some mistake
when a person begins to belch forth "gas" within an hour or two after
a meal. As a matter of fact, it is not gas at all but merely air that
is swallowed with the food or that was present in the empty stomach.

When the food enters the stomach it necessarily displaces air, which
normally comes out automatically and noiselessly. But if, through fear
or attention, a certain set of muscles contract, the pent-up air may
come forth awkwardly and noisily or it may stay imprisoned until we
take measures to let it out. A hearty laugh is as good as anything,
but if that cannot be managed, we may have to resort to a cup of hot
water which gives the stomach a slap and makes it let go. Two belches
are enough to relieve the pressure. After that we merely go on
swallowing air and letting it out again, a habit both awkward and
useless.

If the emotion which ties the muscle-knot is very intense, and the
stomach refuses to let go under ordinary measures, the pain may be
severe. But a quantity of hot water or a dose of ipecac is sure to
relieve the situation. If the person is able to give himself a good
moral slap and relax his unruly muscles, he reaches the same end by a
much pleasanter road.

Some people are fond of the popular remedy of hot water and soda.
Their faith in its efficacy is likely to be increased by the good
display of gas which is sure to follow. As any cook knows, soda and
acid always fizz. The soda is broken up by the hydrochloric acid of
the stomach and forms salt and carbon dioxid, a gas. However, as the
avowed aim of the remedy is the relief of gas rather than its
manufacture, and as the soda uses up the hydrochloric acid needed in
digestion, the practice cannot be recommended as reasonable.

=Gastritis.= I once knew a woman who went to a big city to consult a
fashionable doctor. When she returned she told with great satisfaction
that the doctor had pronounced her case gastritis. "It must be true,"
she added, "because I have so much gas on my stomach!" The diagnosis
of gastritis used to be very common. The ending _itis_ means
inflammation,--gastritis, enteritis, colitis, each meaning
inflammation of the corresponding organ. An inflammation implies an
irritant. There can be no kind of _itis_ without the presence of
something which irritates the membrane of the affected part. If we
get unusual and irritating bacteria in some spoiled food, we are
likely to have an acute inflammation until the offending