When is nausea a simple digestive problem or a sign of something more serious? Johns Hopkins specialists explain the important differences.
Who hasn’t experienced nausea? A queasy stomach and an imminent urge to vomit is a common digestive problem. Luckily, in most cases nausea is not a sign of anything serious. And mercifully, nausea typically only lasts for a few hours (although that’s often plenty long enough) and requires no medical treatment.
Many different kinds of digestive disorders can lead to nausea, including gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), peptic ulcers, gallbladder problems, hepatitis, and pancreatitis. An upset stomach can also accompany migraine headaches as well as more serious conditions like brain tumors and strokes. Sometimes, nausea may develop in reaction to intense stress, anxiety, or fear. Most commonly, though, nausea occurs as the result of ingesting certain foods or medications or traveling in a moving vehicle. Nausea isn’t inevitable, especially when it comes to the most common causes.
If a bout of nausea happens to strike, here are some actions you can take:
- Rest. Activity can worsen nausea. If you’re having an attack of motion sickness, stay as still as possible and try to get out of the vehicle as soon as you can. For other bouts of nausea, stop whatever you’re doing and get some rest.
- Drink fluids to settle the stomach. Ginger ale and chamomile, lemon balm, or ginger tea are good choices for nausea. If you’re also vomiting, suck on ice cubes and drink water, broth, or sports drinks such as Gatorade to prevent dehydration.
- Avoid strong food odors. Many odors can worsen nausea, so don’t cook while you’re feeling sick or go out grocery shopping or to a restaurant.
- Eat crackers or toast to absorb excess stomach acid. You should also avoid fatty or spicy foods, which can upset the stomach further.
- Take antacids (Maalox, Rolaids, Tums) to neutralize stomach acid or bismuth subsalicylate (PeptoBismol) to coat the stomach.
When To Call Your Doctor: See a doctor if nausea lasts for longer than 72 hours and you haven’t been able to eat or drink very much, or if nausea is accompanied by abdominal pain, intense dizziness, or a severe headache. Also see a doctor if you experience nausea and you’ve recently suffered a head injury, have a fever, blurred vision or eye pain, confusion, or a stiff neck.
Nausea can also be a sign of a stroke or heart attack. If nausea is accompanied by numbness on one side of the body or trouble seeing, speaking, or moving, you might be having a stroke and should call 911 immediately, even if the symptoms go away after a few minutes. If nausea occurs with chest pain that lasts longer than 10 minutes, it could be a heart attack and you should also call 911 right away.
For more Alerts and Special Reports, please visit the Digestive Disorders Topic page.
