The fastest way to get rid of gas is to combine physical movement with a targeted approach like an over-the-counter anti-gas medication or a specific body position that helps trapped air move through your digestive tract. Most people can feel noticeably better within 15 to 30 minutes using the right combination of techniques.
Take a Short Walk
Walking is one of the simplest and most effective ways to move gas through your intestines. Your bowels move on their own, but they move significantly better when your body is in motion. Even a few minutes of light walking can stimulate your digestive tract enough to help release trapped gas. This is why post-meal “fart walks” have gained popularity: a gentle stroll within an hour of eating helps your bowels open up and prevents gas from building in the first place.
You don’t need to power walk or break a sweat. A casual pace around your home or office is enough to get things moving. If you’re dealing with gas pain right now, try five to ten minutes of walking before adding other strategies.
Try Gas-Releasing Body Positions
Certain yoga-inspired poses relax the muscles around your hips, lower back, and abdomen, which helps gas pass through your bowels. They also create gentle pressure on your stomach and intestines, physically nudging trapped air along. Here are the most effective ones:
- Knee-to-chest pose: Lie on your back and pull both knees toward your chest, hugging them with your arms. This stretches the lower back and hips, compressing the abdomen to push gas out.
- Child’s pose: Kneel on the floor, sit back on your heels, and fold forward with your arms extended. This relaxes the hips and lower back while pressing gently against your belly.
- Happy baby pose: Lie on your back, grab the outsides of your feet, and pull your knees toward your armpits. This relieves pressure in the lower back and groin, releasing lingering gas.
- Deep squat: Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and lower into a deep squat, holding the position for 30 seconds. Squatting naturally opens the digestive tract.
- Lying twist: Lie on your back, extend your arms out, and drop both bent knees to one side. Hold for 30 seconds, then switch. This rotationally stretches the lower back and massages the intestines.
Hold each pose for 30 seconds to a minute, breathing deeply. Deep breathing itself helps relax the abdominal muscles that can trap gas in place.
Use an Over-the-Counter Anti-Gas Medication
Simethicone (sold under brand names like Gas-X and Mylanta Gas) is the go-to medication for fast gas relief. It works by merging the small gas bubbles scattered through your gut into larger bubbles, which are much easier for your body to pass. It typically starts working within 30 minutes and is available as chewable tablets or liquid drops.
Simethicone doesn’t get absorbed into your bloodstream. It only acts on the gas bubbles themselves, which makes it one of the most straightforward remedies available. If you’re prone to gas episodes, keeping some on hand saves you time when discomfort hits.
Apply Heat to Your Abdomen
Placing a heating pad or hot water bottle on your stomach relaxes the intestinal muscles that may be clenching around pockets of gas. When those muscles loosen, trapped air can move more freely through your digestive tract, easing both the bloating sensation and sharp gas pains. Set the heat to a comfortable warm temperature, place it over your belly, and lie down for 10 to 15 minutes. This pairs well with the lying twist or knee-to-chest pose if you want to combine strategies.
Massage Your Abdomen
A simple self-massage can physically guide gas through your colon in the direction it naturally travels. Use gentle clockwise circles around your belly button, keeping your fingers about two to three inches out from center. Continue for one to two minutes with steady, light pressure. Clockwise is important because it follows the path of your large intestine, from the lower right side of your abdomen up, across, and down the left side. Going the wrong direction can work against your body’s natural flow.
Try Ginger or Peppermint
Ginger contains a natural compound that speeds up the rate at which food leaves your stomach and moves through your digestive system. When food doesn’t linger in the gut, there’s less time for bacteria to ferment it and produce gas. Fresh ginger tea (a few slices steeped in hot water) or even chewing on a small piece of raw ginger can help. Johns Hopkins Medicine notes that eating ginger in food and beverages is preferable to supplements, and normal food-sized amounts are safe for most people.
Peppermint oil is another option that relieves stomach cramps and bloating by relaxing the smooth muscles lining your intestines. Peppermint tea works for mild symptoms. For more persistent issues, enteric-coated peppermint oil capsules are designed to dissolve in the intestines rather than the stomach, which makes them more targeted and less likely to cause heartburn.
Prevent the Next Episode
Once you’ve dealt with the immediate discomfort, it’s worth identifying what caused the gas in the first place. Certain foods are notorious for producing intestinal gas because they contain sugars and fibers that your small intestine can’t fully absorb. Bacteria in your large intestine ferment these leftovers, producing gas as a byproduct.
The most common culprits include beans and lentils, onions, garlic, mushrooms, apples, pears, watermelon, wheat-based bread and cereals, dairy products (especially milk, ice cream, and yogurt), and sugar-free candies or gums sweetened with sugar alcohols. Cashews and pistachios are also surprisingly high on the list. You don’t necessarily need to avoid all of these permanently, but tracking which ones consistently cause you problems lets you make smarter choices before situations where gas would be especially unwelcome.
Eating too quickly, drinking through straws, chewing gum, and talking while eating all cause you to swallow extra air, which adds to the gas load your body has to process. Slowing down at meals and skipping carbonated drinks on days you’re already feeling bloated can make a real difference.
Signs That Gas May Be Something Else
Occasional gas is completely normal. Most people pass gas 13 to 21 times a day. But gas that gets progressively worse over time, persists for more than a week, or comes with persistent pain deserves medical attention. The same goes for gas accompanied by fever, vomiting, blood in your stool, unintentional weight loss, or ongoing diarrhea or constipation. These can signal conditions like food intolerances, small intestinal bacterial overgrowth, or other digestive issues that won’t resolve with the strategies above.