Vomit, ie the forced expulsion of gastric contents through involuntary contractions of the abdominal muscles, must be distinguished from regurgitation, the emission of stomach contents which is not associated with forced contractions of the abdominal muscles. A proper diet and proper food hygiene help prevent vomiting and relieve symptoms. Let's find out better feeding for vomiting.
> 1. Symptoms and causes of vomiting
> 2. Nutrition for vomiting
> 3. Did you know that
Symptoms and causes of vomiting
Vomit it is a symptom common to various pathologies and can be considered part of a defense mechanism of the organism that allows the emission of potentially harmful substances.
The most common causes of acute vomiting they are mainly infectious in nature viral gastroenteritis, but also, albeit less commonly, urinary infections, otitis media and hepatitis.
Another common cause of vomiting is the ingestion of undercooked or poorly stored food. Less frequent causes of acute vomiting are acute gastrointestinal diseases, for example pancreatitis, cholecystitis, biliary colic, and some neurological disorders.
Vomiting accompanied by nausea is a fairly common complaint in the first months of pregnancy. Finally, there are drugs that can have vomiting as a side effect: chemotherapy, NSAIDs, opiates, cardiological drugs, many antibiotics and oral hypoglycemic agents, neurological drugs, nicotine patches.
Also the causes of chronic vomiting they can be different and involve various organs and systems. For example, chronic vomiting can be a symptom of gastroesophageal reflux, bad digestion, celiac disease, peptic ulcer, liver and biliary tract diseases, but also neurological, hormonal, cardiological, psychiatric and neoplastic diseases.
Vomiting is therefore a non-specific symptom, that is, it is common to many pathologies and conditions, and therefore, especially in the case of chronic vomiting, to understand the origin, it is necessary to do some, or sometimes even many, medical tests. In all cases, proper nutrition can relieve the symptom.
Feeding for vomiting
A correct diet and proper food hygiene help prevent vomiting and relieve the symptom when it is already present. To prevent vomiting with nutrition, it is first of all necessary to prevent the conditions and pathologies that can cause it, so the following are important:
- Proper food hygiene. Always store food well, consume defrosted ones immediately and never refreeze food a second time, it prevents food poisoning.
- A balanced diet without excess. Eating healthily, without exceeding animal fats and simple sugars, helps prevent many stomach and intestinal diseases that can cause vomiting and other unpleasant symptoms.
How to eat instead in case of acute vomiting? In adults, usually, fasting stops the symptomor, but sometimes it can be a relief to take small amounts of simple solid foods, for example, a cracker, a toast, a hot boiled potato, white rice. In children it is generally recommended to continue with the usual diet; in breastfed infants it is necessary to continue with breastfeeding.
In all, adults and children, drinking water on an empty stomach can make the symptom worse. Hydration, however, is very important because with vomiting you lose fluids and, especially in children, you run the risk of becoming dehydrated. It is therefore advisable to take liquids with food; if water stimulates vomiting, you can opt for different, better tolerated liquids; for example, you can try lemon tea.
In case of chronic vomiting, it may be helpful to follow a diet low in animal fats and spices, also avoiding dishes that are excessively elaborate and difficult to digest.
In reality, however, feeding against vomiting is often a personal matter, in the sense that it is the subject himself who has to evaluate which foods worsen or improve his symptom as tolerance to food is often subjective.
You can learn more about the causes and natural remedies for vomiting in babies
Did you know that
It is estimated that around 85% of pregnant women suffer from nausea, whether or not associated with vomiting. The disorder, although it is more frequent during the first trimester, can last well beyond the twentieth week and occur not only in the morning, as is commonly thought, but throughout the day (and unfortunately, sometimes, even at night).
Although this is a very common symptom, the cause has not yet been clarified. Various hypotheses have been made, the most accredited one is that it may depend on the variation in hormone levels that occurs during pregnancy, but we are not sure.
To relieve symptoms of nausea and vomiting in pregnancy, nutrition and food hygiene can be of great help. We recommend:
- Avoid keeping an empty stomach by eating small amounts of solid foods throughout the day whenever you feel better and have an appetite;
- Avoid large meals rich in fat or spices;
- If possible, entrust the preparation of meals to another person because it is often the smell of food and its handling that increases the symptom; for the same reason, it can be useful to keep all those foods whose odor is most annoying in hermetically sealed containers;
- Avoid stressful situations as much as possible;
- Hydrate yourself adequately, and therefore insert the right amount of liquids in your diet, preferring those that do not increase the symptom; for example tea, fresh lemonade and other citrus juices, diluted fruit juices.
