Vomiting & Nausea
"My roommate was real sick. She was throwing up and was real embarrassed because we had a community bathroom. It was pretty gross. But I told her we all get sick."
Tala E., University of Michigan
Signs & Symptoms
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Vomiting is throwing up the stomach’s contents. Dry heaves may precede or follow vomiting. |
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Nausea is when you feel like you’re going to throw up. |
Causes
Common causes of nausea and vomiting are:
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Viruses in the intestines |
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Some medications, such as certain antibiotics or birth control pills |
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Eating too much or eating spoiled food |
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Drinking too much (e.g., alcohol) |
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Motion sickness |
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Morning sickness in pregnant females |
Some medical conditions cause vomiting, too. These include:
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Labrynthitis. This is inflammation of an area in the ear that usually results from an upper respiratory infection. |
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A concussion from a head injury. After falling from a loft, for example, dry heaves or vomiting could be a sign of a more serious injury. |
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Stomach ulcers |
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Hepatitis. This is inflammation of the liver. |
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Meningitis. This is inflammation of membranes that cover the brain and spinal cord. |
{Note: Nausea and vomiting can be signs of having a date rape drug. See information on date rape drugs.}
Treatment
Treatment for nausea and/or vomiting depends on the cause.
Questions to Ask
| Besides vomiting, do you have signs of meningitis? |
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| After a recent case of the flu or chicken pox with sudden, repeated vomiting, are other signs of Reye’s Syndrome present? |
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| Do dry heaves and/or vomiting occur after a recent head injury or do you vomit true, red blood? |
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With vomiting, are any signs of drug or alcohol poisoning present?
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| After repeated vomiting, do you have signs of dehydration? |
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| With vomiting, do you have symptoms of an acute kidney infection? |
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| With nausea or vomiting, do the whites of your eyes or does your skin look yellow? |
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| With nausea or vomiting, do you have symptoms of a bladder infection? |
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| Do you have stomach pain that lasts for more than 2 hours, interferes with your activities, and keeps hurting after you vomited? |
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| Do you induce vomiting after overeating or to lose weight? |
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| Are you vomiting medicine that is necessary for you to take? (Asthma medicines are examples.) |
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Self-Care
For Vomiting:
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Don’t eat solid foods. Don’t drink milk. |
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Drink clear liquids (water, sport drinks, such as Gatorade, flat cola and ginger ale, etc.). Take small sips. Drink only 1 to 2 ounces at a time, but drink frequently. Stir any carbonated beverages to get all the bubbles out before sipping them. Suck on ice chips if nothing else will stay down. |
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Gradually return to regular diet, but wait about 8 hours from the last time you vomited. Start with foods like dry toast, crackers, rice, and other foods that are easy to digest. |
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Don’t smoke, drink alcohol, or take aspirin. |
For Nausea Without Vomiting:
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Drink clear liquids. Eat small amounts of dry foods, such as soda crackers, (if tolerated). |
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Avoid things that irritate the stomach, such as alcohol, aspirin, spicy, and fried foods. |
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For motion sickness, use an over-the- counter antinausea medicine, such as Dramamine. Follow package directions. Or use Sea-Bands, a wrist band product that uses accupressure on a certain point on the wrist to control motion sickness. Sea-Bands are available in sporting good stores and drugstores. |