Why your recurring bloating and acidity may not be ordinary gas at all

If you regularly experience bloating, gas, burning, burping, or stomach pain and routinely reach for an antacid to manage it, you may be treating the wrong problem.

For many people across India, self-medication with over-the-counter relief products has become the default response whenever digestive discomfort strikes.

But when the same symptoms return again and again, they may be pointing to something far more serious than ordinary indigestion — and temporarily suppressing them with antacids could be masking an underlying condition that requires proper medical treatment.

Dr Manan Vora, a Mumbai-based orthopaedic surgeon, health educator, and co-founder of NutriByte Wellness, is drawing attention to a common yet potentially harmful pattern he has observed among Indians when it comes to digestive health.

In an Instagram video shared on Thursday, he highlighted the widespread tendency to attribute almost every stomach-related complaint — whether bloating, acidity, burning, or pain — to "gas," regardless of how frequently the symptoms recur or how persistent they become.

Dr Vora cautions that this habit could be causing people to overlook a bacterial infection that may be at the root of their troubles.

"India has a dangerous habit of labelling every stomach issue as 'gas'. Burning inside? Gas. Burping? Gas. Nausea after food? Gas. But if your 'gas' keeps coming back again and again, it may not be a normal gas issue. It might be H. pylori," he said.

What is H. pylori?

Dr Vora explains that H. pylori is a bacterium that can enter the body through contaminated food or water, saliva, or poor hygiene before settling into the lining of the stomach. Once established, it is capable of surviving the stomach's highly acidic environment — which is precisely what makes it so difficult to detect and treat through conventional antacid use alone.

Left unaddressed, an H. pylori infection can give rise to a range of conditions including chronic gastritis, recurring acidity, ulcers, bloating, and persistent upper abdominal pain.

Because these symptoms closely resemble routine digestive upset, many people continue to self-medicate without realising that the bacteria remains active.

"H. pylori is a bacteria that lives in the lining of your stomach. It usually spreads through contaminated food, water, saliva, or poor hygiene, and once it enters, it can survive the stomach acid.

"That's why this is not the same as regular bloating or indigestion. It can cause chronic gastritis, recurrent acidity, ulcers, bloating, burping, nausea and upper abdominal pain.

"And this is where people go wrong. They keep taking Eno, Digene, Pudin Hara or random acid tablets. These may reduce the burning for a few hours. But they do kill H. pylori. The treatment is not one antacid," the surgeon explained.

How is H. pylori diagnosed and treated?

Dr Vora stresses that anyone whose digestive symptoms persistently return should consult a doctor and be evaluated for H. pylori rather than continuing to self-medicate.

The infection can be identified through a breath test, a stool test, or in certain cases, an endoscopy.

Should the result come back positive, treatment typically involves a targeted course of antibiotics lasting approximately 14 days, usually prescribed alongside acid-reducing medication.

Crucially, Dr Vora notes that a reduction in symptoms alone is not sufficient confirmation that the infection has cleared. Follow-up testing after completing the course of treatment is essential to ensure the bacteria has been fully eliminated.

"If your symptoms keep coming back again and again, don't keep treating it as normal gas. Go to your doctor and get it checked. To confirm H. pylori, your doctor may ask for a breath test, stool test or sometimes an endoscopy.

And if it's positive, it usually needs a proper antibiotic course with acid reducing medicine for about 14 days. And once the treatment is done, you should recheck to make sure the infection is actually gone.

Because feeling better doesn't always mean H. pylori is cleared. So if your gas keeps coming back, especially with burning, burping, nausea or upper stomach pain, stop self-medicating. See a doctor and find out what's causing it," he said.

Note to readers: This article is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. It is based on user-generated content from social media. The claims have not been independently verified.