Nausea

Not to be confused with malaise. For other uses, see Nausea (disambiguation).
Nausea
A 1681 painting depicting a person vomiting
SpecialtyGastroenterology

Nausea is a diffuse sensation of unease and discomfort, sometimes perceived as an urge to vomit.[1] It can be a debilitating symptom if prolonged and has been described as placing discomfort on the chest, abdomen, or back of the throat.[2]

Over 30 definitions of nausea were proposed in a 2011 book on the topic.[3]

Nausea is a non-specific symptom, which means that it has many possible causes. Some common causes of nausea are gastroenteritis and other gastrointestinal disorders, food poisoning, motion sickness, dizziness, migraine, fainting, low blood sugar, anxiety, hyperthermia, dehydration and lack of sleep. Nausea is a side effect of many medications including chemotherapy, or morning sickness in early pregnancy. Nausea may also be caused by disgust and depression.[1]

Medications taken to prevent and treat nausea and vomiting are called antiemetics. The most commonly prescribed antiemetics in the US are promethazine, metoclopramide, and the newer ondansetron. The word nausea is from Latin nausea, from Greek ναυσία – nausia,[4] "ναυτία" – nautia, motion sickness, "feeling sick or queasy".[5]

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference AFP was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Nausea". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2015-10-11.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference newrev2017 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert. "ναυσία". A Greek-English Lexicon. Archived from the original on 2021-05-15. Retrieved 2021-02-20 – via Perseus.tufts.edu.
  5. ^ Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert. "ναυτία". A Greek-English Lexicon. Archived from the original on 2021-04-18. Retrieved 2021-02-20 – via perseus.tufts.edu.