Irritable Bowel Syndrome Message Boards | Re: Smelly gas with no food culprit

My gas smells like jasmine. At times it also has the aroma of a fine pipe tobacco. As an old commercial for Irish Spring soap used to say "Manly, yes! But I like it too!"

Seriously, I subscribe to the hidden cause factor. FOr example, for a period I was eating a lot of oatmeal cookies from a bakery because oatmeal is safe (per Heather) and they were very tasty. But my gas was so repugnant that my dog would bark if I passed gas in the next room! So, not being a total idiot, I realized that something in the cookies, perhaps the fat content or the corn syryp, was causing it. I stopped eating the cookies, and went on a fast for a day (just eating chicken rice soap and sourdough toast) and the gas went away.

However, I eat a lot of white chicken, and it naturally causes gas with a slight aroma. The aroma doesn't set off the smoke detectors in the house, but is a wee bit pungent.

My doctor said gas is caused by bacteria digesting food in the large intestine that was passed on by the lazy goofs in the small intestine who should have digested it, but didn't. So the large intestine has industrial strength bacteria that go at it. The by product is gas. I never heard the fermenting turd theory, since the large intestine always holds your stools for from 1-3 days before finally expelling them. I again think it is the constituents of the food in the intestines. So, stop eating suspect foods, just to experiment. With IBS, you gotta experiment rather than just go by the book. The book (even Saint Heather) may say something is fine, but it ain't for little ole you!

Also recall that when you are nervous, the intestinal system reactions at subliminal levels. Gas is often a nervous reaction also. When I am nervous about a social engagement, even if I eat nothing all day, I am a bit of a putt butt. Of course, they say that the large intestine is working on food you ate from 1-2 days ago (depending on how much fiber is in your diet). So, if you eat lunch and get gas, the gas may not be the piece of celery you ate at lunch but something from last night's dinner.

Sometimes I'd like to be the tin man from the Wizard of Oz. His only worry in life was having an oil can nearby.

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