Simethicone, is an oral anti-foaming agent used to reduce bloating, discomfort and pain caused by excess gas in the stomach or intestinal tract. An antifoaming agent is a food ingredient intended to curb effusion or effervescence in preparation or serving. ... Bloating is any abnormal general swelling, or increase in diameter of the abdominal area. ...

Chemical action

Chemically, simethicone is a mixture of polydimethylsiloxanes that works by reducing the surface tension of gas bubbles, causing them to combine into larger bubbles that can be passed more easily by belching or flatulence. Simethicone does not reduce the quanitity of gas in the digestive tract, it increases the rate at which it leaves the digestive tract. Simethicone is not absorbed by the body into the bloodstream, and is therefore considered relatively safe with sources reporting the worst side effects as bloating, constipation, diarrhea, gas and heartburn. Simethicone solutions of differing concentration also have industrial applications for reducing foaming in certain chemical processes. Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) is the most widely used silicon-based organic polymer, and is particularly known for its unusual rheological (or flow) properties. ... In physics, surface tension is an effect within the surface layer of a liquid that causes that layer to behave as an elastic sheet. ... Soap bubbles Bubble may refer to: Soap bubble, spherical liquid film, also possibly of bubble gum Cavitation, pocket of air caught in a liquid Bubble (economics), where speculation causes prices to rise to unsustainable levels a (normally) transparent dome Light bulb, in theater lighting terminology [1] in poker tournaments, the... Burping, also known as belching, ructus or eructation is the release of gas from the digestive tract (mainly esophagus and stomach) through the mouth. ... Flatulence (expelled from humans through a processes commonly known as farting or emitting gas) is the presence of a mixture of gases known as flatus in the digestive tract of mammals. ...

Dosage

Simethicone comes in many different oral forms, which have differing usual dosages.

• Capsules or tablets:

Adults and teenagers: 60 to 125 milligrams (mg) four times a day, after meals and at bedtime. No more than 500 mg should be taken in twenty-four hours.

• Chewable tablets:

Adults and teenagers: 40 to 125 mg four times a day, after meals and at bedtime or the dose may be 150 mg three times a day, after meals. No more than 500 mg should be taken in twenty-four hours.

• Suspension:

Adults and teenagers: 40 to 95 mg four times a day, after meals and at bedtime. No more than 500 mg should be taken in twenty-four hours.

• Dosages for children should be determined by a doctor.

Availability

Simethicone is generally available over the counter under many trade names in varying dosage sizes, including:

• Flatulex
• Baby's Own Infant Drops
• Gas Relief
• Gas-X
• Genasyme
• Imodium Advanced
• Lefax (Germany)
• Maalox Anti-Gas
• Maalox Max
• My Baby Gas Relief Drops
• Mylanta Gas
• Mylanta Gas Relief
• Mylicon Drops
• Ovol
• Phazyme
• WindEze (UK)
• lnfacon

Other uses

While not indicated on the label, it has been reported that Simethicone is sometimes used by patients before a gastroscopy or a radiography of the bowel. Simethicone is also used in some detergents when foaming is unwanted. In medicine (gastroenterology), esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) or upper endoscopy is a diagnostic endoscopic procedure that visualises the upper part of the gastrointestinal tract. ... Laundry detergents are just only one of many possibilities of use of the detergents Detergent is a compound, or a mixture of compounds, intended to assist cleaning. ...

Despite being useful in the treatment of gas, simethicone does not appear to be useful in the treatment of infant colic.^[1] Infant colic (also known as baby colic and three month colic) is a condition in which an otherwise healthy baby cries or screams frequently and for extended periods, without any discernible reason. ...

References

1. ^ Univeristy of Michigan clinical trial for simethicone used for colic

• Jackson Gastroenterology - Patient Education - Simethicone. Retrieved on July 30, 2005.
• Medline Plus - Simethicone. Retrieved on July 30, 2005.