Watch out for unexplained nausea in the elderly

The physical function of the elderly is declining, but some physical symptoms such as nausea should not be underestimated, and the cause should be found out as soon as possible.

There are several reasons for nausea. It may be caused by the mental stress and excessive anxiety of the elderly, or it may be caused by improper diet or gastrointestinal diseases, or if the elderly suffer from other non-gastrointestinal diseases, they may also have symptoms of nausea. The cause of more serious vomiting may be related to myocardial infarction and needs to be treated by medical care in time. Therefore, the caregivers should pay close attention to the situation of the elderly if they experience vomiting. Recognizing different vomiting situations can help caregivers communicate with medical staffs in a timely manner.

1. Vomiting caused by mental stress and anxiety: The elderly are more likely to experience mental stress, suspiciousness, anxiety, insomnia, etc. as they tend to worry over trivial things in daily living, which will cause dysfunction of the cerebral cortex. The medical term for vomiting in the elderly caused by psychological factors is neurogenic vomiting, which manifests as vomiting during or shortly after eating;
2. Vomiting caused by gastrointestinal diseases:

** Vomiting caused by gastrointestinal diseases such as chronic gastritis and duodenitis usually occurs after meals.

**The vomiting of gastric pyloric spasm or obstruction occurs a few hours after the meal, and a large amount of sour-smelling food is vomited; if the vomit contains a large amount of yellow-colored and bitter-tasting bile, it may be small intestinal obstruction.

**The symptoms of ulcer disease and gastritis can be relieved after vomiting.

**Pancreatitis and biliary tract disease will cause repeated vomiting, and the abdominal pain often cannot be relieved afterwards

**Blood or coffee-like vomitus indicates upper gastrointestinal bleeding; fecal vomitus may indicate low intestinal obstruction or gastrocolic fistula.

**Gastrointestinal obstruction may also cause repeated vomiting.

3. Vomiting caused by non-gastrointestinal diseases:

**Otitis inner: usually complicated by chronic otitis media. The elderly will experience frequent vomiting and severe dizziness; as long as the body, including the head, movements, is slightly intensified, hearing may be completely lost, and deep ear pain may also occur.

**Kidney disease leads to renal insufficiency, uremia, or vomiting after getting up in the morning or before eating.

**Elderly people who take certain drugs for a long time may also experience vomiting due to gastrointestinal reactions.

**People with chronic alcoholism caused by long-term drinking will experience daily morning vomiting.

**Acute myocardial infarction is an urgent physical condition that requires timely medical treatment: In addition to chest pain, chest tightness, and sweating, it is often accompanied by nausea, severe vomiting, and upper abdominal pain. It is easily misdiagnosed as acute gastroenteritis or other acute abdominal disease. Some elderly people may also experience discomfort such as tightness or pain in the throat, heaviness in the back, profuse sweating, abdominal pain, back pain, toothache or jaw pain, or headache, sore shoulders and arms.

In addition, cerebrovascular accidents, hypertensive emergencies, diabetic ketoacidosis, etc. can also cause vomiting symptoms.

Some preventive measures for dizziness and vomiting in the elderly:

1. Get enough sleep

Maintain adequate sleep, avoid fatigue; According to statistics, the onset of cardiovascular disease usually occurs between 6:00 am to 12:00 noon. Drink a glass of warm water before going to bed to relieve blood viscosity and prevent thrombosis.

2. Keep warm

Coldness will cause the blood vessels in the human body to constrict and spasm, thereby causing blood pressure to rise or blood vessel embolism. Therefore, when the weather turns cold, the elderly should pay attention to keeping warm in time.

3. Check blood pressure

Dizziness and vomiting are one of the symptoms caused by high blood pressure. Once the elderly experience dizziness and vomiting, first check whether it is caused by elevated blood pressure. If you have been diagnosed with hypertension in the past, you should check whether you have stopped taking medicine or missed taking medicine recently. If so, you should start taking the medicines as soon as possible. If the elderly have no history of high blood pressure before, remember to measure blood pressure when dizziness and vomiting occur.

4. Go to the hospital for CT

If the dizziness and vomiting are severe, it may be cerebral thrombosis or cerebral hemorrhage, so you should not stay at home, thinking that you will be fine after taking a rest. At this time, you should go to the hospital for a detailed examination as soon as possible, and if necessary, do a CT so that the doctor can make an accurate diagnosis.

Vomiting is a manifestation of the disease, so when vomiting occurs, it is necessary to find out the cause of vomiting as soon as possible, and do not delay treatment. Prevention is better than cure. The elderly should pay more attention to food hygiene, not overeating, not drinking, paying attention to blood pressure control, regular physical examination, etc.