4 MAIN CAUSES NAUSEA
Not once or twice have I suddenly got that uneasy feeling, some stomach discomfort with the urge to vomit. Immediately my mind starts racing to try to recollect what could have caused or triggered this feeling. That discomfort that emerges from the stomach and gives you a feeling or the urge to vomit is what is called Nausea.
Nausea is not a sickness but a common symptom that indicates an underlying condition or sickness. Nausea comes with or without vomiting. Here, we look at four major causes of nausea.
1. ANXIETY
This is the emotional response to a situation you perceive to be dangerous or stressful. It causes you to be fearful, worried or tensed. Anxiety causes your brain to release neurotransmitters. These neurotransmitters are brain chemicals that prepare your body to either fight back or flee.
When these neurotransmitters enter your stomach, they cause an imbalance that results in nausea.
2. PREGNANCY
When a pregnant woman is in her first trimester, hormones responsible for a healthy pregnancy rise sharply. They include the Estrogen hormone and the human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG), which is also called the pregnancy hormone.
Physical reactions within the body such as stress and tiredness can also cause nausea. All these changes may cause a pregnant woman to experience nausea, commonly known as morning sickness.
Morning sickness occurs in 70% of pregnant women. Nausea in pregnancy does not only occur in the morning but can also occur at different times of the day. Morning sickness does not have any health risk to the unborn baby.
3. MOTION SICKNESS
This is a condition that is triggered by movement from all modes of transportation. The nerves in your skin, your muscles, and joints are sensory
organs that work together to register movement. This process is called Proprioception.
Proprioception together with your eyes and inner ear make up the vestibular system. When these three small systems that make up the vestibular system do not work in harmony, conflicting signals are sent to your brain.
This results in some discomfort, dizziness, and the urge to vomit. This is what is called motion sickness.
4. MEDICATION AND MEDICAL CONDITIONS
Prescription medicine and over the counter drugs usually make patients experience nausea as a side effect. Common examples include vitamins and mineral supplements, antidepressants, aspirin, ibuprofen, cancer treatment medication, antibiotics, etc.
There are some illnesses and medical conditions that make patients experience nausea frequently. Such conditions include hyperosmia, gastroparesis, diabetic ketoacidosis, head injuries, brain tumors, gall bladder
disease, and liver infections.
Other diseases include Addison’s disease, anorexia, bulimia, pancreatitis, ulcers, GERD, adrenal insufficiency, meningitis, heart attack, kidney disorders, etc.
Nausea can also be caused by:
·Overeating or eating high fat or spicy foods
·Food poisoning as a result of eating contaminated food
·Excessive alcohol intake which causes an increase in stomach acid
You should not worry much or overreact when you experience a short episode of nausea. Worry should set in once nausea persists for an extended period. As mentioned above, nausea acts as a warning sign of a serious illness or
underlying condition.
Therefore, consult a doctor once that queasy stomach feeling persists.