Visible Belch (possible TMI)

Factual Questions
1

My husband called me at work this morning somewhat freaked out because he belched/burped out “smoke” or possible steam or vapor. He definitely saw a cloud come out of his mouth and float up into the air.

He’s had a problem with acid reflux that he’s been working on with an acupuncturist who has given him various herbal supplements. He’s also been careful about diet and exercise and the result is that he no longer needs to take nexium and his acid reflux and heartburn have all but disappeared.

He said there was a definite smell to the smoke/vapor and it was a little acrid and smelled of the herbal supplement he had just taken.

I can’t seem to find anything on the internet so I’m just wondering if any of you have heard of or experienced such a thing?

He’s calling the accupuncturist this morning to ask her about it.

2

I’ve had that happen with powdered herbal supplements in capsules. The geletin (or whatever it is) in the capsule gets stuck on the way down and starts to dissolve. Then, if you happen to burp, some of the powdered supplement is blown out. He should just try taking them with more water so they make it all the way down.

3

I’ve had it happen with smoke, sometimes several hours after smoking.

4

Thanks cher3 that sounds like it and powdered herbal supplements is exactly what he’s taking.

ftr - we quit smoking 2 years ago so I don’t think that’s it but I can see how you could swallow some smoke and have it stay in there for a while but a couple of hours is …wow… I would have never thought it would hand around that long.

5

I came here looking for answers but none of your experiences is even close to mine. I never smoked, don’t take supplements, didn’t take anything new. This “burp cloud” was a brand new experience on top of many GI issues with which I’ve been dealing. Since I never heard of this before I came for insight or answers. Thanks all

6

16 years and 1 butterfly effect later, this ugly belch caused a tropical storm in the Philippines.

7

Well he might have asked a 17 year old question, but he came here to ask the question just today and its still not answered correctly.

The tablets or powders must become wet. They can only be swallowed when wet , there’s plenty of saliva and stomach juices to make it wet… its never drying out. Its not going to create dust or “smoke”.

Its just fog, just as you get from your breath at some times on a cold day… We often breath out fog in cold air right ? Well the exact conditions can vary… It might not be so visible in freezing cold air, as that is perfectly dry… so it might be only visible on days when the air is very humid ( nearly 100% relative humidity ) , and above freezing.

And the normal breath might not create fog at the time , but the normal breath might be dry enough to hold the water vapor, at the resulting temperature …

The belch is gas from the top of the stomach, it could have been held there a while and at body temperature, so it could be filled with water vapor, and then its rapidly cooled down in the air outside, (which might also be humid cold air… )

The belch might even have occurred due to the taking of herbal medications on an empty stomach. Plants contain tannins - which are known stomach irritants - and a million other substances, some of which might irritate your stomach. Best not to take herbals for sore stomach, if its an ulcer, they may make the ulcer worse. And I doubt the herbals passed the tests as “better than a placebo” - which implies… placebo.

One treatment for sore stomach I found was fish oil tablets. Its very sticky and sticks to, adds to, the fatty lining of the stomach,and perhaps nourishing your body with the right oil needed to make more stomach lining… low fat diets could contribute to stomach pains like reflux, ulcer, irritation, belching … !..

Belching is a symptom of reflux or irritated stomach… your oesophagus and stomach are pulsing to try to clear the irritating substance away (whether its the acid or something you swallowed ) , and that pulsing pushes air in…

Its not plausible that the cigarette smoke was still existing as smoke in the air in the stomach after hours…

8

Also possible they inadvertently pressurized the water vapor of the belch in their mouth before releasing it into the room. You can do something similar with a little practice.
https://youtu.be/99huWJSOp78

9

Amazingly, no one in all this time has considered that the problem could be an atomic burp, like the ones experienced by Jimmy Bond in Casino Royale.