the intestinal tract), ulcerative colitis (disease that causes inflammation in the digestive tract), and Crohn's disease (chronic inflammatory bowel disease that affects the lining of the digestive tract, which can sometimes cause life-threatening complications).

Obviously these different intestinal diseases can cause complications far more than just having gas pains, but if you have chronic gas pains, you might want to seek the advice of a medical professional to see if you have any of these diseases.

Constipation might also lead to painful gas.

Because you aren't able to pass gas easily with constipation, the gas then builds up, which in turn would make it painful to eventually pass gas.

Lastly, if you have an increase in the bacterial in the small bowel, this too can lead to painful gas.

If this is what you have, your medical professional might suggest getting antibiotic shots, or they might treat it with B12 injections or oral vitamins.

Whatever the case, if you have a chronic problem with painful gas, seek the advice of a medical professional for their opinion on what you might have and the best course of action to solve it.

Ways to solve painful gas

First identify if your painful gas is a chronic problem or it is just a one time thing.

If your painful gas is a onetime thing, then it is possible you just ate something that didn't agree with you.

In that case, you might be fine to wait it out.

If the painful gas has become a chronic problem, at that point it would be good to start with solution number 1.

1. Seek the advice of a medical professional.

They should be able to ask you important question to help you identify where the problem is originated.

They could also help you identify foods that you eat around the time you start to have the painful gas.

In that case, they could help you find foods that you should not be eating.

For example, I used to get really painful gas whenever I would gas chicken fettucine alfredo.

It took me a few times of eating it and getting stomach pain to realize that food was causing the stomach pain.

If it isn't a problem with a particular food, then the medical professional should be able to help by running tests.

These tests should help to identify the exact problem or pretty close to what the exact problem is.

2. Change your diet

If you want to wait it out before seeing a medical professional, you can try changing your diet to see if that fixes some of your problems.

The biggest thing would be making sure you are drinking plenty of water.

It is typically recommended that someone drinks up to 8 glasses of water a day. Glasses of water are usually 8 ounces, so 64 ounces should be the minimum you drink each day.

So if you want to get healthier, drink more than 64 ounces.

You should also get rid of drinking soda for some time.

Those carbonated drinks are going to give you even more gas.

So getting rid of them from your diet will help to reduce the gas.

3. Move around

One of the easiest things you can do for yourself to get rid of gas is to move around.

This doesn't mean that you have to go outside and go for a long run.

But you should put your best shoes on and walk around for awhile.

And maybe, depending on the heat, you could walk around once the sun goes down.

That is my favorite time to walk around, is at night.

It is nice and cool and for the most part you won't have to worry about running into someone.

And I've found a nice 1 mile loop that I can walk around.

So if you want to help your body get rid of the gas, get outside and walk around for a little bit.

4. Apple Cider Vinegar

An "old wives tale" is that apple cider vinegar can help with gas and bloating.

There is little scientific evidence that this is actually true, but many people have said that it helps them.

So it is at least worth a try.

Get yourself a glass of water and put a little bit of apple cider vinegar into it.

I typically don't like the taste of apple cider vinegar, but if I put it into water and add a drop or two of Cascia and lemon oil in it and it tastes great.

Do this and then give yourself some time and it may help the gas to go away.

5. Massages

A big part of why your body isn't able to get rid of the gas is because your muscles are too tight.

If you could just relax your muscles a little bit, you may be able to more easily release the painful gas inside of you.

And massages could help with this.

When you go into the massage, you can have the massage therapist focus on the muscles in your lower back, which are the muscles used for releasing gas.

Getting a massage on these muscles will help to relax the muscles.

It will also help you get some emotional relief, which might also be one of those areas that you need help with before your tense muscles can relax.

6. Heating pads

Just like with massages, a heating pad will help you to add some relief to your lower back and abdominal muscles.

So heat up your heating pad and then lay down on your bed.

Put the heating pad on the lower portion of your back and relax for 10 to 15 minutes.

Then heat it up again in the microwave, lay down in your bed again, and place it on your belly.

This should help as well.

Why we suggest LavaBag Heating Pads

As we spoke about above, heating pads could be a great option for some relief for painful gas.

And we suggest that you use a LavaBag heating pad for this.

This is because a LavaBag heating pad holds head for some time.

Heating up the LavaBag in the microwave for 3 minutes should give you around 30 to 45 minutes of heat.

This way, you could use the heating pad for 15 minutes on your lower bag and then another 15 minutes at least on your belly before you'd had to heat it up again.

Most heating pads aren't going to last this long.

Rice and wheat heating pads would need to be heated up at most for 1 minute and 30 seconds, but the heat in the heating pad would only last about 20 minutes.

Plus, eventually these heating pads are going to wear out because the fillers are food.

If you overheat the heating pad, you are going to ruin the fillers and it won't work as well.

So LavaBag heating pads are great for long term heating pad use and won't wear out like other heating pads are going to.

Summary

Overall, painful gas is not a great situation to be in.

But you shouldn't be in despair.

If the painful gas goes on for long periods of time, make sure to seek the advice from a medical professional, as you may have a longer term problem.

They should help you to determine what might be going on.

If the painful gas is irregular, you should be able to change your diet, go on walks, use apple cider vinegar, get a message, or use a LavaBag heating pad to give yourself some relief.