Nausea and subsequent vomiting are mechanisms by which the body rids itself of toxins or reacts to something that cannot be digested. They can also be a reaction to taking medications, motion sickness, or act as a symptom of a serious pathology, so if you have frequent attacks, you should not put off visiting a doctor.
Antiemetic drugs that have proven their effectiveness and are most often prescribed by doctors will be discussed in the article.
Why do unpleasant symptoms occur?
Causes of nausea not related to illness include:
- Overeating and eating fatty foods . In this case, nausea appears after eating as a response of the body - it cannot cope with a “heavy” dish in terms of calories.
- Psychological factors. Constant stress, depression, and anxiety disrupt the overall metabolism in the body. Nausea occurs as soon as a person remembers an unpleasant experience or smells a familiar smell.
- Seasickness (motion sickness) . The receptors of the vestibular apparatus are irritated, a feeling of nausea occurs, which may be accompanied by vomiting.
- Pregnancy. Nausea and dizziness are observed in the first and second trimester of pregnancy. The sensation may progress to vomiting, but relief occurs on its own as the body adapts to pregnancy and the baby grows in the womb.
- In women, an unpleasant symptom often occurs during the premenstrual period.
- Impact of third party factors. An acute feeling of nausea can occur due to exposure to chemicals, medications, overheating, increased body temperature and other reasons.
Constant nausea often indicates the presence of various diseases. In some cases, depending on the stage of development of the disease, the feeling may occur periodically. He is called:
- Diseases that require urgent surgical intervention: appendicitis, acute pancreatitis, peritonitis of the gastrointestinal tract, intestinal obstruction.
- Chronic diseases associated with dysfunction of the gastrointestinal tract: peptic ulcer, cholecystitis, irritable bowel syndrome.
- Intestinal infections: enterovirus and rotavirus, cholecystitis, food poisoning.
- Liver diseases: hepatitis, cirrhosis.
- The presence of a foreign body in the abdomen (esophagus, intestines).
- Food allergies.
Severe headache and nausea can bother a person after traumatic brain injury, hypertension, diseases of the endocrine system, migraine, and after chemotherapy.
How to choose anti-nausea pills for adults
The first thing that is important when choosing drugs is the cause of nausea. These could be poisoning, digestive problems, infectious diseases. In addition, nausea can be a side effect of drugs (for example, when taking chemotherapy) or a consequence of a drug overdose. For each situation, it is necessary to select drugs with a specific mechanism of action:
- If these are viral pathologies of the digestive system, poisoning and microbial pathologies, dopamine receptor blockers may be indicated.
- If it is nausea due to chemotherapy, drugs that have an antagonistic effect on serotonin receptors will be more effective.
- During pregnancy, it is worth fighting nausea using natural herbal ingredients and non-drug remedies.
- For nausea that occurs as a result of motion sickness in various types of transport, including sea transport, antihistamines are indicated.
- Against the background of autonomic reactions and problems with the nervous system, medication intake largely depends on the presence of concomitant conditions and the main diagnosis.
Important ! Anti-nausea medications do not treat the underlying problem, they only suppress the unpleasant symptom, and are usually combined with treatment of the immediate causes of the nausea attack. Without eliminating the cause itself, nausea will occur again and again, and only antiemetics will be ineffective.
Clinical picture
Nausea, depending on the cause, may be accompanied by other symptoms.
- When eating fatty foods: abdominal pain, vomiting, weakness, drowsiness.
- Nausea is often observed in a child as a reaction of the body to an allergen. Adults and children equally experience: rash, redness, diarrhea, flatulence, runny nose, dry cough.
- In case of poisoning: flatulence, diarrhea, headaches, weakness.
In diseases, depending on the diagnosis, the manifestations differ:
- Diseases of the liver and gastrointestinal tract often resolve with vomiting, weakness, and body temperature rises to 39 degrees. There is a feeling of heaviness in the abdomen, diarrhea/constipation, and flatulence.
- Appendicitis will almost always be accompanied by acute pain in the lower abdomen and increased body temperature.
- With diseases of the cardiovascular system, nausea in the morning can turn into weakness in the afternoon, headaches, dizziness, and loss of consciousness.
Normally, in the absence of health problems, a person needs to eliminate the cause of the symptom. For example, exclude exposure to odors, consult a doctor about the need to take medications that calm the nervous system (if we are talking about psychological factors). Take a sorbent to remove toxins from the body in case of allergies or poisoning.
If, after treatment, pain, dizziness and nausea, as well as other accompanying symptoms, do not go away, you should urgently consult your doctor or gastroenterologist.
Restoring water-salt balance
The next stage will be restoring the water-salt balance. You need to drink 3.5 - 4.5 liters of liquid per day (2-3 tablespoons every 10-15 minutes). Only fractional intake of liquid will not cause a strong load on the stomach and will allow all the liquid to enter the body without provoking repeated vomiting and nausea. Despite the strong thirst, it should be taken only in this mode. You should not use kefir, mineral water, brine, rehydron, etc. at this stage. You only need to take slightly cool water. Water is absorbed in all parts of the digestive tract and does not require the involvement of other processes to enter the bloodstream. This is quite difficult, but the most correct!
Treatment and diagnosis
If you are constantly bothered by nausea, a specialist will find out the causes of the symptom in several stages:
- Survey. Drawing up a detailed clinical picture allows the doctor to navigate further actions.
- Purpose of research. Depending on the circumstances under which the unpleasant feeling appeared, the doctor may prescribe: an ultrasound, a general blood test, a urine and stool test.
If the diagnostic results obtained show the absence of any diseases, the doctor will pay attention to the following points:
- whether a psychological disorder can be accompanied by nausea;
- whether relatives experienced similar symptoms;
- what foods the patient ate in the last 48 hours;
- How does this feeling affect the general condition of a person: do headaches and nausea occur along with it, are diarrhea, constipation, and flatulence bothering you.
Treating vomiting from a hangover at home
You can treat vomiting at home if:
- The patient's blood pressure did not drop below 70 mm. rt. Art.
- Vomiting occurred no more than 3 times a day and brought relief.
- The patient has no agitation (insomnia, tremors of the limbs, rushing around the room, the need for a hangover), and over the past 24 hours he has slept for at least 5-7 hours.
- The patient is conscious (not inhibited), clearly oriented in time and space.
- The patient does not have coffee-ground-colored vomit (this indicates bleeding in the gastrointestinal tract).
- In this case, you have a chance to be cured at home; all treatment will be limited to taking pills.
First aid
In the absence of chronic and current diseases, the doctor will prescribe treatment aimed at restoring the body. First of all, the patient will be advised to:
- Establish an enhanced drinking regime.
- Take anti-inflammatory and painkillers.
- In some cases, when it comes to severe forms of roto- or enterovirus, antibiotics are prescribed.
To remove toxins from the body, therapy may be accompanied by simultaneous intake of sorbents. The Sorbex series are safe enterosorbents that do not treat the disease, but can alleviate its symptoms and course. Their composition is based on granular activated carbon, which absorbs harmful substances and removes them from the body naturally. In the available line of products you can choose drugs for children and adults.
Is it possible to give intramuscular injections?
Yes, you can, and start according to the same scheme described above, if there are no contraindications. For example, No-spa 4 ml IM.
Important! Tablets are not given together with injections; there must be one route of administration (either injections or taking tablets).
IMPORTANT! If antispasmodics and antiemetics do not help you, then vomiting is of central origin (a toxic effect on the nervous system occurs), and you cannot do without the help of a doctor! Comprehensive assistance is needed here. In this situation, time will work against the patient; it is necessary to urgently contact a medical facility or call a doctor at home from our service.
In this situation, the doctor needs to connect to a vein and inject saline solutions, while simultaneously administering the above-mentioned groups of drugs. When administered into a vein, the drugs begin to act after 5-10 minutes, thereby, based on the effect, the doctor selects the dose and group of drugs.
A distinctive feature of toxic vomiting (vomiting of central origin) is the need to use sedatives (including tranquilizers with antipsychotics) together with drip administration of solutions into a vein, calculating the volume per body weight and fluid loss.
Attention! When treating yourself, you can make mistakes that will lead to negative consequences!
Useful tips
If you are worried about nausea and vomiting, weakness, here are some useful recommendations that will help alleviate the condition:
- Abundant air flow - you can open a window or sit in front of a fan.
- Drinking fluids. Drink more water, it will also help prevent dehydration and speed up your metabolism.
- Compress. The feeling of nausea will go away if you apply a cold compress to the forehead and neck area.
- Do not lie down, the bitterness in your mouth and nausea will intensify - gastric juice may rise up the esophagus. This is why gastroenterologists do not advise “resting” after eating.
It is recommended to drink at least 1 glass of warm water every morning on an empty stomach. The liquid will “wake up” the gastrointestinal tract and normalize metabolism. Also follows:
- minimize the amount of “heavy” food in the diet;
- exclude carbonated drinks;
- take care of the cleanliness of products that do not require heat treatment (berries, vegetables, fruits).
As a sorbent for quick relief of abdominal pain, if nausea and vomiting occur due to poisoning and allergies, always have supplements in the form of Sorbex enterosorbent in your medicine cabinet.
SORBEX® Duo
SORBEX® Classic
SORBEX® Ultra
Medicines and dietary supplements of the Sorbex series (Sorbex, Sorbex Ultra, Sorbex DUO) are based on improved activated carbon. Thanks to modern production technologies, the sorption capacity of Sorbex® has been significantly increased, which ensures its high sorption ability to absorb toxins, bacteria and other harmful substances.
Sorbex capsules contain activated carbon in the form of granules, which ensures adsorption activity throughout the entire residence time of the sorbent in the gastrointestinal tract. The effectiveness of granular carbon almost does not decrease within 36-48 hours, which allows you to increase the intervals between doses of this drug and reduce the dose. For adults with chronic diseases caused by endogenous intoxications, it is recommended to take 2–6 capsules 3 times a day for 10–15 days. For children over 7 years old, take 1-3 capsules 3-4 times a day. The drug is administered orally with water at intervals of 1.5–2 hours before or after meals or medications.
SORBEX ULTRA is a dietary supplement in the form of capsules based on highly dispersed activated carbon with extremely high adsorption activity, therefore it is especially effective for acute poisoning. Adults are recommended to take 1 capsule 2-3 times a day.
SORBEX DUO is a dietary supplement for the comprehensive cleansing of toxins from the body, combining the unique properties of a hydrocarbon sorbent in the form of granules and milk thistle extract. Thanks to this composition, SORBEX DUO helps reduce the manifestations of intoxication, protects and restores liver function. Adults take 2-3 capsules 2-3 times a day. Children aged 7 years and older – 1 capsule 2-3 times a day before or 1-1.5 hours after meals. Duration of use from 3 to 15 days
It should be borne in mind that sometimes nausea may be the only early sign of serious illness, so this symptom should not be ignored and you should consult a doctor.
Attention! Self-medication can harm your health!
What are anti-nausea pills?
In general, 4 groups of drugs are used to suppress nausea:
Serotonin receptor antagonists . Drugs in this category do not suppress the synthesis of serotonin, a hormonal compound that transmits various impulses from internal organs to the brain, which causes nausea and vomiting. However, they help in eliminating its effects on the vomiting center and the formation of the reflex. As a result, the process of suppressing nausea and vomiting occurs as naturally as possible, without sharp fluctuations in the level of serotonin in the plasma and brain. The drugs are quite effective in suppressing nausea of various origins.
Histamine receptor blockers . These drugs are used to suppress allergic reactions, but they can also inhibit the processes in the brain that form the arc of the gag reflex. Only first generation antihistamines that significantly affect the functioning of the nervous system are considered suitable.
Anticholinergic agents . These are medications that not only can suppress the development of the gag reflex due to the fact that they block interaction with certain receptors. At the same time, they eliminate spasms of smooth muscle fibers in the digestive tube. The additional sedative effect of the drugs helps prevent new vomiting and attacks of nausea.
Dopamine antagonists . Dopamine is a neurotransmitter, a substance that transmits signals to nerve cells, and when it influences trigger zones in the vomiting center, it can provoke attacks of nausea. Accordingly, substances antagonistic to dopamine can block receptors that enhance its synthesis. As a result, the gag reflex is suppressed.
Separately, we can distinguish a group of drugs that have a mild antiemetic effect and eliminate nausea due to natural ingredients. Their effect is not as pronounced, but there are also much fewer side effects. Usually these are plant extracts and combination products.
It is worth taking a closer look at the new generations of drugs against nausea and vomiting. They have more pronounced effects than other drugs, eliminating nausea without serious effects in the central nervous system. Thus, they do not have pronounced sedative and hypnotic effects, and they can be used at any time of the day. However, they also have a number of serious disadvantages, since they have a number of serious complications if the dose is exceeded or the rules for their use are violated. They can affect vision and liver function, so the selection of medications should only be done by a doctor.
How can you relieve nausea in pregnant women?
Attacks of nausea and vomiting as manifestations of toxicosis are considered acceptable in the first trimester of pregnancy. Only a doctor can prescribe anti-vomiting pills to avoid negative effects on the fetus. In case of severe toxicosis, hospitalization is indicated. Main suitable drugs:
- Splenin in the form of injections;
- Chophytol, the main component is artichoke extract;
- Bonin, the effect of taking it occurs after 60 minutes and lasts 24 hours. Of the minuses - it can cause dry mucous membranes, drowsiness, weakness;
- Cocculin tablets are homeopathic.
With nausea and vomiting in the later stages, gestosis can be suspected - a complication in which blood pressure rises, protein appears in the urine, and the life of the woman and child is threatened. Hospitalization is indicated.
Sample menu after poisoning
The first day after food poisoning is better not to eat anything. If you feel very hungry, you can drink a little rice water. It is better to use brown rice for cooking.
After the unpleasant symptoms disappear, you can eat little by little. To improve the functioning of the digestive system, adults follow a diet for 5-10 days after poisoning.
Let us give examples of therapeutic dietary nutrition used in the treatment of diseases of the digestive tract.
Diet No. 1A Calorie content: 1900–2000 kcal | Diet No. 2 Calorie content: 2800–3000 kcal | |
First breakfast | — steam omelet or soft-boiled eggs; - warm low-fat milk. | - oatmeal or semolina porridge; - low-fat cheese; - weak tea. |
Lunch | - milk. | - rosehip decoction. |
Dinner | — pureed oatmeal soup, steamed chicken fillet; - fruit jelly. | - vegetable or meat broth; — steamed cutlets from lean meat; - mashed potatoes; - dried fruits compote. |
Afternoon snack | - milk cream; - rosehip decoction. | - rosehip decoction. |
Dinner | - liquid rice porridge (crushed); - milk. | - Steamed fish; - rice pudding; - tea or cranberry juice. |
Drink at night | - milk. | - kefir or yogurt. |
Recommended dishes also include vegetable soups, boiled porridges, except pearl barley and millet, baked meat puddings, and cottage cheese casseroles. It is advisable to grind porridges and soups with a blender. This way they will be better absorbed.
To prepare meat dishes, it is advisable to use veal, beef, turkey or chicken. Steamed meatballs, meat pate or casserole will be completely dietary dishes. You are allowed to eat fish balls and chicken breast. You can make puddings from berries and fruits; bananas and baked apples are also allowed.
As additional support for the body, you can use sorbents, for example, Fitomucil Sorbent Forte. Enterosorbent will remove harmful substances, cope with pathogenic microorganisms, and restore normal intestinal microflora. The drug contains five types of live probiotic bacteria, as well as psyllium and inulin.
Cautions
Read the following warnings before treatment:
- Do not increase the dosage of drugs, guided by the principle “the more, the better” (there are maximum permissible doses of drugs, increasing the dosage can be dangerous).
- You cannot take the pills again if you vomit after taking them. It is impossible to calculate the doses of drugs that have already entered the blood; there is a risk of exceeding the dosages.
- Do not take drugs from the same group, but with different names (no-shpa, spasmalgon, drotaverine).
- Seek urgent medical help if relief does not occur 2 hours after taking antispasmodics and antiemetics.