PATIENT PRESENTATION MARKER 

Excess wind

What this marker measures

The degree to which bother is experienced from passing wind excessively.

Health categories/Interpretations informed by this marker

Clinical features
‍

‍● Lower GI symptoms: excess wind is a commonly-reported lower gastrointestinal symptom that can affect quality of life.
‍

Interpreting the result

PRESENT
Questionnaire responses indicate being bothered a lot by excess wind in the last 7 days.
PARTIALLY PRESENT
Questionnaire responses indicate being bothered a little by excess wind in the last 7 days.
NOT PRESENT
Questionnaire responses do not indicate bothersome excess wind in the last 7 days.

Patient management insights

Investigate the underlying cause of elevated calprotectin. Adjunctive dietary or supplement strategies may be considered only once the clinical context is established.

SUPPLEMENTATION
Take peppermint oil: enteric-coated peppermint oil may improve abdominal distension, flatulence and borborygmi in IBS.1,2
‍GRADE C

Take oral sodium butyrate:
oral sodium butyrate may improve abdominal distension and flatulence in IBS.3,4 GRADE D

Tips for patients discussion

"Your questionnaire responses show that excess wind is something you're experiencing. It's a very common symptom and can affect how you feel day to day. There are a few options we can try to help ease it, and we'll start with the one that best suits your situation."

Source references for all clinical associations, interpretation definitions, and patient management insights on this card.

1. Cappello, G. et al. Peppermint oil (Mintoil) in the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome: a prospective double blind placebo-controlled randomized trial. Dig Liver Dis 39, 530–536 (2007).
2. Liu, J.-H. et al. Enteric-coated peppermint-oil capsules in the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome: a prospective, randomized trial. J Gastroenterol 32, 765–768 (1997).
3. Scarpellini, E. et al. Efficacy of butyrate in the treatment of diarrhoea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome. Dig Liver Dis Suppl 1, 19–22 (2007).
4. Lewandowski, K. et al. The effectiveness of microencapsulated sodium butyrate at reducing symptoms in patients with irritable bowel syndrome. Prz Gastroenterol 17, 28–34 (2022).