Nausea is a feeling of an urge to throw up. Some people who feel nauseated don't always throw up, but the uncomfortable feeling could be overwhelming. Others feel that if they vomit, their feeling will become better. With that said, those with nausea can experience dizziness, muscle pain, headache, and abdominal pain. Both children and adults can experience nausea.
There are many causes why you might feel nauseous. Knowing what's the main cause of your nausea and learning how to address your condition will help you relieve the uncomfortable feeling or even treat the underlying cause of your feeling nauseous.
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Common Causes Of Nausea
To better understand your condition, let's go through the different possible causes of your nausea. It will also help you know what treatment will suit you to relieve or treat nausea.
Early Pregnancy
Nausea is one of the most common signs of early pregnancy. If you're a woman, sexually active, and are not using any protection, you might want to consider taking a pregnancy test to ensure that the cause of your nausea is being pregnant.
Being nauseous while pregnant is called morning sickness. It happens due to changes in your hormones or can indicate low blood sugar in the early stages of pregnancy. You can address nausea when pregnant by choosing the food you eat carefully, identifying what triggers your nausea and avoiding it, staying hydrated, and snacking often.
Motion Sickness
Some people feel nauseous when riding a plane, boat, or car, especially for a long period. This feeling is called motion sickness. Motion sickness can also be experienced on amusement park rides. Motion sickness happens when your eyes, inner ear, and body send conflicting signals to your brain.
You can manage nausea when you're having motion sickness by looking ahead at a fixed point, breathing fresh air if possible, staying hydrated, and listening to music to distract yourself.
Food Poisoning
Food poisoning can also be another reason why you're feeling nauseous. If you experience food poisoning, expect that you will end up vomiting. Food poisoning can be experienced when you ingest contaminated or spoiled food that may contain parasites, infectious bacteria, and viruses.
The majority of food poisoning episodes can go away on their own, however, just to be safe, always seek advice from a health practitioner. Just make sure that you keep yourself hydrated and well-rested throughout the episode.
Indigestion
Some foods such as dairy, fatty foods, and sugar can upset your stomach. Some people are more sensitive to these kinds of food than others, which causes indigestion. It's better to consult a dietician if you're constantly experiencing indigestion when consuming these kinds of food. Your dietician will help you choose the right food for you.
Infections
Nausea can also be a symptom of an infection like the stomach flu. Stomach flu is a condition where bacteria or viruses infect your gastrointestinal tract and trigger inflammation that could induce nausea and vomiting.
Some infections could also accompany nausea and vomiting with diarrhea and stomach pain. When experiencing food poisoning, you must visit the emergency room or your healthcare provider immediately.
Migraine
Some people who suffer from migraines can also experience nausea. Migraine is a medical condition that causes a severe, throbbing headache that is recurring. Aside from nausea, migraine can also be accompanied by dizziness and light aversion.
Anxiety
Another underlying cause of nausea is anxiety, which is referred to as anxiety-induced nausea. Because the stomach contains the second largest nerve in the body, some scientists refer to the stomach as the second brain. That's why when hormones or other chemicals are released while you're anxious, you might experience stomach issues, including feeling nauseous.
Care And Treatment For Nausea
The care and treatment for nausea varies from person to person. It's also vital that you address the underlying cause of your nausea to better address your condition. You can do this by visiting your healthcare provider and discussing the treatment for why you're feeling nauseous.
Your healthcare provider will issue a prescription nausea medicine to help relieve the symptoms of nausea. However, there are also other things you can do to address and treat nausea in general, such as:
- Drinking ice-cold drinks
- Eating light, bland meals
- Avoid greasy food
- Eat slower and smaller but frequent meals
- Avoid mixing hot and cold food and beverage
- Drinking slowly
- Avoid activity every after eating
- Get enough rest
- Ensuring you eat food from all the food groups that you can tolerate at the moment
Final Thoughts
There are many causes why you're feeling nauseous. Understanding the root cause of your condition is vital to better acquire relief and ensure that you're taking proper action to address your health condition. Remember, always consult your doctor before you take any medication, especially if you're not yet sure about the underlying cause of your nausea.
