A TikTok trend involving a fizzy drink has led to a wave of mid-20-year-olds discovering that their lifelong inability to burp could actually be a medical condition. The trend, which sees people attempting to drink a bottle of Sprite without belching, has been popular across the globe in the past few months.
However, if you check out similar videos, it's likely you'll find one by someone who says that the trend is a breeze because they cannot burp. User @baileyyraee is one of those sharing her success at the challenge, despite it leaving her feeling very uncomfortable.
Her inability to burp, she says, is a disorder caused by the dysfunction of the cricopharyngeal muscle. The video has thousands of comments and they are flooded with others discovering that there are others who cannot burp.
Read more: A man who couldn't burp for 34 years has been saved from bloating by botox
The condition, known as Retrograde Cricophyaryngeus Dysfunction, or R-CPD, is not officially recognised by the NHS but there are scores of people crying out for it to be. Some sufferers have reported doctors diagnosing IBS, heartburn or acid reflux with the prescribed treatments having no effect.
Neil Ribbens, who suffered from the inability to burp, told the Manchester Evening News in 2018 that his greatest discomfort happened after eating a large meal or drinking alcohol and fizzy drinks. He said that would develop crippling stomach aches, violent hiccups and his belly would bloat to more than twice its normal size.
After the agony became too much for Mr Ribbens, and many others like him, he sought advice from private healthcare providers. Providers like Dr Yakubu Karagama, a highly qualified ENT specialist at BMI The Alexandra Hospital in Manchester.
Dr Karagama explains that R-CPD occurs when the cricopharyngeus muscle, which sits at the top of the gullet, cannot relax to release the trapped air. Normally, the muscle serves as a valve; it relaxes for a second when we swallow, but otherwise remains closed - it also relaxes briefly when we burp.
"It’s a very distressing condition," says Dr Karagama, "Two patients said they contemplated suicide and another had to wear elasticated trousers as her waistline changed so much during the day due to the gas she was unable to expel."
The treatment, which is only offered privately, is a high dose of Botox injected into the cricopharyngeus muscle. The procedure is carried out under general anaesthetic, lasts 30 minutes and can cost anywhere between £3,000 and £5,000.
Sufferers like Mr Ribbens and Charlotte Boyd, another of Dr Karagama's patients, have called for the condition to be recognised and treated by the NHS. In a petition on Change.org, Miss Boyd writes: "Thousands of people live with this condition but are unaware that [it exists]. They instead live their daily lives in pain and discomfort, misdiagnosed with IBS or GERD."
For more information about R-CPD, visit Dr Karagama's website or sign Charlotte's petition here.
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