What can I do to prevent farting after anal sex?

Dear Reader, 

There’s no need to be anal about letting one rip—everybody farts! While it may be embarrassing and uncomfortable at times, farting is a standard part of life. Air naturally builds up inside your body during the digestion process and farting is the body’s way of releasing it. Read on to learn more about what causes farts after anal sex, what you can do before and after sex to mitigate farting, and how to approach the subject with sexual partner(s). 

Your experience of dealing with excess gas following anal sex is also common. During anal penetration, pressure is applied directly on your anus, and the thrusting motions involved during sex allow more air to enter and get trapped. After anal sex, when the anal muscles that usually hold in farts are fatigued, they might come out with more force than normal. 

Though farts are generally normal, excessive gas can sometimes indicate a gastrointestinal issue. If you find your farts very bothersome, you might consider speaking with a health care provider, especially if: 

• You experience excessive gas at other times, unrelated to anal sex. 
• Your symptoms don’t go away. 
• You experience pain while releasing gas. 
• You notice your symptoms suddenly change. 
• You are also experiencing constipation, diarrhea, or weight loss. 

If you aren’t darn tootin’ comfortable with farting in intimate situations, you might be interested in ways to prevent farts from sneaking out. While these suggestions aren’t always possible—sex can be spontaneous, and you don’t always have the foresight to prepare ahead of time—they might help you feel more comfortable during those preplanned encounters. Butt, if you do know beforehand, here are some proactive things you might try. 

• Be mindful of certain foods. If you’re looking to alleviate gassy symptoms before anal sex, you might want to know that some foods (like those with high fiber content) produce more gas than others. If you know you’ll be having sex later on, you might consider choosing to eat other, less gas generating foods. (Disclaimer: making sure you’re nutritionally satiated is the most important thing. If you’re not sure whether anal sex is in the cards, don’t feel like you have to deprive yourself of foods based on the possibility that you might have anal sex and fart). 
• Chew, chew baby. Chewing your food slowly may also help limit gas after eating. Sometimes chewing too quickly can introduce more air into your digestive track and lead to gas later on. 
• Take anti-gas medications. Regardless of food choices, if you find yourself farty before sex, you might consider taking an over the counter (OTC) anti-gas medication. 
• Visiting the facilities. If you have the time and ability to go to the bathroom before doing the deed, you can try to get out some of your farts in private. 

Unfortunately, there’s no magical anti-fart solution if you’re already farting after anal sex. It’s possible you might find it helpful to do some gentle exercise to slowly release gas. But in any case, it’s not recommended to hold in your farts. While you may be tempted to, doing so can cause discomfort, bloating, and constipation. 

You also might consider letting discussions about your farts flow freely as well. In any case, it might be helpful to face your embarrassment head on and talk to your sexual partner(s) about your experience with post-anal farts. One way to approach this is to make a joke to diffuse any potential awkwardness. Using humor to break the ice means that you get to set the tone and establish the fart as something funny rather than something humiliating. Alternatively, you could earnestly explain why anal sex can bring on a case of the farts. An open and honest conversation could bring you and your partner(s) closer and even act as a jumping off point to talk about other vulnerable topics. Whatever route you choose, hopefully you find that acknowledging a fart is less awkward than ignoring it. 

Best of luck,