Causes of nausea after eating
Dyspeptic symptoms are sometimes detected in completely healthy people and are associated with errors in diet. Nausea occurs when overeating, which is caused by stretching of the walls of the stomach and the flow of nerve impulses into the corresponding parts of the brain. This manifestation is considered a normal variant and does not require treatment. Pregnant women often complain of nausea after eating. This symptom often develops in the first trimester and is caused by functional changes in the nervous system and distortion of impulses entering the central nervous system from the abdominal organs.
Food allergies
Allergic reactions to certain foods often include stomach discomfort and nausea. Nausea is caused by irritation of nerve endings by immunoglobulins and inflammatory agents, which are formed in large quantities when foreign proteins are ingested with food. The impulses generated by the receptors stimulate the vagus nerve and reach the vomiting center in the brain. Most often, allergies occur to egg whites, dairy products, citrus fruits, and chocolate.
Nausea with food allergies appears immediately after eating trigger foods, usually combined with skin rashes, itching, conjunctivitis and serous rhinitis. Symptoms are aggravated with the development of allergic gastritis with eosinophilic infiltration of the gastric mucosa. Nausea after eating is also caused by impaired motor function of the organ, spasm of the pyloric sphincter, and gaping of the cardia. In addition to dyspepsia, weakness, pale skin, and dizziness are possible.
Gastritis
Nausea after eating, along with other dyspeptic disorders, is considered the main manifestation of acute inflammation of the epithelial lining of the stomach. The symptom is provoked by the action of inflammatory mediators on nerve endings and the additional irritating effect of incoming food. The acute process is characterized by the development of the clinic 6-12 hours after exposure to the pathological factor. Nausea some time after eating is possible with gastritis with a decrease in secretory activity, which is caused by stagnation of chyme in the stomach and excessive stretching of its walls.
Other stomach diseases
Discomfort in the esophagus and stomach after eating foods can be caused by both inflammatory processes and other stomach diseases. The mechanism of development of nausea in this case is associated with impaired motility of smooth muscles and pathological visceral impulses, which results in increased activity of the vagus nerve and activation of the vomiting center. Nausea usually occurs 10-15 minutes after eating. Symptoms may result from:
- Atony of the stomach
. A decrease in the contractility of smooth muscles contributes to prolonged stagnation of partially digested food, which causes distension of the stomach. As a result, excess impulses from visceral receptors are formed, which enters the brain. The condition is aggravated after eating, since this further stretches the wall of the organ. Atony is manifested by profuse vomiting and heaviness in the abdomen. - Dumping syndrome
. Nausea associated with eating food is more typical for early dumping syndrome, which begins a quarter of an hour after a meal. The intake of undigested chyme with high osmolarity causes hypersecretion of water into the intestinal lumen and stretching of its walls. Patients complain of severe cramps, profuse diarrhea, and vomiting. The combination of dyspepsia and autonomic disorders is indicative: weakness, fainting, sweating. - Neoplasms
. Nausea after eating occurs with large benign tumors, which impede the passage of chyme and cause overstretching of the stomach walls. Painful discomfort in the stomach is also observed with malignant neoplasia. It is caused not only by mechanical reasons, but also by the growth of the neoplasm deep into the wall of the organ with damage to the nerve plexuses.
Poisoning
In case of poisoning with foods, herbal substances or drugs, the appearance of nausea is caused by the action of toxic substances on the chemoreceptors of the trigger zone located in the rhomboid fossa. Nausea often leads to vomiting and is combined with dyspeptic disorders: diarrhea, cramping pain in the epigastric region. The appearance of general symptoms - headache and dizziness, weakness, fainting - indicates massive intoxication, in this condition immediate medical attention is required.
Pathology of the pancreato-duodenal zone
The pancreas and the underlying parts of the digestive tract have a common innervation through the branches of the autonomic nervous system, so painful processes in these organs invariably lead to stimulation of the vomiting center in the medulla oblongata. Nausea occurs when visceral impulses are not strong enough to induce vomiting. In such cases, dyspepsia develops later - 1-1.5 hours after eating. Nausea is most typical for conditions and diseases such as:
- Duodeno-gastric reflux
. The reflux of concentrated bile into the stomach cavity causes irritation of its receptors, which manifests itself in the form of nausea. The condition is accompanied by bitter belching, heartburn, and dull pain in the epigastrium. In case of insufficiency of the pyloric sphincter with constant reflux of duodenal contents, chemical gastritis can develop, which is typically characterized by increased pain and vomiting of bile. - Erosive bulbitis
. Nausea with damage to the duodenal bulb is associated with both an inflammatory reaction and a violation of the secretion of bile and pancreatic enzymes due to dysfunction of the sphincter of Oddi. Erosive bulbitis does not have pathognomonic clinical signs and occurs under the guise of other gastrointestinal diseases. A dangerous complication of the disease is the development of bleeding with vomiting “coffee grounds”, melena. - Duodenostasis
. Stagnation of chyme in the lumen of the duodenum causes its stretching and the reaction of nerve endings with the formation of pathological impulses. The condition worsens after eating, which is associated with the intake of additional portions of food masses, a discrepancy between the contractions of the gastric sphincters and smooth muscles. Characterized by heaviness and pain in the abdomen, stool disturbances. - Alcoholic pancreatitis
. Nausea caused by food intake is associated with maldigestion and malabsorption due to insufficient supply of pancreatic enzymes. For pancreatitis, abundant stool with admixtures of neutral fats and undigested food, pain in the epigastrium and left hypochondrium are indicative. With alcohol abuse, symptoms are aggravated due to the central action of toxic metabolites of ethanol.
Diseases of the hepatobiliary system
Stretching the walls of the gallbladder and increasing pressure on the liver capsule stimulates visceral receptors, ensuring the entry of pathological impulses into specific nerve structures of the brain. Nausea after eating may be associated with an increased load on the corresponding organs of the hepatobiliary system, involving the nerve receptors of the duodenum and stomach in the process. In most cases, dyspeptic disorders are provoked by:
- Biliary dyskinesia
. Unpleasant sensations in the upper gastrointestinal tract after eating are caused by incoordination of contractions of the muscular membrane of the bile ducts, occurring against the background of disorders of the autonomic nervous regulation of the functioning of the digestive tract. The clinical picture of dyskinesia includes pain in the right hypochondrium, intensifying after eating fatty foods, stool disorders, and belching. - Inflammation of the gallbladder
. Nausea with cholecystitis is mainly caused by stagnation of bile and overstretching of the organ, which causes irritation of nerve endings and transmission of visceral impulses to the vomiting center. The manifestation intensifies after eating due to stimulation of the contractile activity of the inflamed bladder when chyme enters the duodenum. A combination of nausea with pain, periodic vomiting, and bitter belching is possible. - Postcholecystectomy syndrome
. Nausea is caused by pathological circulation of bile, causing irritation of the gastrointestinal mucosa, and intestinal distension due to malabsorption syndrome with increased gas formation. Nausea is accompanied by diarrhea with the release of foul-smelling grayish feces, pain, which is observed in 70% of patients, bitter belching and heartburn. - Liver echinococcosis
. A typical sign of a parasitic disease is nausea after eating mostly fried or fatty foods. In the early stages, dyspeptic disorders are combined with unmotivated weakness, headaches, and polymorphic skin rashes. If an echinococcal cyst ruptures, an allergic reaction with respiratory failure may begin.
Intestinal infections
Various microbial agents entering the gastrointestinal tract lead to damage to the mucous membrane and disruption of intestinal functions. The appearance of nausea is associated with pathological impulses from the gastrointestinal tract, resulting from irritation of nerve receptors and the direct action of pathogen endotoxins on the trigger zone in the brain. Nausea after eating is pathognomonic for infectious diseases that occur as gastroenteritis: escherichiosis, gastrointestinal salmonellosis, rotavirus and norovirus infections.
Causes of low blood sugar
The most common reason for low blood glucose is not eating after an insulin injection.
in patients suffering from diabetes mellitus. Such cases account for about 90% of all episodes of diagnosed hypoglycemia. The hormone, entering the bloodstream, promotes the breakdown and absorption of carbohydrates by tissues. At the same time, their plasma level decreases critically. Signs of pathology occur when there is a sharp drop in sugar levels from high numbers to low or normal levels for a healthy person (for example, from 18-19 to 5-6 mmol/l in diabetics).
Other possible causes of a sharp drop in blood sugar in patients with diabetes include:
- Administration of an excessive dose of insulin
. Occurs when the doctor selects the wrong dosage or makes mistakes when putting the drug into the syringe. It occurs mainly in people who have recently started a course of replacement therapy. The severity of the pathology directly depends on how much the required dose of the medicine was exceeded. - Increased physical activity
. During physical work, the body spends energy, which is replenished through the breakdown of carbohydrates. If a dose of insulin is administered and a person then begins to exercise or work, mild to moderate hypoglycemia may develop. - Drinking alcohol
. Regular consumption of alcoholic beverages leads to disruption of carbohydrate metabolism in the liver. The organ is unable to synthesize glucose from proteins and maintain its required level in the internal environment. This is one of the common causes of low blood sugar in men.
Hypoglycemia in newborns
Reasons for low blood sugar in children in the early stages of life:
- newborn syndrome from a mother suffering from classic or gestational diabetes;
- DM of newborns;
- iatrogenic neonatal hypoglycemia;
- other transient and unspecified disorders of carbohydrate metabolism.
Such disorders are due to the peculiarities of the production and consumption of sugars by the child’s body. Glucose consumption in the early postnatal period is about 7 g/kg body weight per day. Insufficient intake provokes activation of the processes of glycogenolysis and glucogenesis, which in the future can have unpredictable consequences.
Hypoglycemia in a healthy person
Sometimes blood sugar drops in pregnant women. This is due to hormonal changes in the body, which causes hyperproduction of insulin by the pancreas. In addition, malnutrition may be the cause of low blood sugar in a woman. The fetus consumes quite a large amount of glucose. If consumption is not compensated by food, the concentration of sugars in the internal environment decreases.
In people without diabetes, the cause of hypoglycemia is insulinoma, a hormone-producing tumor of the pancreas. At the same time, the concentration of insulin in the body increases, the content of sugars decreases. Sometimes a drop in glucose levels occurs during extreme fasting, when the body is unable to compensate for the lack of carbohydrates from internal reserves.
Survey
Nausea after eating most often indicates the presence of diseases of the digestive system, so the examination is carried out by a gastroenterologist, and the diagnostic search involves a comprehensive study of the morphological and functional characteristics of the patient’s gastrointestinal tract. When making a diagnosis, modern laboratory and instrumental methods are used, of which the most informative are:
- Sonography
. Abdominal ultrasound is prescribed as a screening method for all patients with long-term dyspeptic disorders. Ultrasound examination allows to identify nonspecific signs of ulcerative-destructive and inflammatory processes. If necessary, targeted ultrasound of individual organs is performed. - Gastrointestinal endoscopy
. Endoscopy is the most informative method for diagnosing diseases of the upper digestive tract, which are accompanied by nausea. According to indications, the study is supplemented with a biopsy. If it is necessary to visualize the entire length of the small intestine, video capsule endoscopy is used. - Radiography
. X-ray examination with contrast with a barium mixture is effective in detecting ulcerative-destructive processes in the digestive tract. The method is not specific enough for the diagnosis of inflammatory pathologies, so it is advisable to use it in combination with gastrointestinal endoscopy. - Study of gastric secretion
. Nausea associated with food may indicate disturbances in the acid-producing function of the stomach, so 24-hour pH testing is prescribed. The amount of total and free hydrochloric acid on an empty stomach and after the administration of drugs that stimulate secretion are also assessed. - Stool analysis
. A standard coprogram allows one to suspect malabsorption of food and various inflammatory processes in the intestines, which are accompanied by dyspeptic symptoms. Additionally, bacteriological culture of stool and analysis for helminth eggs are performed to exclude an infectious etiology of the process.
A biochemical blood test is necessary to exclude biliary and hepatic pathologies that cause nausea after eating. If a patient has a general infectious syndrome, specific serological tests are carried out to search for antibodies to pathogenic microorganisms. Intraesophageal manometry is prescribed to assess the motor function of the organ and the coherence of the sphincter apparatus.
Ultrasound of the abdominal organs
Symptomatic therapy
Episodic nausea after errors in diet or overeating does not require drug treatment. To relieve unpleasant symptoms, you can drink ginger or mint tea and slowly eat a slice of lemon. To prevent nausea, you need to normalize your diet: eat 4-5 times a day, avoid eating dry food. If you have a food allergy, it is important to completely exclude certain foods from your diet and limit the consumption of peanuts and strawberries, which can cause severe systemic reactions.
If nausea after eating does not go away on its own within a few days and is not associated with physiological causes, you should contact a medical facility for a comprehensive diagnosis. Before the clinical diagnosis is verified, prokinetics that improve motility and prevent antiperistaltic contractions, antihistamines, and sedatives can be used to reduce unpleasant symptoms. If poisoning is suspected, sorbents are recommended.
Content:
- Clinical signs of low glucose levels
- Causes of low blood sugar
- Hypoglycemia in newborns
- Hypoglycemia in a healthy person
Hypoglycemia - low blood sugar. Symptoms develop gradually, over 20-60 minutes. It occurs mainly in people suffering from type I diabetes mellitus (insulin dependent) when the rules of replacement therapy are violated. Sometimes occurs in pregnant women or newborn children. The minimum acceptable blood glucose level is 3.3 mmol/l. With decompensated diabetes, symptoms of a drop in blood sugar in a person occur already at 4.5 mmol/l. In the most severe cases, hypoglycemia can occur at 6-7 mmol/l.
