Holding in a fart could cause it to come out your mouth

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People Vow To Stop Holding In Their Farts After Finding Out Where It Goes

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12:47 07 February 2024

Updated: 05:11 23 November 2024


People have issued a vow to stop holding in their farts after learning where it goes.

We’ve all been in that awkward situation where you’ve needed to let one rip, but for one reason or another, we’ve opted to hold it in.

You might be on crowded public transport, out for dinner in a restaurant or in the early stages of a relationship and not feeling comfortable yet to let out some wind in front of your partner.

But once you know what happens when you decide to hold it in, you’ll probably feel better for relieving yourself in front of others.

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People often opt to hold it in, in case it’s really loud – making it obvious who committed the smelly crime.

But there are also the ‘silent but deadly’ ones, where you think you can pass wind discretely but the smell always leads back to you.

However, some people online are now admitting they will just let it rip in public, regardless of the situation, after learning the nasty side effects it can have on your body if you hold it in.

One person pens: “Now I will fart whenever and wherever I need to.”

Someone else adds: “I will never hold a fart in ever again.”

A third jokes: “Well the office is never going to smell the same again…”

“Welp, looks like I’m going to start farting in school and public,” admits a fourth.

Another person comments: “I wish farting was more ordinary to people so they didn’t think it was weird.”

Man holding nose
We’ve all had to hold in a smelly fart at one point or another. Credit: Alamy

But if you are going to start trumping in public, you might want to be cautious about the smell.

Fortunately, the NHS has some advice to avoid this – recommending that you eat smaller meals more often and chewing with your mouth closed to help hinder the scent.

The health service also suggests that you avoid chewing gum and drinking too much ‘beer, wine, or fruit juice’ as this will increase the smell.

In a TikTok post, Dr Karan Raj, an NHS surgeon and the author of ‘This Book May Save Your Life’, shared why holding in your farts is actually a bad thing.

He explains: “When you don’t get rid of some of that gas, it can be absorbed through the lining of the gut and make its way into the bloodstream.

“From there, it makes its way into the lungs, where we breathe it out.”

The medical expert adds that when you hold your farts in, it will create a build-up of pressure inside which will inevitably ‘overcome the resistance of your sphincter’ – or as he puts it, ‘an uncontrollable fart’.

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Experts at Healthline agree with Dr Raj – stating that the bacteria in your intestines create gases as they break down and metabolise the food we consume.

The gases will then begin to expand in your colon and tend to escape via your derriere.

So if you refuse to pass wind, some of the gas will be reabsorbed into your bloodstream and can end up being exhaled out of your mouth.

Healthline does state, however, that your breath won’t smell like farts just because you hold it in.

@dr.karanr Make some noise #fart #learnontiktok #edutok #schoolwithdrkaran #humanbody ♬ CONFETTI INSTRUMENTAL – Utkarsh Uppal/Aymen Mohamedali/Shalee Gherbaz