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Symptoms, Their Causes & Cures: Vomiting

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Vomiting

WHEN TO SEE YOUR DOCTOR

* You've been vomiting periodically for more than 24 hours.

What Your Symptom Is Telling You

What does a gallon of lukewarm brew have in common with a trip on the twist-o-rama at the county fair? Unfortunately for you and the vomit control center in your brain, plenty.

While primarily charged with monitoring your bloodstream and digestive system for toxins, your vomit control center is also plugged into something called your chemoreceptor trigger zone. This area in your brain keeps tabs on your equilibrium and your senses of smell, taste and sight.

The not-so-pretty result of this collaboration: The tiniest drop of poison can have the same effect on your system as watching a televised surgical procedure (in technicolor).

"Vomiting is actually an extremely complex act," 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. "But with the right stimulus, you are almost unable to prevent yourself from doing it."

Of course, there are other causes of vomiting besides overindulgence, poisoning and motion sickness. Perhaps the most common: A stomach virus can fool your ever-vigilant vomit center into thinking that you need to throw up, says William B. Ruderman, M.D., chairperson of the Department of Gastroenterology at the Cleveland ClinicFlorida in Fort Lauderdale. (Throwing up won't do anything to eliminate the virus.)

Other causes of vomiting include severe chronic ulcers, gallstones, the early stages of pregnancy and chemotherapy.

Symptom Relief

If nausea has set in and vomiting seems inevitable, here's what you can do.

Go with the flow. While vomiting is not the most pleasant experience in the world, you can actually prolong your discomfort by trying to avoid it. "The best thing is just to stay home and try to go through it, and most of the time you'll stop getting sick within 12 to 24 hours," says Dr. Herrera. "If the vomiting isn't gone by then, that's the time to seek help."

Boost your beverage intake. You lose a lot of fluids by vomiting, and that can make you dehydrated. You'll need to replenish them a short time after vomiting by sipping a glass or two of water, de-fizzed soda or even a sports drink, says Dr. Herrera.

Steer clear of diet drinks that don't contain sugar, however. Sugar assists in absorbing water, says Dr. Ruderman. If you vomit again right after beginning to drink, give yourself a break for a couple of hours and try again when the nausea has subsided.

Avoid eating. Consider solid foods off-limits until you have stopped vomiting for at least six hours, says Dr. Herrera. And when you do return to the dinner table, don't try to make up for lost time. "I don't think you should have a big burger or anything like that," he says. "You should slowly go back to your regular diet, but start with things like rice, toast, bananas—stuff that's bland but nutritious. By the second day you could probably eat anything that you want," he says.

Say no to dairy. Unless you're willing to suffer from diarrhea after vomiting, it's probably best to avoid dairy products for the next few days, says Dr. Herrera. Vomiting, particularly if from a viral illness, can temporarily diminish your ability to digest the sugar in milk, he says.

Think pink. Taking an over-the-counter stomach soother like Pepto-Bismol may actually help settle your stomach, says Dr. Ruderman.

Have an antacid. Ulcer-related vomiting will sometimes stop if you use an over-the-counter antacid, says Dr. Ruderman.

Chew it over. Chewing gum, long a remedy for middle ear pain during airline flights, may also help reduce air sickness and thereby prevent vomiting, says Mark Babyatsky, M.D., a gastroenterology specialist at Harvard Medical School.

Get serious. For severe cases of vomiting—like those caused by some cancer treatments—your doctor may prescribe an anti-nausea drug like Compazine or Reglan, says Dr. Babyatsky.

See also Nausea

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