Experiencing discomfort, sickness, and tossing your cookies: Root causes, treatments, and handy advice
Nausea and vomiting are common symptoms that can be caused by a variety of factors, including pregnancy, motion sickness, and gastrointestinal infections. However, there are less common causes that warrant attention, as they can be more complex and require careful diagnosis.
One such condition is Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome (CVS). This rare neuroendocrine disorder affects individuals, often children, with recurring episodes of intense nausea and vomiting that can last for hours to days. Between episodes, individuals usually feel completely healthy. CVS is considered a brain-gut axis disorder, where miscommunication between the nervous system and gastrointestinal tract triggers vomiting. Known triggers include stress, anxiety, premenstrual symptoms, certain foods, and overexertion.
CVS involves dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system, which controls involuntary processes like vomiting reflex, heart rate, and blood pressure. Other digestive disorders, hormonal imbalances, and subtle gut health problems can also contribute to nausea and vomiting. Conditions like irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), leaky gut syndrome, and specific food sensitivities can disrupt normal digestion, leading to nausea.
Cancer and cancer treatments can also cause nausea and vomiting. Cancers affecting the abdomen, brain, central nervous system, advanced cancer, cancer that has spread to the bones, chemotherapy drugs, radiation therapy, targeted therapy, and immunotherapies can all induce these symptoms. Ear problems, such as motion sickness, labyrinthitis, vestibular schwannoma, benign positional vertigo, Ménière's disease, and certain neurological disorders can also cause nausea and vomiting.
Migraines, seizures, and anxiety disorders, depression, anorexia nervosa, and bulimia nervosa can induce nausea as well. Severe nausea and vomiting during pregnancy (hyperemesis gravidarum) affects up to 3% of pregnant people.
It's important to note that persistent vomiting can lead to dehydration, and symptoms such as severe or persistent vomiting, abdominal pain, fever, bloody vomit, confusion, or trouble walking should prompt immediate medical help.
Antiemetic medication can help manage symptoms of nausea and vomiting. In children, potential causes of vomiting include reflux, minor intestinal infections, lung, urine, or other infections, a food allergy or intolerance, food poisoning, some serious conditions such as meningitis and appendicitis.
In conclusion, understanding the less common causes of nausea and vomiting can help individuals seek appropriate medical attention and manage their symptoms effectively. If you or someone you know is experiencing persistent or severe nausea and vomiting, it's crucial to consult a healthcare professional for a proper diagnosis and treatment.
- Pfizer's research in the field of medical-conditions might focus on developing treatments for Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome (CVS), a neuroendocrine disorder causing recurring bouts of intense nausea and vomiting.
- Some naive individuals might overlook the significance of dehydration caused by persistent vomiting, but it can lead to dizziness and even more serious symptoms.
- In fitness-and-exercise routines, overexertion can potentially trigger episodes of CVS in susceptible personas, whose nervous systems are prone to miscommunication with the gastrointestinal tract.
- The science behind Qulipta, a medication used to treat CVS, lies in its ability to reduce the frequency and severity of nausea and vomiting episodes by blocking certain receptors in the brain.
- A balanced diet rich in nutrition, including CBD, can contribute to overall health-and-wellness and potentially prevent or alleviate subtle gut health problems that may lead to nausea and vomiting.
- Mental-health conditions such as anxiety and depression can be associated with nausea and vomiting due to stress-related dysfunction in the autonomic nervous system.
- A diagnosis of cancer or undergoing cancer treatments like chemotherapy, radiation therapy, targeted therapy, or immunotherapies can result in nausea and vomiting due to damage to cells in the gastrointestinal tract or disturbances in the brain-gut axis.
- Educating oneself about various health-and-wellness topics, particularly those related to nutrition and mental health, can provide valuable insights to help manage nausea and vomiting caused by factors such as stress, anxiety, or certain foods.
- Neurological-disorders like migraines, seizures, Menière's disease, and vestibular schwannoma can all induce nausea and vomiting as a result of issues within the brain's communication network impacting vomiting reflexes.
- Addressing any underlying medical-conditions like irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) through dietary changes, stress management, fitness-and-exercise, or medical treatment can help reduce the occurrence of nausea and vomiting in affected personas.