CAUSES OF NAUSEA & VOMITING

 Nausea & Vomiting.



What is nausea and vomiting?

Vomiting is the forceful expulsion of stomach contents through the mouth, whereas nausea is the unpleasant sensation that precedes vomiting. The type of vomiting and associated symptoms  could help to diagnose the cause of vomiting.

  • 1. An abrupt onset of nausea and vomiting may be due to food poisoning, infection of the pancreasor gall bladder, or intake of medications or drugs.

  • 2. Vomiting with diarrhea and malaise may indicate a viral cause.

  • 3. Vomiting early in the morning before breakfast may be due to pregnancy, alcohol intake or high urea levels in the blood.

  • 4. Vomiting one to four hours after a meal may be due to an obstruction in the stomach outlet due to a congenita problem called pyloric stenosis or a tumor.

  • 5. Vomiting with involuntary eye movements may be due to a cause in the inner ear that takes care of balance.

  • 6.Vomiting of bile may be due to an obstruction in the small intestines.

  • 7.Vomiting with weight loss may indicate a malignancy.

  • 8.Pain with vomiting may be due to an obstructive cause.

  • 9.Projective vomiting with headache and stiff neck may be due to brain injury.

Cyclic vomiting syndrome results in periods of nausea and vomiting with the patient normal between attacks. It is more common in children and is associated with migraine, motion sickness orallergic reaction.

Complications of vomiting include aspiration of the vomitus into the lungs, dehydration and electrolyte abnormalities. In addition, the patient may suffer from tears of the esophagus and destruction of tooth enamel due to repeated vomiting.

The leading causes of nausea and vomiting.

Infections: Infections of the digestive tract as well as infections in other parts of the body can result in nausea and vomiting.

Food poisoning: Viral and bacterial infections of the digestive tract result in vomiting.

Medications and toxins: Nearly any medication can result in vomiting.

Digestive tract disorders: Besides food poisoning, any abnormality in the motility of the esophagus or food pipe, stomach or intestines could result in nausea & vomiting. Any obstruction in the digestive tract (esophagous, stomach or intestine) results in vomiting. The type of vomitus, the timing of vomiting and the associated symptoms may give a clue to the diagnosis of the cause of obstruction.

Inflammation: Inflammation of parts of the digestive tract can result in nausea and vomiting. For eg. appendicitis pancreatitis or inflammation of the liver and/or gall bladder.

Central nervous system causes: Conditions the affect the central nervous system could result in vomiting. These include closed head iniury which is a head injury that is not accompanied by a fracture of the skull. Conditions that increase the pressure within the skull like tumor, infarct, bleeding or an infection like meningitis, encephalitis or an abscess result in vomiting.

Migraine: Migraine typically causes nausea and vomiting. Other symptoms include flashes of lights, and one-sided severe throbbing headache.         


Vestibular causes: Conditions affecting the inner ear may result in vomiting & is usually associated with vertigo.

Psychiatric disorders: Psychiatric disorders like anxiety, depression and conversion disorder are often associated with nausea and vomiting.

Hormonal and metabolic causes: Hormonal and metabolic causes that could result in nausea and vomiting are pregnancy, thyroid and parathyroid disorders, uncontrolled diabetes (which leads to accumulation of ketones in the blood), uremia (accumulation of urea in the body as a resultof kidney failure)

Other causes: include acute glaucoma (a condition where the eyeball pressure increases), a heart attack which often presents with sudden chest pain along with nausea and vomiting or any severely painful condition like kidney stones or severe headache that can stimulate vomiting.

One should visit a general physician in case he/she suffers from vomiting.


Compiled by Wilbert Masamba.



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