Other causes of morning sickness

Pregnancy, 22 Other Causes & More

Anyone can wake up feeling nauseated.

Pregnancy

Nausea and vomiting are among the earliest symptoms of pregnancy. These symptoms are most likely to appear around week 6, but they can occur earlier. They usually go away between weeks 16 and 20.

Although it’s called morning sickness, this symptom can occur at any time of day. Some pregnant people experience ongoing nausea throughout the day.

Fatigue or sleep issues

Jet lag, insomnia, or an early alarm can disrupt your sleep-wake cycle. These changes in your regular sleeping pattern shift your body’s neuroendocrine response, which can sometimes lead to nausea.

Inner ear infection

The vestibular system in your inner ear helps your body stay balanced. When you have an infection in your inner ear, it can make you feel unbalanced and dizzy, which can cause nausea and vomiting.

Hunger or low blood sugar

If the last time you ate was at dinner, 12 or more hours may have passed by the time you wake up in the morning. A low level of glucose in your blood can leave you feeling dizzy, weak, or nauseous. Skipping breakfast — especially if you usually eat breakfast — may make it worse.

Acid reflux

Acid reflux occurs when the entrance to the stomach doesn’t close properly after you eat or drink, letting stomach acid escape into the esophagus and throat. The sour taste, along with other symptoms such as burping or coughing, can leave you feeling nauseated.

Acid reflux can be worse in the morning, even if it’s been hours since you last ate. This might be because you’re in a reclined position and swallow less when you’re sleeping.

Sinus congestion or postnasal drip

Sinus congestion puts pressure on your inner ear, which can lead to an upset stomach and nausea. It can also cause dizziness, which can result in nausea and vomiting.

Anxiety

We often feel emotions such as stress, excitement, and anxiety in our gut.

Nausea in the morning might be related to a stressful event, such as an upcoming important meeting. In other cases, it’s caused by chronic or ongoing sources of stress or anxiety.

Learn more about the connection between nausea and anxiety.

Hangover

If you had a lot of alcohol to drink the previous night, your nausea might be the result of a hangover. A number of the effects of alcohol are associated with nausea, including low blood sugar and dehydration.

Diet

Nausea in the morning could be related to something you ate at breakfast. A mild food allergy or intolerance can cause nausea. In other cases, eating too much will leave you feeling nauseated.

Gastroparesis

Gastroparesis is a condition in which the muscles in the wall of your stomach slow down or stop. As a result, food doesn’t move from your stomach to your intestine. Nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and delayed gastric emptying are common symptoms.

Gallstones

Gallstones form in your gallbladder when substances, such as cholesterol, harden. When gallstones get stuck in the bile duct that connects the gallbladder and intestine, it can be very painful. Nausea and vomiting often occur along with the pain.

Pain medication

Opioids are a class of drugs used to treat moderate to severe pain. A side effect of most of these drugs is nausea and vomiting.

Chemotherapy

Nausea and vomiting are well-documented side effects of some chemotherapy drugs. The drugs activate the part of your brain that controls nausea and vomiting. Sometimes the drugs also affect cells in the lining of your stomach, which can cause nausea and vomiting.

If you’ve already had nausea and vomiting from receiving chemotherapy, just the sights and smells that remind you of it can trigger nausea and vomiting.

Brain injury or concussion

Brain injuries and concussions can cause swelling in your brain. This increases the pressure in your skull, which can activate the place in your brain that regulates nausea and vomiting. Vomiting after experiencing head trauma indicates your head injury is significant and you should seek immediate medical attention.

Food poisoning

When you eat or drink something contaminated, your body works quickly to get rid of it. If you have food poisoning, you might experience nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea along with an upset stomach or abdominal cramps.

If you’re experiencing nausea in the morning, the culprit could be something you ate the previous night.

Gastroenteritis

Gastroenteritis isn’t the same as food poisoning, though it causes similar symptoms. This infection is caused by viruses, bacteria, or parasites. It’s transferred from person to person via contaminated feces, food, or drinking water.

Diabetic ketoacidosis

Diabetic ketoacidosis is a serious complication of diabetes. It can occur when insulin scarcity forces the body to start breaking down fats instead of carbs to use as fuel.

This process results in a buildup of ketones in the bloodstream. Too many ketones can cause symptoms such as nausea, confusion, and extreme thirst. Seek emergency medical assistance right away if this happens.

Peptic ulcer

Peptic ulcers are sores that affect the inner lining of the stomach and intestines. They typically cause stomach pain, but they can also cause nausea and vomiting.

Constipation

Constipation can cause nausea. When digested matter is backed up in your colon, it slows down the function of your entire gastrointestinal system, leading to nausea.

Motion sickness

Motion sickness happens when your brain gets mixed signals about your movement.

For example, when you ride in a car, your eyes and your ears tell your brain that you’re moving but the area in your inner ear that helps you stay balanced, and your muscles, tell your brain that you aren’t moving. The mixed signals can cause nausea, vomiting, and dizziness.

This happens most often in children and people who are pregnant.

Treatment for morning nausea depends on its cause.

Nausea due to pregnancy

People who experience morning sickness during the first trimester of pregnancy can try adapting their diet, increasing their fluid intake, and taking an antacid. When nausea and vomiting are severe, your doctor might prescribe a histamine blocker or proton pump inhibitor.

Nausea due to diet or lifestyle

When nausea in the morning is caused by your diet or lifestyle, following the advice below may help:

Limit alcohol consumption.
Eat something small right after you wake up.
Stick to a regular sleep schedule.
Avoid having a big meal right before bed.
Avoid having fatty foods before bed.
Use relaxation techniques to deal with stress.

Nausea due to medication

If you’re taking prescription medication that’s making you nauseated, talk to your doctor. They might suggest another type of medication or prescribe an anti-nausea drug to help you cope.

Nausea due to gastrointestinal issues or ear infection

If your morning nausea is the result of an underlying gastrointestinal issue or ear infection, seeking treatment for the issue will usually help relieve nausea and related symptoms.

Nausea due to motion sickness

If motion sickness is causing your nausea, sitting where you can get the smoothest ride and looking out into the distance can help. Anti-nausea pills or patches may also help.

See a doctor if morning nausea is disrupting your everyday activities and you’ve already ruled out pregnancy as a cause.

Most of the time, nausea in the morning isn’t a cause for concern. However, ongoing or severe nausea could be a sign of a serious condition.

What causes nausea in the morning, aside from pregnancy?

Pregnancy is perhaps the best-known cause of morning sickness, but there are many other causes. These include low blood sugar and dehydration. Many people experience nausea in the morning. Sometimes, it is only a temporary problem, but morning nausea can also be a chronic condition.

Many conditions, ranging from benign to very serious, may cause morning nausea. If symptoms do not improve within a few days, consider seeing a doctor.

Some medications can cause nausea. If a person feels nauseous after taking medication, they should talk to their doctor about it.

Morning nausea is not usually an emergency, unless it is accompanied by other serious symptoms.

In this article, we discuss some of the reasons, aside from pregnancy, a person may experience nausea in the morning.

Share on PinterestAnxiety may make a person feel nauseous in the morning.

Mornings can be times of high anxiety. A person may feel overwhelmed as they consider the day ahead. Some people with anxiety disorders experience nausea when they feel anxious.

Nausea can make anxiety worse, especially for people who fear vomiting or who have anxiety about their health. This can begin a cycle of progressively worsening anxiety-related nausea.

Some strategies can help with anxiety-related nausea. Meditation may help some people calm their anxious mind. Therapy and anti-anxiety medications can also be helpful. For anxiety about having a rushed morning, waking earlier and putting into place a reliable morning routine may help.

Low blood sugar can cause nausea, as well as symptoms such as dizziness, shaking, confusing, and even fainting. In the morning, hunger often causes low blood sugar, so eating a meal may help.

People with diabetes may develop low blood sugar due to the medications they have to take. After several hours without a meal, blood sugar can drop to very low levels for people with diabetes who are taking medication.

People can try eating a meal immediately after waking up to prevent low blood sugar in the morning. People with diabetes may need to discuss medication and food options with their doctors.

Nausea is a common symptom of migraine headaches. Some other headaches, especially cluster headaches, can also cause nausea. Head pain, unusual sensations, and sensitivity to light are signs of migraine.

Most people who experience headaches notice specific triggers. For some people, headaches appear early in the morning. This may be because of muscle tension, stress, or exposure to light or sound. Low blood sugar because of hunger may also trigger migraine headaches.

A doctor can help with choosing the right headache treatment. Identifying any headache triggers often helps. Some people notice immediate improvements with prescription or over-the-counter (OTC) headache remedies.

Share on PinterestDehydration may cause a person to feel nauseated.

Dehydration can make some people feel nauseated. Other symptoms of dehydration include lightheadedness or dizziness, very dry-looking skin, sunken eyes, dark urine, not urinating or urinating very infrequently, and exhaustion.

Dehydration may occur in the morning after a person goes many hours without drinking water. People who drink alcohol or caffeine immediately before bed may be more vulnerable to morning dehydration.

Diarrhea and vomiting can cause dehydration, especially in children. Prolonged sweating, especially when not drinking enough water, may also cause dehydration.

Drinking water or an electrolyte drink may help. Sometimes, however, a serious underlying condition makes it difficult for the body to absorb enough water. When this happens, drinking water will not cure dehydration.

See a doctor right away if drinking water does not help with symptoms of dehydration.

The condition gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) occurs when some of the stomach’s contents travel backward, up into the esophagus and the back of the throat. This can cause nausea, burning, and pain. Most people call this pain heartburn.

The pain of heartburn and GERD may be worse in the morning, since lying down makes it easier for stomach contents to move in the wrong direction. Some people also wake up with a cough or a hoarse voice.

Some people find that specific foods, especially acidic ones, can trigger morning nausea from GERD. So, some people may choose to avoid such foods.

Other people find relief from eating smaller meals or taking OTC antacids. Taking prescription drugs may offer relief from severe heartburn.

Muscle tension in the neck and shoulders that triggers a headache commonly causes nausea and disorientation. Some other forms of muscle pain can also make a person feel nauseated.

Sleeping in an unusual position can make muscle pain worse in the morning. Some people notice that chronic pain is worse when they first get up. Some pain conditions, such as ankylosing spondylitis, or spinal arthritis, trigger a pain pattern that is worse in the morning.

Muscle pain that causes nausea can be temporary. It may also be a sign of a serious underlying condition such as arthritis, herniated discs, fibromyalgia, or a serious muscle condition.

People should see a doctor if the pain does not subside within a few days.

Some people find that gently stretching helps with morning muscle pain and the nausea that sometimes accompanies it. A heating pad or ice pack applied to the painful area for 20 minutes may also help.

Many drugs, including illegal and recreational drugs, prescription drugs, and even caffeine, can cause withdrawal symptoms. Nausea is one of the most common symptoms of withdrawal.

When a person goes longer than usual without a drug, they may experience withdrawal, including in the morning before their first use.

For people taking prescription drugs that trigger withdrawal, it is important to discuss symptoms with a doctor. Changing the dosing schedule or tapering off the drug might help.

For people addicted to drugs, including legal drugs such as caffeine, the best strategy for preventing morning nausea is to stop using them. Support groups, therapy, 12-step programs, and inpatient or outpatient rehabilitation may help.

Share on PinterestA person should call 911 or go to the emergency room if they have nausea with a high fever.

Go to the emergency room or call 911 for morning nausea occurring with:

vomiting blood
intense stomach pain that gets progressively worse
a high fever
changes in consciousness or awareness

People with diabetes who experience intense nausea that does not get better after eating may be experiencing diabetic ketoacidosis. If this occurs, they should call a doctor right away or go to the emergency room.

If morning nausea does not get better within a few days, call a doctor. It may be helpful to keep a log of triggers, including any recent diet, lifestyle, or medication changes. This can help doctors pinpoint the cause of nausea.

Waking up nauseous is an unpleasant way to start the day. In most cases, the nausea is a temporary inconvenience, not a sign of a serious medical condition.

The right combination of home remedies and medical treatments can almost always help. People should see a doctor if symptoms do not improve after a few days.

Why do you feel sick in the morning on an empty stomach

Nausea in the morning on an empty stomach is most common in pregnant women due to intoxication, but it is not uncommon for males or even children to have this problem

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.

Inflammation of the pancreas (pancreatitis) - also characterized by nausea in the morning, as well as after eating fatty or fried foods. This disease is easily confused with gastritis due to the similarity of symptoms, but with pancreatitis, the patient begins to have problems with stools and an unpleasant, bitter taste in the mouth.

Appendicitis - nausea is likely to fade into the background, after unbearable pain in the right side begins to appear.

Inflammation of the gallbladder (cholecystitis) - this disease can also be accompanied by morning nausea. Accompanying symptoms are pain in the right hypochondrium and excessive gas formation.

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 when pressure increases 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.
During pregnancy. There are some little tricks you can use. For example, do not get out of bed quickly, drink plenty of fluids. Eliminate fatty and heavy foods from your diet. Eat small meals several times a day.

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.

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.

Where to see a doctor

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 visit 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: