How common is flatulence?
Wind is a great leveller. From the pauper to the king, from the slovenly student to the prim grandmother, everyone has intestinal wind. According to NHS Choices, flatulence is incredibly common. In the UK, most men will pass wind 14 to 25 times a day and most women seven to 12 times a day. Anything up to 40 times in one day is considered normal. That may be more than you expect. Many people who believe that they produce excessive wind actually have perfectly ordinary amounts, says Dr Steven Edmundowicz, chief of endoscopy at Washington University School of Medicine in the US. However, it may be that it’s just more distressing, both emotionally and physically, to some people than it is to others. So where does intestinal wind come from? There are two major sources: some comes from air that you swallow and the rest is a by-product of digestion.
