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Symptoms, Their Causes & Cures: Dry Heaves

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Dry Heaves

WHEN TO SEE YOUR DOCTOR

* Your dry heaves continue for more than two hours.

What Your Symptom Is Telling You

The good news is that your vomiting has stopped. The bad news is that your body hasn't stopped trying to vomit—and now you're panting from the pain of dry heaves.

The area of your brain that controls vomiting—your vomit center—is still in high gear even though the food in your stomach is long gone. Don't panic: It may take a while for your system to calm down. "Think of it as a kind of an overdrive of the nausea center—continued stimulation without anything being in the stomach," says William B. Ruderman, M.D., chairperson of the Department of Gastroenterology at the Cleveland ClinicFlorida in Fort Lauderdale.

Symptom Relief

Although you're uncomfortable, there's a good chance that your dry heaves will go away a short time after they've started. "In a lot of cases, particularly food poisoning and things like that, it won't be long until you're feeling better," says Jorge Herrera. M.D., assistant professor of medicine at the University of South Alabama College of Medicine in Mobile and member of the American Gastroenterological Association and the American College of Gastroenterology. Here are a few things you can try.

Check out Dramamine. Although traditionally used for motion sickness, the over-the-counter medication Dramamine may help end dry heaves.

Call your doctor. Because you may need a prescription antinauseant to bring your dry heaves to a halt, you may want to give your doctor a call, says Dr. Ruderman. "If someone is at home and they keep vomiting, I will prescribe a drug, in suppository form, to calm the vomit center," he says. In fact, any techniques that put an end to vomiting should also prove helpful in banishing the heaves. A doctor can also give you a shot to eliminate dry heaves if your case is persistent enough, says Dr. Herrera.

See also Vomiting

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