A Brazilian singer has admitted she was sent to hospital to be treated for trapped gas because she didn’t want to pass wind in front of her boyfriend.
Viviane de Queiroz Pereira, who is also known as Pocah, shared snaps from her medical room with millions of online followers on Instagram.
“I woke up at 5.30am with severe stomach pains and ended up in the hospital,” the 27-year-old explained.
“But that’s it, guys. I’m now fine. Just an accumulation of trapped farts.”
The musician, who kicked off her career in 2012 as MC Pocahontas, went on to encourage her fans to pass wind freely.
She said: “Girls, don’t be ashamed to fart in front of your guy…
“What’s really embarrassing is not letting your guy sleep because you’re in discomfort, going to hospital with your guy, and the diagnosis being trapped farts.
“From now on, I’m letting them rip, guys.”
Pocah, who was born in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro and also has heritage from Africa and Portugal, originally ignored the stomach pains because of advice from a TikTok thread.
But after the ordeal, she says she’ll be releasing gas freely.
According to medics, holding in farts can be dangerous and lead to painful symptoms.
NHS worker Dr Faraz explained on TikTok that the average person farts 20 times every day.
He said: “Don’t hold in your farts. Gas forms naturally in your stomach as a waste product of digestion.
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“It gets mixed with air that you swallow when you eat and drink.”
Explaining that holding it in can lead to heartburn and bloating, the medic warned the gas might even come out another way.
“It could come out as a smelly burp or make your breath stink,” he added. “Imagine doing a burp that smells like a fart.”
