Acute stress
Feeling sick before an exam or a serious conversation with your boss? This is completely normal. Fear, overexcitation, anxiety - all this can seem nauseating to our body. Anxiety, Stress, and Stomachaches.
This reaction often occurs in children and adolescents. That’s why, by the way, a child’s excuse for school or a test is “Oh, my stomach hurts!” - often not an excuse at all.
But it often affects adults too. It all depends on individual characteristics and stress levels.
What to do about it . First of all, calm down. Take a deep breath. Take a walk. Perhaps take valerian. Once the acute stress is relieved, the nausea will subside.
Inner ear diseases
In the inner ear, among other things, the vestibular apparatus is located. Any disorders of this part of the ear, such as labyrinthitis or Meniere's disease, can cause the vestibular system to become clogged.
The brain loses orientation in space, which makes it seem as if the ground is disappearing from under your feet. To stay upright, our body triggers reactions, some of which affect the vomiting center in the brain. And an attack of nausea occurs.
What to do about it . If nausea is accompanied by dizziness and/or ear pain, hearing loss, or noise, consult an otolaryngologist as soon as possible.
Development mechanism
The occurrence of nausea is based on the activation of the neural arc of the gag reflex at a level insufficient for the onset of vomiting. The most common trigger for a reflex reaction is irritation of peripheral receptors located in the digestive and a number of other organs. Less commonly, the reflex is activated due to stimulation of the vomiting center, the effect of toxic substances or metabolites on the receptive zone of the bottom of the fourth ventricle of the brain. In a number of conditions (for example, pregnancy), a combination of several triggering factors is possible.
Regardless of the reasons that provoked the development of nausea, the mechanism of its formation is based on a single pathophysiological process. When the vomiting center is activated, the tone of the muscular lining of the stomach decreases, its peristalsis slows down or completely stops. A simultaneous increase in the tone of the duodenum and the proximal part of the jejunum causes duodenogastric reflux. An increase in the volume of gastric chyme leads to reflex relaxation of the cardia, contraction of the antrum, diaphragm and intercostal muscles, which is perceived as a urge to vomit.
Mild concussion
Nausea is one of the most prominent symptoms of traumatic brain injury. In general, a concussion is an extremely difficult thing to diagnose. As a rule, it is detected not by tests and studies, but by subjective complaints of patients.
So, if you feel sick for no reason, try to remember if you hit your head today or yesterday. Perhaps they were playing football and made a pass with the top of their head? Or maybe, on a sharp turn, the back of your head hit the handrail or your temple hit the wall of the minibus? Even the most insignificant, at first glance, blow can lead to a concussion.
What to do about it . If you did not lose consciousness upon impact, your possible concussion is likely not dangerous. Just relax: lie down or sit in a comfortable chair, relax. In most cases, symptoms go away within 15–30 minutes.
If nausea, which could be caused by a blow (especially if it was accompanied by loss of consciousness), continues, go to the therapist. It is necessary! A concussion is fraught with serious complications.
Diagnostics
Patients with complaints of nausea are initially referred to a gastroenterologist. The doctor conducts a comprehensive examination of the digestive system to identify structural and functional disorders, which are most often accompanied by nausea. To determine the cause of nausea, laboratory and instrumental studies are used, the most informative of which are considered:
- Ultrasonic method
. Ultrasound of the abdominal organs is a non-invasive and safe examination that can be prescribed to all patients, including pregnant women. Using sonography, the doctor detects organic causes in the gastrointestinal tract and biliary system: thickening or deformation of organ walls, space-occupying formations. - X-ray examination
. Nausea is a common symptom of diseases of the esophagus and duodeno-gastric zone, for the detection of which radiography with barium contrast is used. To assess the patency of the digestive tract and the rate of passage of chyme, a series of delayed x-rays are performed. - Endoscopic examination
. Using endoscopy, the condition of the upper gastrointestinal tract is visually assessed: the mucous membrane is examined, signs of inflammation and destruction are identified, and a biopsy of altered tissue areas is performed. If reflux is suspected, the method is supplemented by performing 24-hour pH measurements inside the stomach and lower part of the esophagus. - Examination of feces
. A coprogram is carried out to detect characteristic signs of gastrointestinal pathologies, which are manifested by nausea. If there are symptoms of an intestinal infection as the cause of vomiting, bacteriological culture of stool is recommended to detect microorganisms. Additionally, the level of fecal elastase is determined. - Lab tests
. To clarify the diagnosis, a biochemical blood test with liver tests and an assessment of the levels of acute phase indicators are indicated. Using serological reactions, pathogens of intestinal infections are identified and helicobacteriosis is detected. The method is supplemented with specific breathing tests.
If there are difficulties in diagnosis, CT or MRI of the abdominal cavity, duodenal intubation with bacteriological culture of bile are performed. Sometimes allergy tests are performed with the most common allergens. Women who complain of nausea should be referred to a gynecologist for consultation. After excluding gastroenterological pathology, a comprehensive neurological examination and consultation with other specialists are indicated.
Various medications are used to relieve nausea
Chronic traumatic brain injury
This is one of the consequences of ignored concussions. The fact is that brain injuries can have a cumulative effect. In some people it is less pronounced (their brain removes toxins formed during injuries faster), in others it is more pronounced (their toxins accumulate and seriously affect brain functions). Which category you belong to can only be determined through genetic analysis.
If in the past you may have had regular head injuries - for example, you are fond of extreme sports and have fallen more than once, box, engage in wrestling, take part in military operations - and at the same time at some point you began to feel bouts of nausea accompanied by fatigue and headache, it could be chronic traumatic brain injury.
What to do about it . Go to a neurologist Chronic traumatic encephalopathy. You will need to undergo a number of tests, possibly including different types of MRI.
Key symptoms
On average, in men it is accompanied by the following:
- increased sweating;
- drowsiness;
- darkening of the eyes;
- diarrhea;
- pale skin;
- freezing;
- loss of body weight;
- vomiting;
- increased salivation;
- lack of air;
- state of general weakness;
- pulse is increased;
- surges in blood pressure.
Women's extremities become cold.
- Vestibular – the female sex is affected during menopause and pregnancy.
- Toxic – caused by food poisoning, toxins or poisons.
- Metabolic – means metabolic disorders, prolonged fasting or diabetes.
- Brain - directly provoked by diseases of the brain, high blood pressure, as well as intracranial pressure.
- Reflex – with inflammation of the gastrointestinal mucosa, excessive irritation of receptors in the vagus nerve, a man usually does not vomit with this type.
Low blood pressure
Weakness, slight dizziness and nausea as the final chord are the key signs of Low Blood Pressure - When Blood Pressure Is Too Low of lowering blood pressure.
What to do about it . Lie down and rest. You can drink a couple of glasses of water or eat something salty - these methods will slightly increase blood volume and help raise blood pressure.
Fortunately, low blood pressure is rarely dangerous. However, it may impair quality of life, so you should consult your GP.
Viral hepatitis
Even before the icteric period, viral hepatitis is often manifested by decreased appetite and unmotivated (at first glance, natural) nausea. A little later, these symptoms are joined by itching of the skin, discomfort in the liver area, and sometimes fever...
What to do about it . Go to a therapist or a hepatologist - a specialist in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases of the liver and biliary tract. By the way, nausea accompanied by discomfort in the right side of the abdomen can also be a sign of biliary dyskinesia - this is the name for a violation of the outflow of bile.
Both hepatitis and dyskinesia are deadly. So it is important to identify them at an early stage, which is often indicated by nausea.
Causes of nausea
Causes of nausea after eating
In some patients, nausea associated in time with eating food is of physiological origin and is caused by overeating, errors in diet, and changes during pregnancy. Pathological causes of nausea after eating are:
- Stomach diseases
: acute gastritis, atony, neoplasms. - Food allergies
. - Intoxication of the body
: food poisoning, poisoning with plant poisons, overdose of medications. - Diseases of the pancreato-duodenal zone
: duodeno-gastric reflux, duodenostasis, chronic pancreatitis (including alcoholic). - Pathology of the hepatobiliary system
: chronic cholecystitis and cholangitis, biliary dyskinesia, liver echinococcosis. - Infectious processes
: rotavirus and norovirus infections, escherichiosis, salmonellosis. - Complications after surgical interventions
: dumping syndrome, postcholecystectomy syndrome.
Causes of nausea on an empty stomach
A healthy person may experience nausea on an empty stomach when taking certain medications (vitamins, iron supplements) before meals. In most cases, the appearance of a symptom indicates damage to the gastrointestinal tract, less often - other pathological conditions. The causes of nausea on an empty stomach are:
- Gastrointestinal
diseases : esophageal erosions, gastritis and peptic ulcers, irritable stomach syndrome. - Parasitic infestations
: giardiasis, toxoplasmosis, ascariasis. - Endogenous poisoning
: uremia, chronic renal failure, cancer intoxication. - Migraine
. - Early toxicosis during pregnancy
. - Emergency conditions
: hypertensive crisis, “acute abdomen” syndrome (appendicitis, peritonitis).
Causes of nausea during pregnancy
Nausea is one of the most common symptoms that bother pregnant women. It is usually explained by a complex restructuring of the body to bear a child, but it can also have pathological causes. Nausea during pregnancy is caused by:
- Physiological prerequisites
: overeating, uterine growth, defecation delay. - Early toxicosis.
- Pregnancy pathologies
: gestosis and eclampsia, pregnancy hyperthyroidism, polyhydramnios, cholestasis. - Concomitant gastrointestinal diseases
: GERD, chronic gastritis and pancreatitis, dysbacteriosis. - Ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome
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