Can morning sickness be just nausea
Morning sickness | Pregnancy Birth and Baby
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Morning sickness is a feeling of nausea or the experience of vomiting during pregnancy, most commonly during the first trimester. Despite its name, morning sickness can happen at any time of the day or night. While most pregnant women experience morning sickness at some point, for many women, it will pass by the second trimester.
Why do pregnant women get morning sickness?
Although the exact cause of morning sickness is unknown, it is associated with hormonal changes that occur during pregnancy.
An imbalance of dietary potassium and magnesium, low blood sugar and low levels of vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) are all known causes of nausea. Following a diet that includes whole foods with a wide range of vitamins and minerals will help you stay healthy and well during your pregnancy.
Why does it affect some women more than others?
Some women are more likely to feel nauseous during pregnancy than others. While morning sickness is hard to predict, women who have experienced morning sickness in a previous pregnancy are more likely to have it again.
How long does morning sickness last?
You are more likely to feel morning sickness between 6 and 14 weeks of pregnancy, during your first trimester. While it is commonly known as ‘morning’ sickness, it may last throughout the day or night.
It is unusual to experience morning sickness for the first time after week 10 of pregnancy, so if this happens to you, consult your doctor to rule out other health conditions and to give you peace of mind.
How can I relieve morning sickness?
To relieve morning sickness, consider:
- eating smaller meals more often (include morning and afternoon snacks between main meals)
- eating a plain cracker shortly after waking up
- drinking water before and after a meal, rather than with food
- aiming to drink 8 glasses of water a day
- avoiding spicy or fatty foods
- eating protein-rich foods (such as nuts or cheese)
- avoiding skipping meals
Soda (or carbonated) water and ginger/peppermint tea are also known to help relieve nausea and settle an upset stomach.
Some women become more sensitive to strong food smells while pregnant. If certain smells bother you, consider asking for help preparing your food. You can also increase ventilation in your kitchen while cooking by opening windows to get rid of cooking smells. Cold foods produce less odour than hot foods, so you may find these more appetising.
Nausea may feel worse when you are over-tired, and taking rest or nap breaks frequently throughout the day may help. Other suggestions include:
- deep breathing or relaxation exercises
- anti-nausea wristbands (available at most chemists)
- acupuncture treatments (but only when administered by a qualified practitioner trained in maternal care)
Be sure to check with your doctor before you take any supplement, prescription or over-the-counter medicine, especially while pregnant.
Is morning sickness harmful for my baby?
Even though morning sickness can be unpleasant and distressing, there is no research to suggest that it causes harm to your baby.
Nausea may, however, influence your food choices. Both you and your baby need an ongoing source of a range of nutrients in the foods you eat. Speak with a health professional if you think that your morning sickness is getting in the way of healthy eating.
It is also important to prevent dehydration, so if you are vomiting and unable to keep fluids down, see your doctor immediately.
What do I do if my morning sickness is severe?
When morning sickness is severe, it is known as hyperemesis gravidarum. A pregnant woman who experiences severe vomiting for an extended period of time may need monitoring and treatment in hospital. An intravenous (IV) drip is inserted to replace essential salts and fluids and prevent dehydration. If you are vomiting whenever you eat or drink, consult a health care professional, since early treatment can protect you and your baby from health complications.
When should I see my doctor about morning sickness?
If nausea or vomiting is causing significant discomfort, or if you suspect that you have hyperemesis gravidarum, you should see your doctor.
Other signs you need to see a doctor include:
- very dark urine
- blood in vomit
- extreme fatigue
- dramatic weight loss
- dehydration due to inability to keep fluids down
CHECK YOUR SYMPTOMS — Use the Pregnancy problems Symptom Checker and find out if you need to seek medical help.
In some cases, a doctor may advise a home remedy. In other cases, they may refer you to another healthcare professional, such as a dietitian — to help you create a healthy and enjoyable meal plan — or to a specialist for further tests. Your doctor may prescribe you with medicine to ease your symptoms, such as an antiemetic (to prevent vomiting), or vitamin and mineral supplements.
If your symptoms persist after treatment, it is a good idea to return to your doctor for another consultation — there may be another approach you can try.
Speak to a maternal child health nurse
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Sources:
The Royal Hospital for Women (Nausea and vomiting of pregnancy), Royal Women's Hospital Victoria (Common concerns in early pregnancy - itching and skin), HealthyWA (Morning Sickness), The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (Managing nausea and vomiting in pregnancy in a primary care setting), Department of Health (Clinical practice guidelines: Pregnancy care), Mater Mothers’ Hospital (Morning sickness and hyperemesis)Learn more here about the development and quality assurance of healthdirect content.
Last reviewed: September 2021
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Related pages
- Severe vomiting during pregnancy (hyperemesis gravidarum)
- Having a healthy pregnancy
- Healthy diet during pregnancy
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Morning sickness - MyDr.
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Morning sickness | March of Dimes
Morning sickness is when you have nausea and vomiting during pregnancy.
Even though it’s called morning sickness, it can happen any time of day.Morning sickness usually starts at about 6 weeks of pregnancy and goes away in the second trimester.
Lots of pregnant women have morning sickness. It usually doesn’t cause harm to you or your baby.
Hyperemesis gravidarum is severe nausea and vomiting that needs treatment (sometimes in a hospital) to help you get better.
If your morning sickness is severe or if it goes into your fourth month of pregnancy, tell your health care provider right away.
What is morning sickness?
Morning sickness (also called nausea and vomiting of pregnancy) is nausea (feeling sick to your stomach) and vomiting that happens in the first few months of pregnancy. Even though it's called morning sickness, it can last all day and happen any time of day.
At least 7 in 10 pregnant women have morning sickness in the first trimester (first 3 months) of pregnancy.
It usually starts at about 6 weeks of pregnancy and is at its worst at about 9 weeks. Most women feel better in their second trimester, but some have morning sickness throughout pregnancy. If you have morning sickness, tell your health care provider.
Mild morning sickness doesn’t harm you or your baby. But if nausea and vomiting becomes severe (called hyperemesis gravidarum), it can cause serious problems during pregnancy. You may need to stay in the hospital for treatment.
What is hyperemesis gravidarum?
About 3 in 100 women may have hyperemesis gravidarum. This is extreme, excessive nausea and vomiting during pregnancy. It can cause you to lose weight and become dehydrated (not have enough water in your body). It can start early in pregnancy and last the entire pregnancy. If you have hyperemesis gravidarum, you need treatment to help keep you and your baby safe.
You may be at risk for hyperemesis gravidarum if you:
- Are pregnant for the first time.
- Are pregnant with a girl.
- Are pregnant with multiples (twins, triplets or more). Being pregnant with more than one baby may increase your risk for severe morning sickness because you may have a large placenta and increased pregnancy hormones. The placenta grows in your uterus (womb) and supplies your babies with food and oxygen through the umbilical cord.
- Had mild or severe morning sickness in a previous pregnancy, or your mother or sister had severe morning sickness during pregnancy. Take your family health history to help you find out about health conditions that run in your family.
- Have motion sickness or migraines. A migraine is a severe headache that may make you sensitive to bright lights and sound.
- Are overweight.
- Have trophoblastic disease, a condition that leads to abnormal cell growth in the uterus (womb).
Signs and symptoms of hyperemesis gravidarum include:
- Vomiting more than 3 to 4 times a day
- Vomiting that makes you dizzy or lightheaded
- Vomiting that makes you dehydrated.
Signs and symptoms of dehydration include feeling thirsty, dry mouth, a fast heart beat or making little to no urine. - Losing more than 10 pounds in pregnancy
If you have hyperemesis gravidarum, your provider may treat you with medicine to help relieve your nausea and vomiting. You may need treatment in a hospital with intravenous (also called IV) fluids. IV fluids go through a needle into your vein. They help you stay hydrated and can give you nutrients that you usually get from food. If you continue to lose weight, you may need a feeding tube to make sure you’re getting enough nutrients for you and your baby.
What causes morning sickness?
We don’t know for sure what causes morning sickness. It may be caused by low blood sugar or increased pregnancy hormones. Morning sickness may be worse if you’re stressed or overly tired, if you eat certain foods or if you’re traveling (if you often have motion sickness).
Can you prevent or relieve morning sickness?
Yes.
Here’s what you can do to help you feel better and even prevent morning sickness:
- Take a prenatal vitamin before you get pregnant. Talk to your health care provider about which one to take. Sometimes vitamins can upset your stomach, so take it with a snack.
- Keep snacks by your bed. Eat a few crackers before you get up in the morning to help settle your stomach.
- Eat 5 or 6 small meals each day instead of 3 larger meals.
- Eat foods that are low in fat and easy to digest, like cereal, rice and bananas. Don’t eat spicy or fatty foods.
- Eat healthy snacks between meals. This can help keep your stomach from being empty and helps prevent nausea. Try snacks that are high in protein, like milk or yogurt.
- Drink plenty of fluids, especially water.
- Avoid smells that upset your stomach.
You may have heard about these ways to prevent or relieve morning sickness. Talk to your provider before trying any of these:
- Acupressure and acustimulation (also called electrical nerve stimulation) wristbands.
These involve putting pressure on or stimulating certain points of the body (called pressure points) to help prevent nausea. - Acupuncture. This is a kind of treatment in which thin needles are put into your skin. If you’re thinking about acupuncture to help with morning sickness, tell your provider and find an acupuncturist who is trained to work with pregnant women.
- Ginger. Ginger is an herb (plant) used in cooking and medicine. Ginger ale, tea or candies may help relieve morning sickness.
Even if it’s legal where you live for either personal or medical use, it’s not safe to use marijuana to treat morning sickness. No amount of marijuana has been proven safe to use during pregnancy. If you’re thinking of using marijuana to help with morning sickness, talk to your provider about other treatments that are safer for your baby.
Is there medical treatment for morning sickness?
Yes. If you can’t relieve morning sickness on your own or if you have severe nausea and vomiting of pregnancy, your provider may treat you with these medicines:
- Vitamin B6 and doxylamine.
Your provider may treat you with these medicines separately or together. You can get vitamin B6 and doxylamine over-the-counter (OTC), which means you don’t need a prescription for them from your provider. Doxylamine is found in some OTC sleep aids (medicines that help you sleep). Or your provider may prescribe you a medicine that combines them. - Antiemetic drugs. These are drugs that help prevent vomiting. If Vitamin B6 and doxylamine don’t work, your provider may prescribe an antiemetic drug for you. Not all are safe to use during pregnancy, so talk to your provider to make sure the medicine is a good choice for you.
Talk to your provider before you take any medicine during pregnancy, even medicine to help treat morning sickness.
When should you call your health care provider about morning sickness?
For most women, morning sickness is mild and goes away over time. But call your provider if:
- Your morning sickness continues into your 4th month of pregnancy.
- You lose more than 2 pounds.
- Your vomit is brown in color or has blood in it. If so, call your provider right away.
- You vomit more than 3 times a day and can’t keep food or fluids down.
- Your heart beats faster than usual.
- You’re tired or confused.
- You’re making much less urine than usual or no urine at all.
Last reviewed: September, 2020
Nausea in the morning | why you feel sick, causes and symptoms, what to do
What is nausea? This is an unpleasant sensation of discomfort in the upper abdomen, mouth and esophagus. Often, a person may experience a feeling of vomiting. There are severe and mild symptoms, which, moreover, are accompanied by a feeling of weakness, sweating, a decrease in blood pressure and a feeling of coldness in the extremities. Such symptoms can be encountered while traveling in a car, during pregnancy, due to poisoning, etc. But, if nausea in the morning is prolonged, then this can cause serious problems in the body.
With regular nausea in the morning, you should immediately consult a doctor for advice and diagnosis.
Contents
- Causes of morning sickness
- Which doctor to contact
- What to do if you feel sick in the morning
Causes of morning sickness
Morning sickness can be caused by nighttime reflux of bile into the esophagus (gastroesophageal reflux). This symptom usually appears after eating and does not cause any discomfort, which is why the body uses compensatory antireflux mechanisms to suppress it. A sufficiently long morning sickness may indicate a possible gastroesophageal reflux disease or various diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, which may be associated with pathologies of such systems as the digestive, nervous, endocrine, cardiovascular and reproductive systems. Nausea can even after eating heavy or fatty foods, overeating, as well as eating disorders that may be associated with anorexia or bulimia.
Consider the most common diseases that can cause morning sickness:
- Appendicitis . Appendicitis is severe pain in the right side, accompanied by nausea.
- Gastric ulcer . An ulcer is accompanied by pain in the chest and / or side, bad breath, nausea, vomiting, heartburn, increased flatulence, stool instability.
- Gastritis . Gastritis is one of the most common acute diseases that cause inflammation in the duodenum. In addition to nausea, other unpleasant symptoms appear: burning, heartburn, bloating during and after eating.
- Cholecystitis . Inflammation of the gallbladder, accompanied by morning sickness, as well as pain in the right hypochondrium and strong gas formation.
- Colitis . Colitis is an inflammatory disease of the colon mucosa, which is characterized by nausea, abdominal pain, flatulence, mucus and blood streaks in the stool.
- Enteritis .
This is an inflammatory lesion of the mucous membrane of the small intestine. It is characterized by the following symptoms: diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain. - Pancreatitis . This is an inflammation of the pancreas that is characterized by morning sickness after eating fatty/fried foods, as well as problems with stools and a bitter taste in the mouth.
- Peritonitis . Gradual subsidence of abdominal pain as the general condition of the patient worsens. In severe cases, there may be an increase in multiple organ failure.
- Irritable stomach syndrome . The disease is mainly associated with a periodic increase in the production of hydrochloric acid, which is the result of stress, nutritional error and irregular nutrition. Symptoms of functional indigestion are often found in young people.
- Giardiasis. It is characterized by heaviness and pain in the epigastrium, right hypochondrium, belching, instability of the stool with a tendency to diarrhea.
- Toxoplasmosis. With this disease, the polymorphism of the clinical picture is distinguished with the involvement of many systems and organs.
- Erosion of the esophagus. Leakage of aggressive stomach contents into the lower parts of the esophagus in a horizontal position, also combined with sour eructation, burning behind the sternum.
- Endogenous intoxication. Irritation by toxic substances of the trigger zone in the region of the fourth ventricle of the brain. Unpleasant sensations are created against the background of a general serious condition.
Also, some causes of morning sickness can be:
- Pregnancy. Often it can be accompanied by nausea, intoxication (in most cases at an early stage). Nausea during pregnancy is a normal condition and reaction of the female body. It is not recommended to use various medicines for the treatment of the digestive tract. It is better to consult with your doctor about this.
- Toxic substances (poisoning, infections).
- Migraine. Migraines are characterized by nausea, headache, increased sensitivity to smells and noise.
- Some medications and their side effects.
- Diseases of the inner ear.
- Endocrine disorders.
- Head trauma and post-traumatic syndromes.
- Viruses, bacteria and parasites.
- Hypertension (hypertensive crisis). It is characterized by high blood pressure, which entails a feeling of nausea, dizziness and headache.
- Cardiovascular diseases (myocardial infarction, heart failure, etc.).
- Intracranial increased pressure.
Which doctor to contact
Morning sickness occurs for various reasons, which can be serious diseases. If nausea does not go away on the second, third day and the condition does not improve, you should immediately seek help from a doctor. It is recommended to visit a general practitioner, a gastroenterologist and, in some cases, a proctologist, a gynecologist at the clinic.
In the medical center "DNA Clinic" in Dubna, doctors have extensive experience and will be able to conduct a competent diagnosis of the patient and send him for the necessary tests, after receiving the results of which they will establish a diagnosis and prescribe a course of treatment. You can book online or by phone!
What to do if you feel sick in the morning
It is extremely important to understand that regular morning sickness indicates the presence of pathologies or diseases and it is highly undesirable to self-medicate. It is necessary to see a doctor for an examination, however, if you do not have such an opportunity at the moment, then there are several effective ways that can help reduce or get rid of this problem for a while:
- Medications. You need to be very careful and make sure that morning sickness is not the cause of pregnancy or bowel disease.
- Eliminate fatty and heavy foods from the diet and try to eat small meals several times a day.
- Make medicinal drinks from ginger root, mint and lemon. To make an infusion of these funds, you just need to add them to a glass and pour boiling water, and after 15 minutes you will have a very effective and safe (in the absence of any allergy) remedy for morning sickness.
- During pregnancy, it is better for women to drink more fluids. But it is best to consult with a specialist!
You can sign up for a consultation with our doctors at the DNA Clinic medical center in Dubna, or ask any questions that interest you by phone, in the feedback form or by mail. Be healthy!
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Why does one feel sick in the morning on an empty stomach
Nausea in the morning on an empty stomach is most often experienced by pregnant women due to intoxication, but it is not uncommon for this problem to occur in males or even children
Do not worry too much if you have encountered such a problem once, it is likely that this is a banal poisoning.
But, if nausea in the morning on an empty stomach does not go away, you should immediately consult a doctor. Some people are used to dealing with this problem with folk remedies and medicines and they really get better, but it is worth considering that most likely the disease or pathology itself continues to develop. And as a result, it will turn into a more serious form. That is why it is so important to consult a doctor who will find out the cause of morning sickness and prescribe the most effective treatment.
Possible diseases
Most often, morning sickness on an empty stomach may indicate the presence of the following diseases: unpleasant symptoms. This is due to inflammatory processes in the duodenum 12. The patient can also be tormented by: burning, bloating during and after eating, heartburn.
Other causes of nausea in the morning
After excluding the above diseases from the list of causes, the following causes can be considered:
- Pregnancy. Intoxication and nausea in the morning is often found in pregnant women, especially in the early stages. This is a normal reaction of the body to significant changes and hormonal changes. It is very important to completely exclude drugs for the treatment of the digestive tract during pregnancy. These funds can have an extremely negative impact on the health of the patient, the unborn child and the course of pregnancy. Therefore, you will have to endure this ailment and get by with folk remedies, but be sure to consult your doctor.
- Migraine. Morning sickness on an empty stomach may precede a severe headache. You will most likely still feel a lot of noise and increased sensitivity to smells.
- High blood pressure (hypertension). The problem of morning sickness can be accompanied by headache and dizziness. If you do not pay attention to these symptoms in a timely manner, you risk starting this disease, which in turn can lead to a stroke.
- Cardiovascular disease - rarely, nausea on an empty stomach occurs with heart failure or developing myocardial infarction. If nausea is accompanied by pain, a feeling of heaviness and tightness behind the sternum, numbness or tingling in one half of the body, it is necessary to seek medical help as soon as possible, as this may be an incipient myocardial infarction.
- Increased intracranial pressure - Nausea and regurgitation in infants can occur with increased pressure inside the ventricles of the brain.
What to do if you feel sick in the morning
It is important to understand that regular morning sickness is a signal of the presence of a pathology or disease and it is highly undesirable to self-medicate.
Be sure to consult a doctor for an examination, but if you don’t have such an opportunity at the moment, there are several effective ways that will help reduce or temporarily get rid of this problem:
- Medicines. You need to be very careful and you must be sure that morning sickness is not the cause of pregnancy or an intestinal disease.
- Ginger root, mint and lemon drinks. You can make infusions of these products for maximum effect, simply by adding them to a glass and boiling water, after 15 minutes you will have a very effective and safe (in the absence of allergies) remedy for morning sickness. YOU can also just add them to hot tea.
- Medicinal collection - if nausea relentlessly torments you in the morning, you can try a collection of mint, oak bark and celandine. To prepare the drink, take 1 tsp of mint leaves, dried oak bark and chopped celandine, pour 0.5 l of boiling water and boil in a water bath for 10 minutes. After the broth is cooled and filtered, take 1 tablespoon 3-5 times a day before meals.
