Among those who are flatulent, the quantity and frequency of gas passage shows great variability. As with stool frequency, persons who complain of flatulence often have a misconception of what is normal. In a study of eight normal men aged 25 to 35 yr, the average number of gas passages was 13 ± 4/day with an upper limit of 21/day, which overlapped with many persons who complained of excess flatus. Hence, objectively recording flatus frequency (using a diary kept by the patient) should be the first step in evaluating a complaint of excessive flatulence.
Oh, and by the way, how many kinds of farts are there? Answers Merck:
Flatulence, which can cause great psychosocial distress, is unofficially described according to its salient characteristics: (1) the "slider" (crowded elevator type), which is released slowly and noiselessly, sometimes with devastating effect; (2) the open sphincter, or "pooh" type, which is said to be of higher temperature and more aromatic; (3) the staccato or drumbeat type, pleasantly passed in privacy; and (4) the "bark" type (described in a personal communication) is characterized by a sharp exclamatory eruption that effectively interrupts (and often concludes) conversation. Aromaticity is not a prominent feature. Rarely, this usually distressing symptom has been turned to advantage, as with a Frenchman referred to as "Le Petomane," who became affluent as an effluent performer who played tunes with the gas from his rectum on the Moulin Rouge stage.
For those unfamiliar with Le Petomane, see also here and here. (Too bad Baz Luhrmann couldn't have fit him in between Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor.)
Via Memepool.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment