, also known as '''belching''', '''ructus''', or '''eructation''' is the release of
Gas from the digestive tract (mainly
Esophagus and
Stomach ) through the
Mouth . It is often accompanied with a typical sound and sometimes an
Odor .
Burping is typically caused by eating or drinking too fast, and thereby swallowing (
Aerophagia ) and subsequently expelling
Air , in which the expelled gas is a mixture of
Nitrogen and
Oxygen . Burps can also be caused by imbibing
Carbonated drinks such as
Beer ,
Soft Drinks , or
Champagne , in which case the expelled gas is
Carbon Dioxide from the drink itself.
Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease can also cause involuntary burping. However, symptoms such as dyspepsia, nausea, and heartburn may be relieved by belching.
The sound of burping is caused by the
Vibration of the
Cardia (
Esophageal Sphincter ) as the gas passes through it. The current
Guinness World Record for the loudest burp is 118.1
DB , set by Paul Hunn from
London ,
England in
2000 .
Guinness World Records - Guardian (UK) (This would be noticeably louder than a chainsaw at a distance of 1 meter.)
In the
Western World , audible burping is considered impolite, although generally not as much as
Flatulence . Some people will cover the mouth with their hand in the same fashion as one used to guise a
Yawn . However, burping is viewed as acceptable and humorous among young children and some young adults. Sometimes, children engage in burping activities such as contests to determine who can produce the loudest burp, the longest burp, the most gutteral burp, the burping of words, songs, or the alphabet.
Some cultures (for example,
Bengalis )
"An Introduction to Bengali Cooking" by Sutapa Ray, ''Milonee'' (website), 2001. do not consider burping rude, and may even consider it a sign of appreciation to audibly burp after a meal. This is not true for some other Asian cultures such as in Japan. One study
Too much of Swallowed air is not the culprit behind excessive burping! - Yahoo! News (India) has found that in some cultures excessive burping after meals is a commonly learned social behavior.
Babies are particularly subject to accumulation of gas in the stomach whilst feeding, and this can cause considerable agitation to the child unless it is ''burped''. The act of burping an infant involves placing the child in a position conducive to gas expulsion (for example holding the infant up to the adult's shoulder, with the infant's stomach resting on the adult's chest) and then lightly patting it on the lower back so that he or she burps.
Because burping can cause
Vomiting in infants, the ''burp cloth'' or ''burp pad'' is sometimes employed on the shoulder to protect the adult's clothing.
It is possible to voluntarily induce burping by swallowing air and then expelling it, and by manipulation of the
Vocal Tract produce burped speech.
While this is often employed by children as a means of entertainment or competition, it can also act as an alternative means of
Vocalisation for people who have undergone a
Laryngectomy , with the burp replacing laryngeal
Phonation . This is known as
Esophageal Speech .
Other
Some
Fish are also known to expel air from their gills; here the burp is produced by gas being expelled from the
Gas Bladder .
