Why Can Severe Pain Make You Vomit?

Nausea and vomiting are common side effects of severe pain, but why do our bodies do this!?

Hosted by: Michael Aranda

----------
----------
Dooblydoo thanks go to the following Patreon supporters: Lazarus G, Sam Lutfi, D.A. Noe, الخليفي سلطان, Piya Shedden, KatieMarie Magnone, Scott Satovsky Jr, Charles Southerland, Patrick D. Ashmore, charles george, Kevin Bealer, Chris Peters
----------
Looking for SciShow elsewhere on the internet?
----------
Sources:

Images:

[Magmafrost]

Honestly vomiting isn't nearly as bad as the feeling of needing to vomit and then not being able to.

[hdog]

I remember several times when I was lying on the bathroom floor with a migraine, cold sweats, shaking, weakness and projectile vomiting and diarrhea, it is an experience I would not wish upon my worst enemies.

[sarahtehninja]

Raise your hand if menstrual cramps have made you throw up or almost throw up 🙋🏻‍♀️

[msoda]

I vomit one the first 2 days of my period because of death cramps.
This doesn’t surprise me

[scorpionshape]

i get manstrial cramps that hurt so much they make me vomit.. so yeah it can be pain related

[impatientlady]

Can severe pain make you throw up?
All women with bad cramps (including myself rn): YES

[hades]

I haven't started this video but I know the answer is yes : periods

[thejesuschrist]

I can speak from experience, yes, yes it can.

[BionicBear]

I have a condition called CRPS (Complex Regional Pain Syndrome), also known as RSD (Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy). On the McGill Pain Scale it has been rated as the highest pain a person can feel, even above natural child birth and unmediated/conscious amputation, and it is truly beyond excruciating. There is no cure and doctor's typically can only treat some of the specific symptoms. High doses of pain medication and my spinal cord stimulator (basically a pacemaker implant with electrical leads running through the spinal cord) help reduce the pain slightly, but it never goes away. Thankfully, after almost 9 years of living with this condition, my constant nausea and vomiting from the pain has drastically decreased. I've found that, even though the nausea is caused by pain, what I eat can also play a factor. If I know that I'm going to have a bad day, I'll tend to only consume things that you would if you had a stomach bug. Also things like Mint Water or sucking on a peice of candy or ginger can help with the overall nausea, especially that stage where your mouth waters drastically. If anyone reading this is suffering with nausea caused by severe pain I truly hope you find whatever works for you. There is hope and it can get better.

[weirdosarecool]

It makes sense to me now. I've never had painful cramps before, until today. I woke up, saw a stain on my pants, went to the bathroom, and trust me, I literally felt like someone was chainsawing my stomach open. I felt dizzy and nauseous. First, I threw up in the bathroom, and then ran and jumped on my bed because I knew I was gonna pass out. The pain was severe and it was hard for me to even move, but I had to, since I needed to vomit. It was VERY painful and I hope no one goes through anything like this :(

[robynwaugh]

I vomit several times a week due to the pain of endometriosis. It’s an unfortunate reality many people with chronic illness live with.

[SimoneDK]

I always vomit when I get migraines. Not a fun side-effect...

[Ask]

Every freaking month. Thanks endometriosis

[kmart]

Literally just gather a bunch of people who have periods and subsequently horrid cramps as volunteers, no need for punching when the body is already naturally doing so to the general gut area via contracting of the uterus. The one and only time I've vomited from pain it was period cramps so like it could have been the surrounding muscles sympathetically contracting as well that lead to it or it literally could have been the pain. This is also a friendly reminder to anyone with horrid cramps, REMEMBER TO TAKE PAIN MEDS, DON'T BE A DUMB LIKE ME

[craigcorson]

"revisiting your lunch"
I've heard lots of novel ways of referring to vomiting, but that one is new to me.

[Rose]

Period pain: *exists*
Vomit: Ah darn thought I got a break dude
Me: *dies*

[kujmous]

I get cluster migraines about once a year. I can normally tell about an hour into it what's going on, but they take roughly 8-10 hours to peak. As my head hurts worse and worse and worse, I eventually feel nauseated. Once I vomit, the migraine goes away almost instantly. Medicine is useless. I have to vomit.

[LoveSasukeKai]

Another group they can decently easily monitor and get info from for a study; People who get periods. Especially those who have PCOS. I would volunteer, but you'd have to pay me good to make me go off the contraception pills I take solely to get my period under control, so I don't throw up every other month from pain.

[gymleader]

I get migraines frequently and the only way they will subside is if I do vomit, I’ve never really understood the cause

[samanthakate]

10/10 much agreed. Can guarantee shingles is not something you ever want to experience and the pain can most definitely make you want to blow chunks. Current story of my life.