Hello, Thank you for your question. Abdominal bloating refers to sensation of abdominal fullness, pressure, or a sensation of trapped gas, whereas distention is a measureable increase in abdominal girth. Other cause include ascites, abdominal obesity, giant ovarian or mesenteric cyst, and bowel obstruction. These entities can typically be defferentiated based on physical examination findings and uncertain, abdominal imaging. Bloating, in up to 96 percent of patients with irritable bowel syndrome. Bloating can be due to intestinal gas may be due an organic etiology that results in excessive intestinal gas(eg,small intestinal bacterial overgrowth, celiac disorder, lactose intolerance), or a funstional gastrointestinal disorder(there are including IBS, funtional constipation, functional diarrhea, or functional abdominal bloating/distention). What causes bloating? The colon has a lot of bends in it. When air gets trapped in these bends, you might feel cramps or sharp pains. This pain is common in the middle and top of the belly on either side. Most people pass gas 14 to 23 times each day. Burping before and after meals is also common. You might feel better if you cut down on certain foods. Write down what you eat so you can figure out which foods are causing your gas. Everyone s body is different. Common causes of gas are: milk and dairy products, beans, some vegetable, such as cabbage, brussels sprouts, asparagus, broccoli, potatoes and corn, some whole grains, such wheat, most type of fruit, chewing gum, soda and other fizzy drinks. You can take medicines that contain simethicone. You can get these at a drug store. Simethicone breaks up gas bubble in your intestine. See your doctor if you also have any of symptoms such as diarrhea, unexplained weight loss, belly pain, blood in bowel movements, loss of appetite, unexplained fever, throwing up. Your doctor may do some test based on your age, other symptoms, and individual situation. There are a lot of tests, but you might not need any. Hope I have answer your query. Let me know if I can assist you further. Best regards, Dr. Heang Chan Raksmey, General and Family Physician.