Vomiting after eating: what are the causes?
Content:
- Mechanisms of vomiting development
- Symptoms of vomiting after eating
- Causes of vomiting after eating
- Vomiting an hour after eating
- Vomiting and high body temperature
- Vomiting immediately after eating
- Regular vomiting after eating
- Vomiting with belching after eating
- Vomiting with heartburn after eating
- Vomiting with bile after eating
- Vomiting blood after eating
- Mucous vomiting after eating
- Dizziness and vomiting after eating
- Bulimia after eating
- Vomiting after eating in a child
Vomiting after eating is not an independent pathology, but a symptom that something is wrong in the body. It can occur due to poisoning, diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, head trauma, cancer, and for a number of other reasons.
Whatever is the etiological factor, vomiting after eating is not a sign of health, and every person needs to be guided in what could cause it.
Mechanisms of vomiting development
The act of vomiting is usually divided into several stages - this is nausea, the urge to vomit and vomiting itself.
Nausea does not always precede the vomiting urge and is expressed in an unpleasant feeling localized in the throat and abdomen. At the same time, the natural tension of the stomach muscles decreases, and the small intestine begins to work more actively.
Vomiting is accompanied by a strong and frequent contraction of the muscles of the peritoneum and diaphragm. During the very process of vomiting, the esophagus valve opens, and the food in the stomach rises up, and then goes out.
The respiratory organs at this time overlap, which prevents the contents of the stomach from entering the bronchi and lungs.
As for the mechanisms of vomiting, there are two of them:
- From an organ or organ system, there is a transmission of nerve impulses to the vomiting center. Signals can be given by coronary arteries, gastrointestinal tract organs, vestibular apparatus, pharynx, etc.;
- Signaling can enter the emetic center from the chemoreceptor trigger region, which is irritated for one reason or another. This may be due to the following factors: oxygen starvation, medication, radiation therapy, infection of the body with pathogenic bacteria, etc.
Symptoms of vomiting after eating
In addition to the fact that a person is sick, vomiting after eating may be accompanied by the following symptoms:
- Salivation;
- Increased breathing;
- Weakness;
- Stomach ache;
- Stool disorder;
- Dizziness.
Causes of vomiting after eating
Nausea and vomiting after a meal are most often caused by pathologies of the gastrointestinal tract, although other etiological factors are also possible.
The reasons for vomiting after eating can be as follows:
- The presence of stomach ulcers, esophagus, intestines;
- Oncological diseases of the digestive system;
- Inflammation of the gallbladder and its ducts;
- Inflammation of the pancreas;
- Any brain injury of mild severity (in other cases, the person loses consciousness);
- CNS pathologies (neoplasms of the brain);
- Food poisoning;
- Alcohol poisoning;
- Binge eating;
- The presence of too fatty foods in the menu in significant quantities;
- Emotional shock;
- Chronic fatigue.
With gastritis and stomach ulcers, vomiting will occur after a meal. It is possible that the person has stenosis of the cardiac opening of the stomach and pylorus. Stenosis of this part of the stomach can be triggered by a tumor or chronic inflammation.
If the cause of vomiting is the pathology of the gallbladder, then it can occur not only after the completion of the act of eating, but also during this process. Pancreatitis, in turn, in addition to vomiting, is manifested by pain in the left hypochondrium and flatulence.
Injuries, tumors and infections of the brain can cause vomiting after eating, however, these pathologies are accompanied by a whole set of severe symptoms.
The vomiting center, which is located in the brain, can be irritated against the background of severe emotional stress, after anxiety or severe fatigue. Vomiting occurs after eating simply due to the fact that any contents appear in the stomach.
Vomiting an hour after eating
Vomiting that occurs after such a short period of time after a meal can signal such diseases of the gastrointestinal tract as pancreatitis, cholecystitis, liver cirrhosis. These pathologies are often accompanied by bloating, belching, and lack of appetite.
Vomiting and high body temperature
Sometimes, against the background of a decrease in immunity, a person may vomit after eating. But this requires a combination of several factors. For example, if the patient has an elevated body temperature and at the same time has iron deficiency anemia, then this can lead to an increase in blood pressure and vomiting.
Fever and vomiting after eating can be symptoms of food poisoning. Intestinal infection is characterized by similar manifestations, but diarrhea always complements it.
Vomiting immediately after eating
Vomiting that occurs within a few minutes after eating can be triggered by overeating. In this case, enzyme preparations can help, for example, Mezim, Festal, etc.
Eating very fatty, spicy, fried and smoked foods can provoke rapid vomiting. This is because the pancreas, stomach and liver could not cope with the digestion of such heavy food.
High blood pressure can also trigger an attack of nausea and vomiting.
Regular vomiting after eating
Exacerbation of diseases of the digestive tract can cause regular vomiting after eating. Or the problem may lie in taking medications that are not suitable for a particular person. In any case, regular vomiting after eating is a reason for contacting a specialist.
Vomiting with belching after eating
Belching often occurs due to excess air entering the stomach. This happens then, for a year a person eats food in a hurry, quickly chews and swallows food, or eats during a conversation. Drinking carbonated drinks is an additional risk factor.
It is possible that belching and vomiting after eating are associated with the use of certain foods to which the body has not previously given such a reaction. For example, people often lose the ability to digest dairy products as they age. This is especially true for whole milk.
Drinking strong coffee on an empty stomach can cause belching and vomiting. The same applies to the intake of alcoholic beverages, mushrooms, canned food.
Vomiting with heartburn after eating
Heartburn and vomiting after eating are symptoms of gastrointestinal tract pathology, the most common of which is an esophageal ulcer. So, increased heartburn will occur when a person lies or leans forward.
Heartburn is expressed as pressure in the epigastric region, nausea and a bitter taste in the mouth. Risk factors include snacking on the go, overeating, drinking alcohol, and taking medications.
We should also mention wearing too tight clothes and obesity.
Vomiting with bile after eating
Vomiting with bile after eating is often explained by the fact that the pyloric valve does not cope with its functions and remains open. The reasons for the disturbance in his work are alcohol intoxication, pylorus stenosis, chronic inflammatory processes in the digestive tract, diseases of the central nervous system, stress, circulatory disorders, intestinal obstruction.
A separate condition that can lead to valve malfunction is pregnancy. Therefore, while carrying a child, vomiting with bile may occur.
Vomiting blood after eating
The reasons why blood is present in the vomit may be as follows:
- Damage to the integrity of the mucous membrane of the stomach and esophagus;
- Varicose veins of the esophagus and stomach;
- Launched peptic ulcer;
- Cirrhosis of the liver;
- Exacerbation of gastritis;
- Internal bleeding.
In childhood, blood in the vomit may be present after nosebleeds, as the child swallowed blood. Late toxicosis and high blood pressure can provoke internal bleeding in pregnant women, as a result of which they vomit with blood.
Mucous vomiting after eating
If mucus is present in the vomit, then this most often indicates food poisoning or poisonous substances, or a bacterial intestinal infection. Mucus in vomit appears due to excessive activity of the duodenum, which is subject to inflammation. It is possible that, in addition to mucus, foam and blood will be present in the vomit.
Other reasons for the appearance of mucus in vomiting are all kinds of pathologies of the gastrointestinal tract and stress factors. When mucous vomiting bothers only in the morning hours, one can suspect chronic bronchitis, in which mucus accumulates during a night's rest in the bronchi, and in the morning it comes out along with vomit with a strong cough.
Dizziness and vomiting after eating
Dizziness and vomiting can be caused by reasons that are not dangerous to human health, including motion sickness, motion sickness in transport.
Other, more dangerous etiological factors of dizziness and vomiting after eating include:
- Meniere's disease with prolonged bouts of dizziness and vomiting, as well as hearing impairment;
- Vestibular neuritis. In addition to vomiting and dizziness, the patient experiences panic, congestion in the ears, impaired coordination and balance;
- Migraine. In this disease, vomiting and dizziness are combined with severe headaches. In addition, a person develops photophobia, balance suffers;
- Hormonal changes in a woman's body. Vomiting and dizziness can provoke pregnancy, menopause, another menstruation
- Head trauma;
- Epilepsy.
Bulimia after eating
In some cases, a person can independently provoke vomiting. Often girls do this in an effort to get rid of extra pounds. To do this, after the next meal, they induce vomiting. As a result, the brain, having received a signal of satiety, does not require more food, and body weight is not gained. But over time, the stomach gets used to such a reaction and rejects any food, even in small quantities. This disease is called "bulimia" and poses a threat not only to health, but also to human life.
Vomiting after eating in a child
The causes of vomiting after meals in children are similar to the causes of this symptom in adults. Separately, we can note congenital anomalies in the development of the digestive tract (pyloric stenosis, pylorospasm, etc.), difficult childbirth followed by hydrocephalus or high ICP, as well as physiological regurgitation, which does not pose a threat to the baby's health and stops as he grows up.
If a person is worried about vomiting after eating, then you should not engage in self-treatment, but you need to seek qualified medical help. The doctor who deals with the therapy of diseases of the gastrointestinal tract is a gastroenterologist, but it is possible that the help of a neurologist, neuropathologist, therapist, oncologist or surgeon will be required.
Author of the article: Alekseeva Maria Yurievna | Therapist
Education: From 2010 to 2016 Practitioner of the therapeutic hospital of the central medical-sanitary unit No. 21, city of elektrostal. Since 2016 she has been working in the diagnostic center No. 3.
