Dizziness and Vomiting

When you feel as though the room is spinning around you, lightheaded, weak, or unsteady you are experiencing the symptoms of dizziness. When your stomach contents travel from your stomach, up the esophagus, and out your mouth you are vomiting, accompanied with pain or forceful expulsion. If you have chronic vomiting, you will also begin to notice some damage to your teeth and the lining of your mouth and esophagus due to the high acidity. It is important to note that dizziness and nausea are not illnesses themselves; rather they are symptoms of illnesses or diseases. Dizziness and vomiting can occur for various reasons.

Dizziness and Vomiting, What Can It Be?

1. Stomach and Intestines Conditions

Nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea are common symptoms of gastroenteritis, when your intestines and stomach are inflamed. And the common cause can be due to norovirus. Also, constant vomiting and diarrhea may lead to dehydration and dizziness as well. Other causes of these symptoms in the stomach and intestines include:

  • Food poisoning
  • Ingestion of toxic substances
  • Bowel blockage
  • Appendicitis
  • Gallbladder infection
  • Inflammation in the pancreas

2. Nervous System Issues

Migraines and head injuries affect the nervous system. When the nervous system is infected or damaged you may experience nausea, visual disturbances, dizziness, and vomiting. Some other factors that may cause one or more of those symptoms can include concussions, injuries that cause swelling of the brain, meningitis, bleeding in the brain, brain tumors, and headaches.

3. Inner Ear Infections

Your equilibrium is controlled by your inner ear. When you have an inflammation or damages of the inner ear, you will suffer from dizziness and vomiting. Infections and aggravation within your inner ear include viral infections such as vestibular neuritis and labyrinthitis, and motion sickness. When your equilibrium is affected you may even experience vertigo, vomiting, and dehydration.

Another factor that may affect your equilibrium is if your inner ear is damaged by a fracture in the skull. This will cause severe vertigo and may even cause hearing loss and nausea, which will improve over time.

4. Heart Conditions

When you have poor heart health your blood supply may become obstructed causing a heart attack. The symptoms of a heart attack include nausea, vomiting and dizziness. However, you may also feel a discomfort in your chest, a shortness of breath, sweating, and severe pain in your arm, neck, jaw, back or stomach. It is imperative that you consult your doctor if you experience any combination of these symptoms.

5. Pregnancy

Nausea, dizziness and vomiting are caused by frequent morning sickness (hyperemesis gravidarum) in pregnant women. Most of this type of dizziness is due to dehydration from all the vomiting. For severe cases, you may be hospitalized and provided with fluids which contain electrolytes for the health of your baby and you.

6. Hypoglycemia—Low Blood Sugar

If you have low blood sugar (hypoglycemia), then you may experience dizziness and feel lightheaded and nauseous. For severe hypoglycemia, you may also experience vomiting and faintness. All these symptoms can be overcome by ingesting glucose to increase the blood sugar levels in your blood. If you are unable to recover on your own, you will need to seek medical attention.

7. Certain Medical Conditions

There are other medical conditions which cause dizziness and vomiting, which include but are not limited to kidney or liver failure, adrenal failure, thyroid conditions, and chemical imbalances like diabetic ketoacidosis—a condition that you'll have extreme high blood sugar levels while the body consumes large amounts of fat to obtain energy.

8. Certain Medications

Some medications may have dizziness and vomiting as side effects. If you believe your medication is causing these ill-effects, it is important that you contact your doctor immediately. Such medications can include:

  • Anti-seizure medication, antidepressants, antibiotics
  • Sedatives, tranquilizers, benzodiazepines
  • Diabetic medications, heart medications
  • Opioids such as codeine, hydrocodone, morphine, and oxycodone
  • Chemotherapy medications

9. As for Infants

There are two main reasons that an infant may show signs of dizziness and vomiting after birth.One is damage to the brain. Lack of oxygen or blunt force trauma may occur during the delivery. The use of forceps or a vacuum may also cause some harm to the baby's brain. The second reason, a brain hemorrhage occurs when there are burst blood vessels in the brain. This interrupts the normal flow of blood to the brain and interferes with other cognitive functions.

Both of these experiences may cause lethargy, unconsciousness, seizures, weakness, immobility, dizziness, and vomiting in your newborn baby. It is important that you speak with a medical professional immediately if your infant shows sign of any of these symptoms.

How to Deal With Dizziness and Vomiting

To deal with these discomforts, some medications can be applied. However, it is important that you follow a few guidelines:

  • They are only meant as temporary relief and not a cure for your symptoms. You will need to work with your doctor to find the cause and determine the treatment.
  • Some medications may cover the symptoms which will keep your doctor from making an accurate diagnosis.
  • Do not drive or use heavy machinery after taking medications that aim to relieve dizziness and vomiting, as many of the medications have drowsiness as a side effect.
  • Avoid alcohol when taking anti-drowsiness and anti-vomiting medications.
  • Consult your doctor if you are pregnant, and seek professional medical attention if you have had a head injury.

Additionally, you can make a few adaptations to your day. Some simple and easy-to-do options include:

  • Rest and lie down
  • Drink lots of liquids and slowly add solid foods back in
  • If you believe it's your medication, consult your doctor to make changes
  • Eat small and frequent meals during pregnancy
  • If the symptoms just do not go away, you'd better contact your doctor for further diagnosis and rule out possible serious conditions.
 
 
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