Suggest treatment for bloating, flatulence and stomach discomfort

Posted on Mon, 1 Jun 2015

Question: Hello. Ive been a 'gassy person' for years but have always ignored it as I had no discomfort and amusingly enough, almost never any odor. For the last two weeks I have been bloated, gassy, uncomfortable, usually not able to fully evacuate my bowels in one sitting (due to the bloating and gas it would seem) and for most of the last week, Ive been passing bloody foam quite a bit. Any thoughts on what I should be looking into?

Answered by Dr. Kathy Robinson (31 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
need exam/colonoscopy

Detailed Answer:
Hello and thanks for your question.
Blood in the stools is never normal, so for this you need to see your doctor and you may need to be evaluated with a colonoscopy.
Gas production can be due to many causes. First I would consider lactose intolerance and try getting rid of all dairy in your diet. Next gluten intolerance could also be a factor but getting rid of all gluten is a more difficult proposition so I would start with getting rid of the dairy first. It could be that you have some sort of inflammatory bowel disorder causing these problems, in which case a colonoscopy would be diagnostic.
It may also be helpful to add a daily probiotic to your regimen.
Good luck to you,
K. Robinson MD

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar