Nausea as a Symptom of Addiction
Nausea is a symptom of addiction, abuse or withdrawal from a substance. It comes with the need to vomit most of the time and is sometimes accompanied by a sense of vertigo. It’s an uneasy sensation that may also be caused by motion sickness, food poisoning, or overeating. Nausea could further lead to dehydration, weight loss, and even depression.
Taking substances without following prescription guidance can lead to nausea. Therefore, if you, or any of your loved ones, consume opioids or drugs regularly, their entire bodily system could become destabilised, and that’s when nausea sets in. In a situation like this, you may also experience feelings of sickness in the stomach.
Signs of Nausea as a Symptom of Addiction
Being able to identify the signs of nausea will make it a lot easier for you to get better. If you, or your loved one, have used illicit substances in the past, or still are, there are certain signs you can look out for:
- Faintness or dizziness
- Dry mouth
- Abdominal pain and diarrhoea
- Decrease in urination
- Lethargy
- Difficulty in breathing or fast breathing
- Rapid and excessive perspiration
- Confusion and depression
When to See a Health Professional for Nausea?
If you, or someone close to you, experience nausea, it could be a result of addiction to a certain substance, abuse, or withdrawal from it. This symptom could then lead to further complications, like chest pains, confusion, and nervous breakdowns, if not treated immediately and correctly. Even the simplest of follow-up conditions, such as dehydration, can be much more serious if they are related to drug use.
In as much as addiction or drug abuse is a major factor that leads to nausea, there are other things that could also be causing this symptom. Pregnancy, seasickness, overeating, and stomach flu are just a few examples. So, determining what is the cause of yours, or that of your loved one, goes a long way in helping a health expert administer the ideal treatment or therapy for you. Which could then help to avoid any further life-threatening ailments in the long run.
While at the clinic, you will be asked a variety of questions, usually about subjects such as when you last had a meal and what you ate, how long you have felt nauseous, what medications you have taken previously, and other things related to how you feel. This enables the doctor to know the history of the symptom, and to diagnose it better.
There might be times when you will need to monitor closely, due to how severe the condition is. It could be to enable the doctor to prevent you from causing harm to yourself, in case you fall down from being dizzy, faint, or experience difficulties in breathing. If the nausea is caused by food poisoning or alcohol consumption, discovering all of the finer details will allow the doctor or medical expert to determine the exact treatment needed.
If you, or your loved one, ever experience fainting, rapid pulse, difficulty in breathing, confusion, hallucinations, mood swings, chest pain, abdominal pain or any of the other signs listed above, then waste no time in consulting a health expert. Keep in mind that there are lots of other symptoms of addiction, substance abuse, and withdrawal. Talking to a health expert will ensure you get the necessary treatment, or therapy, to get your body back into its original state.
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