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Farting (flatulence)

Farting, also known as flatulence or wind, is normal. There are things you can do if you fart a lot or it's smelly. Sometimes it can be a sign of a health condition.

What is normal farting?

Farting is usually nothing to worry about. Everyone farts, some people more than others.

What's normal is different for everyone. If you notice a change or it's affecting your life, there are things you can do.

Things you can do to reduce excessive or smelly farts

Do

  • eat smaller meals, more often

  • drink or chew food slowly, with your mouth closed

  • exercise regularly to improve how your body digests food

  • drink peppermint tea

Don’t

  • do not eat too many foods that are difficult to digest and make you fart

  • do not drink too much beer, wine or fruit juice

  • do not smoke or chew gum

Food and drinks that can make you fart
  • cabbage
  • broccoli
  • cauliflower
  • brussels sprouts
  • pulses, like beans or lentils
  • dried fruit, like raisins or apricots
  • onions
  • food or drinks containing the sweetener sorbitol
  • fizzy drinks and beer

A pharmacist can help with excessive or smelly farts

Speak to a pharmacist about excessive or smelly farts.

They might be able to tell you:

  • if you can buy something to help – for example, medicines such as simeticone or special underwear and pads that absorb smells
  • if you should see a GP
Find a pharmacy

Non-urgent advice: See a GP if:

  • farting is affecting your life and self-help and pharmacy treatments have not worked
  • you have a stomach ache or bloating that will not go away or comes back
  • you keep getting constipation or diarrhoea
  • you have lost weight without trying
  • you've had blood in your poo

What causes excessive or smelly farts

Excessive or smelly farts can be caused when you swallow air or eat foods that are difficult to digest. It can also sometimes be a sign of a health condition.

Do not self-diagnose. See a GP if you're worried about your farting.

What causes excessive or smelly farts

Difficulty pooing and stomach pain

Constipation

Bloating, stomach pain with diarrhoea or constipation that comes and goes

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)

Indigestion, constipation, diarrhoea and stomach pain

Coeliac disease

Diarrhoea, bloating, stomach pain, feeling sick

Lactose intolerance

Excessive or smelly wind can also be a side effect of some medicines, including:

Do not stop or change your medicine without speaking to a GP first.

Page last reviewed: 02 April 2026
Next review due: 02 April 2029