Nausea

                 Nausea

 

Nausea is the sensation that there is a need to vomit. Nausea can be acute and short-lived, or it can be prolonged. When prolonged, it is a debilitating symptom. Nausea (and vomiting) can be psychological or physical in origin. It can originate from problems in the brain or organs of the upper gastrointestinal tract (esophagus, stomach, small intestine, liver, pancreas, and gallbladder). It also may be caused by pain, motion, medications and diseases of many non-gastrointestinal organs of the body. Therefore, the diagnosis of the cause of prolonged nausea may not be easy. All stimuli that cause nausea work via the vomiting center in the brain which gives rise to the sensation of nausea and coordinates the physical act of vomiting.

Causes of nausea include, but are not limited to:

• Acute HIV infection
• Addison disease
• Alcohol
• Anxiety
• Appendicitis
• Brain tumor
• Caffeine
• Cancer
• Chicken Pox
• Chronic fatigue syndrome
• Concussion
• Crohn's disease
• Depression
• Diabetes
• Dizziness
• Drugs, whether the drug in use is for reasons that are medicinal, recreational, intentional, and/or unintentional.
• Exercise
• Influenza (rarely in adults, more commonly in children; not to be confused with "stomach flu" Gastroenteritis)
• Food poisoning
• Gastroenteritis
• Gastroesophageal reflux disease
• Gastroparesis
• Heart attack
• Hydrocephalus
• Hyperkalemia
• Increased intracranial pressure
• Irritable bowel syndrome
• Kidney failure
• Kidney stones
• Ménière's disease
• Meningitis
• Menstruation
• Migraine
• Morning sickness
• Narcotics
• Nervousness
• Norovirus
• Pancreatitis
• Peptic ulcer
• Pneumonia
• Pregnancy
• Sleep deprivation
• Stress
• Superior mesenteric artery syndrome
• Tullio phenomenon
• Withdrawal syndrome
• Vertigo
• Vestibular balance disorder
• Viral hepatitis

 Treatment

 Anti-emetic drugs can be given in different ways.

• By mouth - Some tablets can be swallowed with plenty of water, while others can be placed under the tongue (sublingually) to dissolve.
• Into a vein by drip - Some anti-emetics can be diluted in a fluid and given through a small tube (cannula) inserted into the vein (intravenously).
• Into the muscle - The drugs are given by injection into a muscle (intramuscular injection).
• Into the fatty tissue under the skin (subcutaneously) - The drugs are either injected using a syringe or given slowly over several hours, using a pump attached to a small needle that is placed just under the skin.
• Suppositories - These are put into the back passage (rectum), where they dissolve and are absorbed into the bloodstream through the lining of the gut.
• Skin patches  - Some anti-emetic drugs can be absorbed through the skin (transdermally) from a small patch that is changed every three days.