Rotten Egg Farts

The gas present in our digestive tract, prime reason of getting farts, can be because of many reasons such as: air swallowed during eating/speaking, bacterial action, gas entering the intestine through blood and chemical reactions occurring in digestive tract. Whatsoever be the reason, passing gas especially when it smells like rotten eggs, is a very embarrassing condition for everyone.

Causes

Getting farts which smell like that of rotten eggs is mainly because hydrogen sulfide is present in the gas being released; skatole might also be present. Both these compounds contain sulfur which gives foul smell. It is as simple as the more sulfur you eat in your diet, more will be the sulfides produced in your digestive tract and more will be the odor of rotten eggs released with farts. Basically all the food items like meat, eggs, poultry, cauliflower etc. that contain sulfur in any form are most likely to cause rotten eggs farts.

Ways to prevent

Passing farts that smell of rotten eggs is normal; and incidentally, the odor is the byproduct of eating healthy foods rich in sulfur and many nutrients, like broccoli, meat, eggs, garlic, cheese, cow’s milk, Brussels sprouts, Bok Choy, cauliflower, onions, wine, dry fruits, horseradish etc. A t study conducted in Minneapolis put forth that women’s flatulence tend to be more concentrated and smell of sulfur compared to men. The condition is more prevalent during pregnancy due to hormonal changes in the body. But in no way, is the condition related to ill-health but can be attributed to societal embarrassment.  One can simply minimize the intake of sulfur-rich foods to avoid this problem. If not all, you can at least cut down the intake of foods that are too high in sulfur content like beef, pork, garlic and onions.

Have plenty of fruits and vegetables as these help in digestion and regulates the bowel movement. A healthy digestive system reduces the time for gas to sit in colon where it gets the foul odor. Basically if the gas is exposed to bacteria in colon for long time then you will get those foul smelling farts. So it is important that you take care of the bowel movement by having lots of natural fiber and drinking plenty of water every day.

Other conditions

It is very rare that bad smelling fart is associated with something as serious as a disease. This can be known if the farts with rotten egg smell do not end even after you have stopped eating foods rich in sulfur content. Also it can indicate a serious illness if smelly farts are accompanied by other symptoms such as sudden weight loss, nausea, vomiting etc. Here are few accompanying conditions with sulfur farts that need to be taken care of

• Digestive tract infection: Infections in digestive tract are mostly caused due to the action of bacteria and virus. It can also be accompanied by other conditions like fever, pain in abdomen and diarrhea. Infection in digestive tract is also a reason of people getting foul smelling farts.
• Lactose intolerance is another condition which has smelly farts as one of its symptoms. Lactose is present in dairy products and when we get lactose intolerance, there are not much enzymes in the body to break down lactose. As such lactose remains in the digestive tract for long and feeds bacteria which are the reason of odor.
• Carbohydrate malabsorption is a condition that is also known to cause rotten egg smell farts. The mild carbohydrate malabsorption has abdominal pain and bloating also as its symptoms. Celiac disease, which is its severe form, has abdominal pain and deficiency of vitamins as its main symptoms. This condition, both severe and mild, can be treated by cutting off gluten intake from the body. Some of the sources of gluten are rye, barley and wheat.