What is vomiting?
Vomiting means bringing up what’s in your stomach so it comes out of your mouth.
Before vomiting, you’re likely to feel nausea, which is the fluttery, unpleasant feeling that you get in your stomach before throwing up. You might also experience extreme sweating, shakes, chills, and find your mouth flooding with saliva before vomiting, depending on what’s causing the problem.
Vomiting isn’t a disease, but a symptom of many other conditions. As well as being an involuntary reaction to illness, you can also induce vomiting, as is the case in people who have bulimia.
What causes vomiting?
The reasons why you might start vomiting are numerous and can be due to responses triggered in many different parts of your body. Some of the most common causes of vomiting include:
- Motion sickness
- Pregnancy
- Medication side effects
- Intense pain
- Severe emotional stress
- Gallbladder disease
- Food poisoning
- Stomach flu or gastroenteritis
- Overeating
- Heart attack
- Concussion or brain injury
- Ulcers
Drinking too much alcohol is one of the most common preventable causes of vomiting.
Should I worry if I’m vomiting?
Vomiting in itself isn’t a cause for concern, and most of the triggers for an attack of vomiting are likely to be diet-related or the result of infections that get better within a few days.
However, there are some cases where vomiting is a symptom of a serious problem that needs immediate attention, such as appendicitis, concussion, meningitis, intestinal blockage, or a brain tumor.
You should contact Advanced Digestive Care immediately if you can see blood in your vomit, particularly if it’s bright red or looks like coffee grounds, or you have any of the following symptoms along with the vomiting:
- Severe headache
- Stiff neck
- Lethargy
- Confusion
- Decreased alertness
- Severe abdominal pain
- Diarrhea
- Rapid breathing or pulse
You do need to make sure you stay hydrated if you’re repeatedly vomiting, especially when you also have diarrhea. Losing the contents of your stomach can quickly lead to dehydration, so try to sip water if you can and take rehydration salts as soon as you’re able.
If you’re vomiting because of being pregnant, it shouldn’t do any harm unless it becomes so frequent that you’re not taking in enough nutrition for the baby. It’s uncommon, but continuous vomiting can sometimes cause what’s known as a Mallory-Weiss tear in the lining of your esophagus, or a serious rupture.
If you have persistent or recurring episodes of vomiting the team at Advanced Digestive Care can help. Call them today to schedule a consultation, or book an appointment using the online tool.
