This topic has been on my mind for awhile now, but I just got reminded of it because I'm currently eating Ramen noodles. They are packed with sodium, which makes you retain water and become bloated. I'll explain later on about the connection.
Did you know an extremely small percentage of the population cannot burp, or have very rare occurrences of burping? It's actually 0.0060698%, and that's just calculating the U.S. population. I rounded the number of reddit subscribers on the 'no burp' forum and divided by the American population. There are assumptions being made with the reddit users, but the number is sure to grow. The inability to burp is called retrograde cricopharyngeus dysfunction, otherwise known as R-CPD.
How could one not be able to burp? Well I can tell you right now, I can't. At least very rarely. For as long as I can remember, I would always try to burp, but I just couldn't. I felt defective and not normal, and having other people burp around me was something that I wanted to have, too. The ones that know me well know that I have these "throat noises" that I can't control. This is the burp that wants to be heard, but can't get all the way out. There is a muscle in your throat called a sphincter. This is the muscle that allows food to get swallowed and enter your stomach. That same muscle can also relax just enough for air to come up your throat and become a burp. For no-burpers, this muscle can't relax.
The air can either escape through the mouth or through flatulence. Since no-burpers can't get it out through their mouth, they have excessive flatulence. And society frowns upon that, therefore we hold it in. This can cause extreme bloating (I literally look pregnant) and pain. On a side note, TikTok is showing many users about how to fix your gut health, but what about the small amount of people that just can't burp? The bloating is a lot and we sometimes can get body dysmorphia due to our stomach changing so much. And now you're convincing me that my bacteria is bad? Anyway, that can be another story.
Other symptoms include painful hiccups (I get them after drinking carbonated beverages and standing for long periods of time), throat noises (otherwise known as frog noises), acid reflux (I surprisingly don't get that symptom too badly), and even difficulty breathing.
This only became a term in the medical community a couple of years ago by throat doctor and specialist, Dr. Robert Bastian. Patients came to him with these issues and he decided to look into it further. He eventually came up with the criteria to diagnose it and even came up with a procedure to help. It includes a Botox injection in the sphincter muscle to relax it. Then, as time goes on, you learn to burp since the muscle is relaxed. The Botox will then fade away over time and your sphincter now has muscle memory to be able to burp for the rest of your life. For some patients, it can take 2 procedures in order for it to work, but many have had relief they haven't found in decades.
I just remembered another symptom that usually goes under the radar. Vomiting can be especially hard for people who can't burp. It is usually okay when your stomach really needs something out, but it is more difficult if you feel nauseous for a long period of time and you want to throw up, but you JUST CAN'T. The nauseousness after eating tends to linger for hours with no escape. It really does suck and it ruins the vibe.
This is always been a cool topic for me. I live in a small town and I haven't met anyone else around me that can't burp. I thought I was the odd one out, and it didn't help during exams at school when my throat wanted to make unnecessary noises. I was embarrassed by them, but I want to thank the people that told me it was okay and that they don't see me as being weird. Actually, I am pretty weird. I am happy that I now know a procedure out there exists and I could do it someday. Only a handful of doctors around the world can diagnose and treat this condition, but I soon hope it becomes more readily available and widespread.
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