Nausea & Vomiting: Causes & How to Get Relief

Key takeaways:

• Nausea and vomiting often overlap and share a cause, such as infection, food poisoning, or pregnancy.
• Neither nausea nor vomiting is considered a sign of severe illness, but both can cause dehydration.
• Call your doctor if you experience nausea and vomiting lasting longer than 24 hours.

Nearly everyone experiences nausea and vomiting at some point; fortunately, understanding their causes can help you avoid these unpleasant symptoms. In many cases, nausea and vomiting are the result of an infection affecting the gastrointestinal system. In others, factors such as pregnancy, motion sickness, and medications may be to blame.

Vomiting and nausea that resolve on their own within a day or two usually aren't a cause for concern. However, symptoms that worsen or persist for more than a few days may cause dehydration and require medical intervention. You can manage nausea and vomiting symptoms at home by sipping clear fluids, eating a bland diet, resting, and using over-the-counter medications as needed.

What is nausea and vomiting?

Nausea is the sensation of feeling sick to your stomach or like you need to vomit. It is also known as feeling “queasy.” Sometimes, increased saliva in the mouth comes with nausea. You may also experience lightheadedness, flushing, or sweating.

Vomiting is the forceful discharge of stomach contents through your mouth. If you experience this sensation but nothing leaves your mouth, this is “dry heaving.” Dry heaving can come before or after vomiting.

Nausea and vomiting frequently accompany one another, but they don’t have to. One can come before or after the other or be present alone.

Symptoms associated with nausea and vomiting

While many conditions lead to nausea and vomiting, some causes are more common than others. Look out for these potentially related symptoms to make it easier to understand what’s causing your symptoms.

Abdominal pain

Abdominal pain associated with nausea and vomiting can be caused by viral or bacterial infection of your GI tract. Other common causes include inflammation of the pancreas, blockage of the intestines, or gallbladder disease.

Diarrhea

Diarrhea commonly comes with vomiting when there is an infection in your intestines. This is your body’s natural response to infection to rid itself of the virus.

Fever

Also common in cases of infection is a fever, another of your body’s natural immune responses. If fever accompanies your nausea and vomiting, it is a good idea to call your doctor. While a common virus can cause fever and vomiting, other more serious conditions can as well.

Causes of nausea and vomiting

Most conditions that lead to nausea or vomiting are temporary and able to resolve on their own. Others are longer-lasting and may require medical treatment. Let’s take a closer look.

Infection

Viral and bacterial infection of your intestines is a common cause of nausea and vomiting. If you have sudden-onset nausea and vomiting and are also experiencing fever, chills, body aches, or diarrhea, you may have an infection like the stomach flu (gastroenteritis).

Pregnancy

If you are vomiting early in the morning and may be pregnant, you may have morning sickness.

This kind of nausea and vomiting is due to hormonal changes in early pregnancy. In some cases, morning sickness can become quite severe and cause dehydration. As a result, it’s important to check in with your doctor if you believe you may be pregnant and experiencing nausea or vomiting.

Food poisoning

Food poisoning is an infection or inflammation of the digestive tract spread through food or drink. This can be caused by bacteria, viruses, or parasites.

It usually happens suddenly and lasts a short time, less than a week. Symptoms typically include abdominal pain and some combination of nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. You may also experience fever or bloody bowel movements.

Medication

If you are undergoing chemotherapy or have recently had anesthesia, your nausea and vomiting may be due to these medicines. Alcohol and recreational drugs can also lead to nausea and vomiting.

Motion sickness

When traveling by car, plane, or sea, some people feel motion sickness. This often starts suddenly with dizziness, nausea, and feeling clammy (cold sweats). Sometimes, it can lead to vomiting.

Read our guides on types of vomit and colors for more.

How to stop, get relief, or settle nausea and vomiting at home

Even if your nausea and vomiting are not severe enough to warrant a visit to your doctor, you can help yourself feel better. There are many simple treatments for nausea and vomiting you can use at home.

Home remedies

One problem with nausea and vomiting is that they can lead to dehydration, which sometimes makes nausea worse. Dehydration decreases blood volume, which results in symptoms like lightheadedness and dizziness, followed by nausea. So, it’s important to try and rehydrate yourself.

The best fluids for this are clear soup broth, sports drinks, clear soft drinks, or caffeine-free tea. It's preferable to use the low-sugar version of sports or soft drinks, as too much sugar can irritate the lining of your intestines. Avoid caffeine and alcohol as these also upset the stomach. If you can’t keep these down and start vomiting, just sip water. If you can’t keep water down, call your doctor.

Once you can keep liquids down, try bland foods such as toast, popsicles, or gelatin. Avoid sweet, greasy, or spicy foods. It’s more important to stay hydrated than to eat, so make sure you are regularly drinking fluids.

Over-the-counter medications

There are a few options for over-the-counter treatment of nausea and vomiting. These include:

• Bismuth subsalicylate can help treat nausea and vomiting caused by infection. It reduces inflammation inside the intestines and can also help with diarrhea.
• Antihistamines may help treat nausea and vomiting due to motion sickness. Options include dimenhydrinate and meclizine.
• Vitamin B6 may be helpful if you are pregnant and suffering from morning sickness.

It is important to talk with your doctor before starting any over-the-counter medication. These may interact with other medications you are taking. They also may cause side effects that you’ll want to be aware of.

Avoid motion sickness

If your nausea and vomiting are caused by motion sickness, here are a few things you can do to help:

• Sit in the front seat of the car or the forward car of a train.
• If you are traveling by boat, sit on the upper deck.
• On an airplane, sit near the wings.
• Try taking dimenhydrinate (Dramamine®), an effective medication for motion sickness, about an hour before traveling. Ginger chews may also be helpful.

Read our guide on treating vomit and nausea at home for more.

Complications or risks associated with nausea and vomiting

While serious complications from nausea and vomiting are not common, they can happen. Being aware of the signs and symptoms can help you take action sooner rather than later.

Dehydration

Several factors contribute to dehydration if you are experiencing nausea and vomiting. For one thing, you probably don’t feel like drinking if you’re nauseous. You may also be losing fluids due to vomiting and possibly diarrhea.

You may be dehydrated if you notice symptoms like:

• Intense thirst and dry mouth
• Dry or cracked lip
• Dark urine or decreased urine output
• Lightheadedness or dizziness
• Increased heart rate or heart palpitations (feeling like your heart is “skipping a beat”)

If you are experiencing these symptoms, it’s best to call your doctor to see which steps you should take next.

Esophageal tear

The esophagus is the tube that brings food from your mouth down through your chest and into the stomach. The muscles in your abdomen have to generate a lot of force when you need to vomit. Repeated exposure to this kind of force can tear the esophagus.

This kind of esophageal tearing can be incomplete (partial tear, known as Mallory-Weiss syndrome) or lead to full-blown rupture (known as Boerhaave syndrome). Both situations are critical and require emergency care. If you have been vomiting and notice blood in the vomit or are having chest pain, seek emergency care.

Aspiration

A serious but rare complication of vomiting is when the vomit doesn’t all leave through the mouth but enters the lungs via the trachea (windpipe). This is known as aspiration.

While it can happen in healthy patients, this more commonly occurs in patients who have neurological impairment such as a previous stroke or seizure or who are intoxicated. If you have been vomiting and start to cough, breathe rapidly, or run fevers, call your doctor. You may require emergency care depending on the severity of your symptoms.

When to see a doctor for nausea and vomiting

Nausea and vomiting can usually be safely observed at home for 24 hours. If you are unsure or have questions, call your doctor.

You should see a doctor if:

• Nausea and vomiting have lasted more than 24 hours.
• Your symptoms are not responding to home remedies.
• You cannot keep down water and have signs of dehydration.
• You have a fever (temperature greater than 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit)

You should go to the emergency room if:

• You notice blood in the vomit.
• You have chest pain after vomiting.
• You have a stiff neck, severe headache, confusion, lethargy, or rapid breathing.

For more on when to see a doctor, read our guide on when to see a doctor for vomiting.

Questions to ask your doctor about nausea and vomiting

• What is the cause of my nausea and vomiting symptoms?
• How long do you expect them to last?
• Is there anything I can do at home to treat these symptoms?
• Am I contagious? If so, how long do you think I’m contagious?

Diagnosis of nausea and vomiting

In many cases, your doctor can diagnose the cause of your nausea and vomiting after taking a history and examining you.

There are also situations where your doctor may want to check blood work, such as a blood count and electrolytes. They may want to check a pregnancy test as well.

Finally, your doctor may want an x-ray or even a CT scan of your abdomen. It all depends on what they suspect is causing your symptoms.

Frequently asked questions: nausea and vomiting

It’s normal to have questions about your symptoms. Here are some answers to commonly asked questions that might give you more guidance.

What is the main cause of vomiting?

Vomiting is caused by the stomach forcefully expelling its contents up through the esophagus and out of the mouth.

The list of what causes the stomach to do includes infection, inflammation, mechanical blockage, medications, pregnancy, and certain health disorders.

What is the medical term for vomiting?

The medical term for vomiting is “emesis.”

What are the stages of vomiting?

There are two stages of vomiting. First comes the pre-ejection or prodromal phase. In this stage, the patient feels nauseated and may experience excessive (or hyper-) salivation. The stomach muscles relax in preparation for the second phase, also known as the ejection phase.

At this point, the muscles of the abdomen and the diaphragm work together to push the stomach’s contents up through the esophagus and out of the mouth.

Why do you feel nauseous all the time but never throw up?

Persistent nausea without any vomiting can be due to numerous causes and should be discussed with your doctor.

Some possibilities include pregnancy, motion sickness, medication side effects, or various medical conditions such as thyroid disorders or inflammatory bowel disease.

Final thoughts on nausea and vomiting

Nausea and vomiting can be frustrating, but they’re usually not a sign of a serious health issue. Common causes of nausea and vomiting include infections like the stomach flu, food poisoning, motion sickness, medications, and pregnancy. Your symptoms will likely resolve on their own within a few days. However, nausea and vomiting that persist for more than a day or two may require medical attention. Usually, the causes can be treated simply, but it’s important to be evaluated.

General Medicine follows a strict editorial process, including using real experts to write our articles, vetted primary sources, fact-checking, a secondary medical review, and updates as necessary. This article was medically reviewed and fact checked by Dr. Lane Thaut, DO.

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