The average DUDE rips ass 14 times per day. That’s not an insult, that’s biology. Sometimes you let it fly for comedic timing. Sometimes you brace yourself and push like you’re trying to register a 3.0 on the Richter scale.
Butt not every situation calls for a gas leak. Meeting your girlfriend’s parents for the first time? Maybe hold off. Trapped in an Uber Pool with all the windows up? Don’t be that guy.
So you clench. You shift. You wonder: What actually happens when I hold in a fart? Spoiler alert: it doesn’t just go away. You’re not pressing pause on digestion. You’re just sending the gas on a round-trip mission through your insides.
What Happens When You Hold In a Fart?
If you hold in a fart too long, the gas can get reabsorbed into your bloodstream and exhaled through your mouth. Translation: You could be literally breathing out farts as you’re reading this.
NHS surgeon Dr. Karan Rajan brought attention to this disgusting phenomenon in a viral TikTok that has over 3 million views. Butt this isn’t some internet myth. A 2009 medical study backs it up. while most gas exits stage butt, some of it does make its way into your bloodstream and out through your lungs. You’re basically turning your face into an emergency exit for farts.
The next time you clamp down in a silent elevator, you might not be saving anyone. You might just be redirecting the blast through your own face holes.
5 Less Stinky Side Effects of Holding In Your Farts
Trying to keep a fart in is like putting a Mentos in a Coke bottle and screwing the cap on tighter. You might avoid embarrassment now, but it’s gonna blow eventually. Here’s what else you’re risking by bottling up your butt burps:
1. Discomfort: That bloated, balloon-animal feeling in your lower stomach is gas looking for the nearest exit, and you just closed the door.
2. Bloating: Trapping gas inside can cause visible bloating. Not a great look when you’re trying to flex in a slim-fit tee.
3. Indigestion: Think of your intestines as a subway system: when one train gets stuck, everything behind it backs up. You’re basically delaying traffic in your gut.
4. Heartburn: Gas pressure can push stomach acid back into your esophagus, causing heartburn. So now your butt AND your chest are on fire.
5. Diverticulitis: Back in the '70s, scientists linked habitual fart-suppression to diverticulitis, AKA inflamed pouches in your digestive tract.
How to Hold in a Fart (If You Must)
Not every fart deserves a grand entrance. If you’re in a high-stakes, tight-sphincter situation, here’s how to hold it in strategically.
- Tighten your anal sphincter like you’re holding in a poop
- Avoid sudden movement (sitting still helps reduce pressure)
- Apply light control. Instead of full lockdown, aim for a gentle, slow release. You might be able to let it seep out in incognito mode.
Butt be warned: Gas hates being trapped. Eventually, your intestines will release it on their own terms. Which leads us to…
Stay On Shart Alert
Sometimes a fart starts off as a whisper and ends with you wondering if you just sat in a bowl of swamp chowder. You can’t always control what comes out of your ass, but you can control what you clean up with.
DUDE Wipes are flushable, soothing, extra-large, and judgment-free. Whether your fart sneaks out, explodes without warning, or brings an unwelcome surprise, you deserve to wipe it up like a king—not with dry sandpaper that crumbles under pressure.
