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Why do you feel nauseous in the morning and what to do?
Last reviewed: 04.07.2025

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Such a sign as morning sickness - in vain many consider it a typical female symptom, especially characteristic of pregnancy. Of course, morning sickness can serve as the first news of a long-awaited pregnancy, but such a sign can also indicate many other conditions, often different from normal in a physiological sense. Also, those who have a digestive system not in order do not always feel sick in the morning. Unpleasant sensations of nausea can become a signal of kidney pathologies, cardiovascular diseases, cardiopathies, gynecological diseases. Morning sickness manifests itself both in a mild form, almost imperceptibly, and in a rather severe version, when even the usual hygienic process of brushing teeth can lead to uncontrollable vomiting.
Why do I feel sick in the morning?
Pregnancy, which in the first three months is often accompanied by quite predictable toxicosis. Statistics say that every third woman expecting a baby feels sick in the morning. Nausea and vomiting is a normal process, which indicates the adaptation of the woman's body to changes associated with pregnancy. Toxicosis is expressed not only in nausea, but also dizziness, atypical preferences in food and smells. This is how the body reacts to hormonal changes, which normally end by the second trimester. There are also more serious symptoms of persistent nausea and vomiting, which should be monitored in a hospital, otherwise severe dehydration and exhaustion of the body of the expectant mother is possible, in addition, pathological cases of nausea may indicate gestosis.
Since it is undesirable for pregnant women to take medication, morning sickness can be minimized by eating in small portions and drinking enough fluids. The rule of having breakfast in a semi-recumbent position also helps - this makes it easier for the stomach to accept food and begin to digest it. Of the herbal remedies that should be taken with special caution, since some types of herbs can provoke an abortion, we can recommend tea with lemon balm and mint. Decoctions of ginger root are also effective (20 grams of crushed root are brewed in half a liter of boiling water for 15 minutes). All antiemetics sold in pharmacies can harm both the mother and the baby, so their use is possible only on the recommendation of the attending gynecologist.
Dysfunction of the digestive system often causes morning sickness. Morning sickness is often caused by liver and kidney diseases, ulcerative process in the gastrointestinal tract, when the acid-base balance is disturbed. Usually, nausea passes with food intake, but in cases of renal failure, nausea may persist during meals. Liver pathologies, in addition to morning sickness, are accompanied by aching pain in the right side of the abdomen. Ulcerative processes are characterized by heartburn, abdominal pain after eating. All of the listed reasons require examination and a course of treatment. Such a symptom as morning sickness is not an independent disease, it can pass only if the underlying cause is eliminated.
Cardiovascular disorders may also be accompanied by morning sickness, which is often accompanied by general weakness, rapid fatigue, and loss of appetite. A threatening symptom may be morning sickness for two to three days, along with pain on the left side of the body, dizziness, or facial asymmetry. Left-sided pain and nausea are a possible sign of developing heart failure. Dizziness and asymmetry are a sign of minor or extensive cerebral hemorrhage (microstroke, major stroke ).
Nausea in the morning, especially if these symptoms concern children, is a possible sign of helminthic invasion. The diagnosis is confirmed in the laboratory, where stool, urine and blood tests are taken. Treatment, as a rule, is not long-term. With proper adherence to the doctor's recommendations and neutralization of parasites, morning sickness quickly passes.
Appendicitis can be another reason for morning sickness. Inflammation of the appendix often develops gradually, a feeling of nausea together with weak, nagging pains in the abdomen, loss of appetite can signal the beginning of the process. Acute appendicitis develops rapidly, morning sickness ends with vomiting, body temperature rises, the pain becomes intense and is localized in the right epigastric region. In these cases, self-treatment is not only inappropriate, but also life-threatening, urgent medical care is needed to avoid peritonitis.
Inflammatory processes of the gallbladder can manifest themselves in the form of nausea. In addition to morning sickness, heartburn, flatulence, and a feeling of heaviness in the diaphragm area appear. The acute form of the disease is accompanied by severe girdle pain, fever, and an increase in temperature sometimes up to 39-40 degrees. If symptoms begin with morning sickness and develop into pain and fever, emergency medical care is needed.
Often, nausea in the morning hours is a manifestation of vegetative-vascular dystonia. This disease is syndromic and has not been fully studied in the etiological sense. However, typical signs of VSD can be vertigo (dizziness), sensory disturbances in vision and hearing, psychoemotional reactions in the form of anxiety. The vegetative reaction, as a rule, precedes nausea and manifests itself in the form of internal tremors, reddening of the skin, increased sweating of the whole body, hand tremors, salivation or, conversely, dry mouth. Independent actions can be taking sedative over-the-counter drugs such as Corvalment, Corvaltab, Fitosed. If you feel sick in the morning, before eating, you can regularly drink a decoction of lemon balm or mint half an hour before eating, gentle physical exercises before breakfast are also effective, which activate general blood circulation.
Migraine, which is always accompanied by nausea, often begins in the morning. If you feel sick in the morning and start having paroxysmal pain, you need to take medications that relieve spasms. Those who have had migraines more than once know their intolerable symptoms and, most likely, such patients have already visited a neurologist to get treatment recommendations. If a person has encountered migraine and morning sickness for the first time, you can take an antispasmodic - no-shpa, spazmalgon or paracetamol. You should exclude all irritants - both auditory and visual. Bed rest, peace and quiet will help alleviate migraine symptoms.
Morning sickness is not a disease, but just one of the symptoms of a possible disease that the body signals in this way. If morning sickness becomes regular, you need to contact your doctor, who will differentiate subjective complaints and, possibly, refer the patient to a specialist - a neurologist, gynecologist, gastroenterologist.
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