Diagnostic Division: Food/Fluid

Definition: A subjective, unpleasant, wavelike sensation in the back of the throat, epigastrium, or abdomen that may lead to the urge or need to vomit.

RELATED FACTORS

Treatment
Gastric irritation; Gastric distention; Pharmaceuticals [e.g., analgesics—aspirin/nonsterodial anti-inflammatory drugs/opioids, anesthesia, antivirals for HIV, steroids, antibiotics, chemotherapeutic agents]; [Radiation therapy/exposure]

Biophysical
Biochemical disorders (e.g., uremia, diabetic ketoacidosis, pregnancy); Localized tumors (e.g., acoustic neuroma, primary or secondary brain tumors, bone metastases at base of skull); Intra-abdominal tumors; Toxins (e.g., tumor-produced peptides, abnormal metabolites due to cancer); Esophageal/pancreatic disease; Liver/splenetic capsule stretch; Gastric distention [e.g., delayed gastric emptying, pyloric intestinal obstruction, external compression of the stomach, other organ enlargement that slows stomach functioning (squashed stomach syndrome)]; Gastric irritation [e.g., pharyngeal and/or peritoneal inflammation]; Motion sickness; Ménière’s disease; Labyrinthitis; Increased intracranial pressure; Meningitis

Situational
Noxious odors/taste; Unpleasant visual stimulation; Pain; Psychological factors; Anxiety; Fear

DEFINING CHARACTERISTICS

Subjective
Reports nausea [“sick to stomach”]

Objective
Aversion toward food; Increased salivation; Sour taste in mouth; Increased swallowing; Gagging sensation