Nausea and vomiting are very inconvenient. They cause discomfort and can lead to exacerbation of your condition. This is not an illness in itself but a symptom of an underlying condition.
It is classified as your body’s defensive action. It is a way for your body to inhibit digestion of toxic or foreign substances. Nausea is the uneasiness of your stomach that usually comes right before vomiting.
In some cases, your nausea can last for hours only serving to make you feel sick and irritated.
Multiple Possibilities of Underlying Conditions
Emesis could be caused by a myriad of conditions from pregnancy to brain injury to other serious conditions like meningitis. In some cases, it might be easy to decode the reason behind nausea by determining the age of the patient and timing of the nausea.
For example, if you experience nausea within eight hours of a meal, you could have a bout of food poisoning. This is especially true if it only lasts for twenty-four hours when your food is completely extricated from your body.
Act Quickly
This symptom should not be taken lightly. Investigation must be done to determine the underlying cause and steps taken to combat your symptom.
If left unaided, you could develop severe dehydration. Since the vomiting is forceful, it might also cause a tear on the lining of your esophagus (Mallory-Weiss Tear). In some cases, your esophagus will rupture (Boerhaave’s Syndrome).
These are both fatal conditions.
Panic If…
If your vomiting lasts for more than twenty-four hours and there are obvious signs of dehydration, your doctor must be consulted immediately.
In this case, you probably will have tried every home remedy in the book and you are not pregnant or have not suffered a recent head injury.
If you are pregnant, some ginger crackers should do it but in some severe cases, medical attention is necessary. In the case of head injury, vomiting is a sure sign of a concussion. It should be taken seriously, as this can very quickly turn awry.
There might be bright red spots or coffee ground looking bits in your vomit. This means that there is bleeding somewhere on the emesis pathway. Internal bleeding is not a matter to shrug at.
A doctor is also necessary if a headache or stiff neck accompanies your nausea and vomiting. This is in addition to lethargy, confusion, and decreased alertness. This last batch could just be a result of feeling sick but it’s better to be safe than sorry.
If diarrhea accompanies your vomiting, it increases your chances of severe dehydration. Steps should be taken to ensure re-hydration is addressed.
Abdominal and erratic breathing are also danger signs. They indicate a problem in your gastrointestinal tract.
Freedom from CINV by Using CBD
Chemotherapy Induced Nausea and Vomiting (CINV) has been the subject of most research studies. This is in a bid to make the treatment course for cancer patients more tolerable. Within six hours after a chemo session, some patients experience excruciating heart wrenching vomiting.
In 1985, the FDA approved cannabinoid based therapies for CINV. This was meant to take away the stigma of using cannabis for relief from chemotherapy side effects.
Some clinical trials since then have proved the superiority of cannabinoids for treatment of these side effects over the traditional dopamine receptor antagonist medications. Cannabinoids have been found to break the serotonin –dopamine interaction in CINV thus triggering anti-emetic effects.
Work of the Endocannabinoid Receptors
Since then, the science community has tried to prove efficacy of cannabis in the treatment of emesis induced by other conditions. There are endocannabinoid receptors along your emetic reflex pathways. There are also receptors in your brainstem. The Dorsal Vagal Complex is found in your brain stem.
This DVC is responsible for the regulation of emesis. When the receptors are activated, anti-emetic responses are triggered.
In 2012, a rat study was published in the British Journal of Pharmacology. The researched induced nausea by way of nicotine. It was found that Cannabidiol (CBD) eased the nausea and even prevented the subsequent vomiting. There have been other animal studies that have proved the efficacy of CBD in low doses against induced and anticipatory vomiting.
CBD Edibles: Eat Your Way to Relief
For pregnancy, it is best to use edibles. The same applies to motion sickness and stress related nausea. Edibles are covered by everything from brownies to tea to CBD infused full course meals.
While CBD is effective on its own, involving some other natural herbs could only work to enhance the benefits. Ginger, chamomile, spearmint, and peppermint relax the muscles in your gastric lining and colon. The effect combats the vomiting and the nausea.
You must be careful with the amount of CBD you put into your edible. The dosage for making edibles can be quite confusing but the internet offers some platforms where you can calculate the appropriate dosage with a view to tolerance and purpose of use.
All beginners must start from the lowest possible dose with only a batch or two. If you do decide to purchase pre-made edibles, make sure you are purchasing from a reputable company that uses quality ingredients without any fillers.
While some THC does not hurt, it should not be forced down your throat. Remember that using edibles is best for anticipatory vomiting because it takes some time effect.
CBD Oil
CBD oil is also a viable option to combat nausea regardless of cause. In the case of illness that also brings along some pain, you can use the oil orally by spraying it into your mouth.
There is also a sublingual option is the quickest, you just drop the oil under your tongue and hold it there for a few minutes before swallowing so that it can be absorbed into your blood stream.
The third option is to use it topically in a lotion or salve to provide quick localized relief as you await the verdict.
Science Backed and Certain Therapy
The efficacy of CBD and other cannabis cannabinoids to treat nausea is pretty clean cut. It’s a yes, cannabis is effective. Depending on your method of consumption, your nausea will be kept at bay for as long as necessary or desired.
The writing is on the wall. Even the FDA agreed way back in the 80s.
