We can feel like vomiting when we are exposed to an obnoxious stimulus, such as weird smells, seeing other vomit, etc. due to nervous stimulation. But what if there is nothing wrong in the environment and yet you still feel like vomiting? What are key factors and causative agents in such a case? You will get to know 12 possible reasons behind this condition.
Why Do I Feel Like Throwing Up?
We feel vomiting and nausea due to many reasons including acidity, infections and sometimes with motion sickness as well, but if you are feeling it all the time and it doesn't allow you to continue with your regular day-to-day activities, then you need to think about it carefully. Some common causes include:
1. Stress and Anxiety
Stress and anxiety often manifest by a variety of stomach or upper gastrointestinal problems such as constipation, diarrhea and bowel syndrome that may presents with nausea and bloating. This is because our body functions abnormally in situations of severe stress due to hormonal dysregulation and this may impact the normal functioning of our digestive system.
2. Eating Disorders
Overeating can also cause nausea as it affects the normal functioning of digestive system due to overloading. It is imperative to keep in mind that individuals with weak immune or digestive system are more readily affected. In addition, this is also more common in people who ever underwent a major surgery of their digestive system.
3. Food Poisoning
Food poisoning is another reason why you feel like throwing up in many conditions. When bacteria infect the food and you eat it, food poisoning takes place. Some other signs of food poisoning include high fever, pain in abdomen, diarrhea and vomiting.
4. Hangover
Hangover happens after excessive intake of alcohol, which causes headache and nausea. You may also feel like throwing up all the time after partying late at night due to exhaustion and alcohol induced toxin accumulation.
5. Allergy from Foods
You may also feel nausea due to some foods that doesn't suit your metabolic or digestive system. It is not necessary that food is the only reason; it could also be due to dietary changes, alterations in weight, seasonal changes or a combination of these.
6. Pregnancy
Nausea is the most characteristic sign of early pregnancy, which is also referred to as morning sickness. Women feel nausea and vomiting which starts from the 8th week of pregnancy and continues up to 12 to 14 weeks of pregnancy. In some rare cases, feeling like throwing up continues throughout the pregnancy. The cause could be the estrogen levels or sudden biochemical changes during pregnancy. It can also be due to deficiency of vitamin B6.
7. Medications
You may feel like throwing up due to continued use of certain medications. These medication or pharmacological agents result in causing stomach irritation, bloating and slower intestinal movement. These medicines could be opioids, OTC medicines or even aspirin, according to different people.
8. Migraine
Migraine is another frequently reported cause of nausea, which can be related with the effect of increasing cerebrospinal fluid pressure on the delicate brain membranes. Migraine enlarges the temporal artery and releases inflammatory chemicals. Nausea is also caused in response to the hyper-stimulation of autonomous system.
9. Stomach Flu
Stomach flu is also known as viral gastroenteritis. Its symptoms include fever, watery diarrhea, vomiting, nausea and abdominal cramps. Most of the cases do not get severe unless the patient is an infant or has a bad immune system, in which cases the results can be very dangerous.
10. Inflammation in Gall Bladder
You may feel like throwing up due to active inflammation in the gall bladder. The results of this inflammation could be the pain in upper and upper right part abdomen due to pancreatitis and gall stones respectively. The symptoms are severe in diabetic patients.
11. Gastroparesis
Gastroparesis takes place when the muscles of stomach stop working properly. This may result in the partial or complete restriction of stomach emptying after the ingestion of the meal. This is usually a result of nerve damages due to persistently high blood glucose levels and autonomic dysfunction. Other disorders including dyspepsia, GERD (gastroesophagel reflux disease), IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) and peptic ulcer disease can also cause the feeling of throwing up.
12. Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is used as a cancer treatment while it has side effects that include nausea and vomiting. But that depends on what medicines are used and if the radiation is used along with chemotherapy treatment or not. One thing you need to know is that some cancers themselves cause nausea even without chemotherapy, especially those that occur in the upper abdomen.
What Can I Do to Stop Feel Like Throwing Up Quickly?
It is very important to find the reasons behind your nausea as it enables you to choose the best treatment for the given situation. But in case, if you are not aware of the reason and want to get rid of the feeling quickly, you may take these tips:
- Drink plenty of liquids: Increase your intake of fluids to curb the feeling of nausea. Recommended liquids include juices, sport drinks and liquids having ginger as ginger provides relief to nausea. Liquid tonics should be taken for upset stomach. Water might be your last choice as it seems not work well for nausea. Drinks with caffeine and acids must be avoided.
Below is a video that may further help you in learning more about appropriate fluids.
- Adjust the solid intake: Dry foods with good amount of starch like crackers help decrease the feeling of nausea. You can include carbohydrates in your diet.Foods with good smell are also helpful in getting you stay away from nausea.
- Avoid fatty foods and foods with acidic flavors. Likewise, spices and excessive fiber should also be avoided.
- Try cold compress: If you feel like throwing up or your head is throbbing, then you can place a cool wet cloth-piece on your forehead or on the backside of your neck. This will help in alleviating your pain and will protect you from emesis. Never use an icepack to alleviate the feeling of throwing up.
- Breathe in fresh air: Fresh air is the best remedy whenever you feel like throwing up. You can take a short walk in a park with a little deeper breathing than usual. This will not only provide you relief from nausea, but will also soothe your lungs and body.
- Try acupressure: Acupressure relieves pain from body. Wrists are the best places for acupressure in case of nausea and vomiting.
- Distract yourself: Distract yourself by activating your sense of touch. It helps in generating negligible pain to take your mind off the nausea. This can be done by pinching your arm, pull some hairs, biting lips, etc.