Botox injections applied to the neck help people who suffer from not being able to burp.
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Botox injections applied to the neck help people who suffer from not being able to burp. Known as “Retrograde Cricopharyngeal Dysfunction” (DCF-R), or “no-burp syndrome,” the condition became more widely known after an Illinois doctor published an article about the treatment in 2019.
In people who have difficulty burping, trapped air remains in the esophagus and stomach, causing bloating and significant discomfort. This happens because the esophageal muscle called the cricopharyngeal muscle is normally tightly closed, opening only for swallowing.
In most people, this muscle also opens to allow air to escape as burps, but in those who cannot burp, it remains closed. Botox application relaxes the cricopharyngeal muscle in the esophagus, allowing the air to escape.
The condition and treatment have reached social media, and the topic gained popularity mainly thanks to groups on Reddit. For context, a subreddit dedicated to the condition already has about 31,000 members, one of the largest groups on the platform.
The procedure takes about 10 to 12 minutes; patients are anesthetized, then an endoscope is inserted into the mouth and a tiny needle administers three or four Botox injections into the cricopharyngeal muscle, a much larger amount than what is used for forehead wrinkles, for example.
For Emma Svalsted, the treatment changed her life; she shared her experience with Verywell Health: “Since I was a child, I struggled with discomfort daily after every meal, snack, and drink,” she said. “If I drank soda, it felt like balloons were suddenly inflating in my stomach and throat. If I ate too quickly, I felt so uncomfortable that I had to lie down.”
After reading about the condition on social media, she underwent the procedure and now, more than a year later, she continues to be able to burp naturally. “I am sure that my previously debilitating symptoms are gone from my life forever.”
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