Embarrassing stomach issues, solved

Your stomach has many ways of surprising you—causing you to unexpectedly burp during a morning meeting or rush to the bathroom in the middle of a fancy dinner. Most of the time, these stomach mishaps are just part of being human and nothing to worry about. But, sometimes, too much gas or gurgling inside can signal a health problem. We talked to David Bass, MD, a gastroenterologist at North Hills Hospital in North Richland Hills, Texas, to find out what’s really going on with your gut and when to be concerned.

Medically reviewed in January 2019.