Nausea

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Nausea

 

Nausea (Latin: Nausea, from Greek: Ναυτεία, "sea-sickness", also called wamble) is the sensation of unease and discomfort in the stomach with an urge to vomit.

 

 Causes

Nausea is also an adverse effect of many drugs, and may also be an effect of a large intake of sugary foods.

Nausea is not a sickness, but rather a symptom of several conditions, many of which are not related to the stomach. Nausea is often indicative of an underlying condition elsewhere in the body. Travel sickness, which is due to confusion between perceived movement and actual movement, is an example. The sense of equilibrium lies in the ear and works together with eyesight. When these two don't "agree" to what extent the body is actually moving the symptom is presented as nausea even though the stomach itself has nothing to do with the situation. The reason for the stomach's involvement is thought[by whom?] to be the brain concluding that one of the senses is hallucinating, and further conclude that this is due to poison ingestion. The brain then induces vomiting to clear the supposed toxin.

In medicine, nausea can be a problem during some chemotherapy regimens and following general anaesthesia. Nausea is also a common symptom of pregnancy, in which it is called "morning sickness." Mild nausea experienced during pregnancy can be normal, and should not be considered an immediate cause for alarm.

Other causes of nausea:

 

Treatment

While short-term nausea and vomiting are generally harmless, they may sometimes indicate a more serious condition, such as coeliac disease. When associated with prolonged vomiting, it may lead to dehydration and/or dangerous electrolyte imbalances.

Symptomatic treatment for nausea and vomiting may include short-term avoidance of solid food. This is usually easy as nausea is nearly always associated with loss of appetite. If the patient is dehydrated, rehydration with oral or intravenous electrolyte solutions may be required. If the cause of the nausea is motion sickness, then sitting down in a still environment may also help.

There are several types of antiemetics, and researchers continue to look for more effective treatments. The main types used post-operatively for surgical patients are ondansetron, dexamethasone, promethazine, diphenhydramine, and in small doses droperidol. Doxylamine is the drug of choice in pregnancy-related nausea. When ingested or inhaled, marijuana has been shown to reduce nausea in the majority of users.[1] Also available are a variety of non-invasive, but often untested, mechanical devices for suppressing nausea due to motion sickness.

The spices

ginger

and

peppermint

have also been used for centuries as a folk remedy to treat nausea, and recent research has supported this use.

 

 

 

 

Efficacy of Alternative and Other Treatments According to GRADE* Ranking:

Peppermint Oil [1, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24]:

Please note, this management does NOT treat the condition itself. It may mildly help with some of the symptoms, and even then has insufficient evidence to back up this claim at present.

Recommendation: Weakly in favor (Early clinical trials have shown that Peppermint may help in the treatment of nausea, but more research is needed)

Grade of Evidence: low of evidence

Cannabis (Marijuana, weed, hemp) [1, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18]:

Please note, this management does NOT treat the condition itself. It may mildly help with some of the symptoms, and even then has insufficient evidence to back up this claim at present.

Recommendation: Weakly in favor (Evidence shows that smoking or ingesting cannabis may help in relieving symptoms of nausea, although some studies have yielded mixed results)

Grade of Evidence: low quality of evidence

Ginger  [1, 6, 7, 8]:

Please note, this management does NOT treat the condition itself. It may mildly help with some of the symptoms, and even then has insufficient evidence to back up this claim at present.

Recommendation: no recommendation (Research regarding claims that ginger helps treat nausea has yielded mixed results)

Grade of Evidence: low quality of evidence

Cloves (Caryophyllum Aromaticum, Eugenia Caryophyllata) [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]:

Please note, this management does NOT treat the condition itself. It may mildly help with some of the symptoms, and even then has insufficient evidence to back up this claim at present.

Recommendation: no recommendation  (There is insufficient evidence to support claims that Cloves help to treat nausea in any way)

Grade of Evidence: very low quality of evidence

Therapeutic Touch:

Please note, this management does NOT treat the condition itself. It may mildly help with some of the symptoms, and even then has insufficient evidence to back up this claim at present.

Recommendation: no recommendation (no reliable research shows evidence of helping to ease symptoms of nausea)

Grade of Evidence: very low quality of evidence

Reiki:

Please note, this management does NOT treat the condition itself. It may mildly help with some of the symptoms, and even then has insufficient evidence to back up this claim at present.

Recommendation: no recommendation (Research shows that at least some patients have reduced nausea after treatment with Reiki, although results were ambiguous)

Grade of Evidence: very low quality of evidence

Acupuncture:

Recommendation: weakly in favor(recent early evidence shows that Acupuncture may at least mildy help reduce symptoms of nausea)

Grade of Evidence: low quality of evidence

Aromatherapy:

Recommendation: weakly in favor (Early clinical trials suggest that Aroma therapy helps patients cope with nausea)

Grade of Evidence: low quality of evidence

Hypnosis:

Recommendation: strongly in favor  (Research has shown that hypnosis helps reduce anticipatory nausea)

Grade of Evidence: low quality of evidence

Image Therapy:

Recommendation: strongly in favor (Research has shown that image therapy helps reduce anticipatory nausea)

Grade of Evidence: low quality of evidence

Music Therapy:

Recommendation: strongly in favor (Research has shown that music therapy does indeed help reduce symptoms of nausea)

Grade of Evidence: moderate quality of evidence

Bitter Orange [24]:

Please note, Bitter Orange has been associated with fainting, heart-rhythm disorders, heart attack, stroke and death.

Recommendation: Strongly against (harmful if taken excessively)

Grade of evidence: No evidence

* www.gradeworkinggroup.org

 

 


Summary References

Treatments:

1. Ades T, Alteri R, Gansler T, Yeargin P, "Complete Guide to Complimentary & Alternative Cancer Therapies", American Cancer Society, Atlanta USA, 2009

2. Balch, Phyllis and Balch, James. Prescription for Nutritional Healing, 3rd ed., Avery Publishing, ©2000, pg. 94.

3. Chinese Herbal Medicine: Materia Medica, Third Edition by Dan Bensky, Steven Clavey, Erich Stoger, and Andrew Gamble 2004

4. http://www.cancer.org/Treatment/TreatmentsandSideEffects/ComplementaryandAlternativeMedicine/HerbsVitaminsandMinerals/cloves

5. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/patient-clove.html

6. http://www.cancer.org/Treatment/TreatmentsandSideEffects/ComplementaryandAlternativeMedicine/HerbsVitaminsandMinerals/ginger

7. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/patient-ginger.html

8. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10793599

9. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/marijuana.html

10. http://nccam.nih.gov/research/extramural/awards/2004/

11. http://www.cancer.org/Treatment/TreatmentsandSideEffects/ComplementaryandAlternativeMedicine/HerbsVitaminsandMinerals/marijuana

12. http://www.nationalmssociety.org/about-multiple-sclerosis/what-we-know-about-ms/treatments/complementary--alternative-medicine/marijuana/index.aspx

13. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16957511

14. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12965981

15. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17589370

16. http://mct.aacrjournals.org/content/6/11/2921.long

17. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2562334/?tool=pmcentrez 

18. http://www.cancer.org/Treatment/TreatmentsandSideEffects/ComplementaryandAlternativeMedicine/HerbsVitaminsandMinerals/peppermint

19. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17420159

20. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19507027

21. http://www.medicine.ox.ac.uk/bandolier/booth/alternat/AT022.html

22. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/patient-peppermint.html

23. http://nccam.nih.gov/health/peppermintoil/index.htm

24. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitter_orange






 

 

 

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