can excessive farting in a fully enclosed tent cause harm?

see also:

• comparison of full fabric 2P and 3P tents for colder nights

• short answer:
  • probably not unless your partner harms you for doing so!
  • interestingly people have evolved to be relatively tolerant of their own flatus odour but sensitive to that of others
• long answer:
  • most adults humans release up to 375mL per flatus event (usually greatest in early morning on waking) and produce 500-1500mL of flatus per day - this may increase with:
    • the amount of fermentable carbohydrates in the diet eg. FODMAP foods, starches, beer, yeast, beans, etc
    • laxatives
    • certain medications eg statins, ibuprofen
    • some GIT infections such as giardiasis
  • GIT gas is moved along the gut independently of solids and liquids, and this transit is more efficient in the erect position compared to when supine
  • 75% is made up of gases created by gastrointestinal processes and fermentative bacteria in the colon
  • 25% is from ingested air which is the source of nitrogen and oxygen in the flatus
  • 99% are odourless gases - oxygen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, hydrogen and methane
  • 1% are the cause of the odour such as:
    • Hydrogen sulfide, methyl mercaptan (also known as methanethiol), dimethyl sulfide, dimethyl disulfide and dimethyl trisulfide
      • high concentrations of these are mainly produced as a result of either:
        • high dietary sulfur-containing amino acids (eg. eggs, beans)
        • the presence of large numbers of microflora bacteria
        • the presence of faeces in the rectum
      • hydrogen sulfide levels can by reduced 95% by taking bismuth subsalicylate 500mg 4x a day although not sure if there are side effects! ¹⁾
    • and, to a much lesser extent, compounds such as indole, skatole, ammonia and short chain fatty acids
  • methane in flatus:
    • methane is actually odourless but is present in high amounts and is flammable when concentrations are in the range of 50,000 and 150,000 ppm (higher than this in normal air there is inadequate oxygen) , the normal background concentration of methane in air is 2ppm.
    • methane is generally regarded as not being toxic however, in large amounts, it can reduce the oxygen concentration and therefore act as an asphyxiant causing hypoxia
      • this is unlikely in a tent but could be possible if one farted enough under blankets and kept someone's head under the blankets - a fake internet viral article circulated in 2007 regarding a wife who was accidentally killed in the US a few years ago in this manner - the “Dutch oven”!²⁾
    • Many people do NOT produce methane in flatus as it requires bacteria capable of doing so!
      • The prevalence of methane over hydrogen in human flatus may correlate with obesity, constipation and irritable bowel syndrome, as archaea that oxidise hydrogen into methane promote the metabolism's ability to absorb fatty acids from food
    • Side note: most of the greenhouse producing methane release from cows is from their mouths NOT their flatus due to fermentation of grass in their stomach and methane-generating microbes called methanogens.
  • hydrogen:
    • highly flammable but otherwise, similar to methane in effects on humans
  • bacteria expelled
    • a LOT of bacteria is expelled in flatus but fortunately they are generally similar to the ‘friendly’ bacteria found in yoghurt (unless you have gastroenteritis)