Nausea and vomiting

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Digestive system

You should also call if:

• A young child is lethargic or has marked irritability
• An infant is vomiting repeatedly
• A child is unable to retain any fluids for 8 hours or more
• The vomiting is recurrent
• An adult is unable to retain any fluids for 12 hours or more
• Nausea persists for a prolonged period of time (in a person who is not pregnant)

Your health care provider will perform a physical examination, particularly to look for signs of dehydration.

To help diagnose the cause of the nausea or vomiting, your doctor will ask medical history questions, such as:

• Are you vomiting fresh blood? Do you have repeated episodes of vomiting blood?
• Are you vomiting material that looks like coffee grounds?
• Are you vomiting undigested food?
• Are you vomiting greenish material?
• Is the nausea or vomiting severe enough to cause unintentional weight loss?
• Is the vomiting self-induced?
• Have you been traveling? Where?
• What medications do you take?
• Did other people that ate at the same location as you have the same symptoms?
• Are you pregnant or could you be pregnant?
• When did the vomiting begin? How long has it lasted?
• Does it occur several hours after meals?
• What other symptoms are also present -- abdominal pain, fever, diarrhea, poor skin turgor, other signs of dehydration, abdominal swelling, headaches?

The following diagnostic tests may be performed:

• Blood tests (such as CBC with differential and basic electrolytes)
• Urinalysis
• X-rays of the abdomen

If dehydration is severe, you may need intravenous fluids. This may require hospitalization, although it can often be done in the doctor's office. The use of antivomiting drugs (anti-emetics) is controversial, and they should be used only in severe cases.

Review Date: 10/27/2005
Reviewed By: Courtney W. Houchen, M.D., Division of Gastroenterology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.