Million people feel nauseated every day. Causes are different for each individual and often they feel better by making themselves throw up.
If you are feeling nauseated and considering to make yourself throw up then you should consider identifying the reason behind your nausea because each time it is not advisable to throw up.
Nausea and vomiting plays an important role in the defense of the body and helps to eliminate the possibly dangerous things that we ingest.
Though nausea & vomiting is not a disease, it denotes the underlying disease condition or may be triggered by various causes like sour stomach, overeating, migraines, brain injury, and food poisoning etc.
In today’s era, food poisoning may seem the less harmful cause of suffering.
But in the United States, approximately 76 million people suffer from food born illnesses each year out of them 3,00,000 get hospitalized and 5,000 people die due to the same reason. [01]
If you feeling nauseated then inducing vomiting becomes quite easy but if you are trying to induce the vomiting despite not feeling nauseated (like many suffering from anorexia do) then you might need to take the help of some medicine or techniques.
How to make yourself throw up easily?
Here are the 13 steps to make yourself throw up:
1. Decide the place to vomit
Before you induce the gag reflex and throw up, you should plan the desired place to throw up otherwise you will end up making a mess.
Throwing up stomach content is a quick and instant process & once you start vomiting you can’t control it. So find the place to throw up. It might be your toilet, sink or just a regular bucket.
If you are outside of the home then keep yourself away from other people and their baggage or cars. No one likes it when some random guy vomits on their stuff.
2. Ask: Is vomiting necessary?
The human body has an astonishing mechanism in place when it comes to vomiting. Often, our body will throw up naturally when it is necessary. [02]
So, it becomes important to see if you really need to vomit or not. Some people get frazzled with a short wave of nausea and go haywire to induce vomiting, though there is no absolute need for doing so.
There are a few signs you need to look up when you feel like vomiting, which are as follows –
- Excessive salivation
- The uneasy feeling in the stomach with extreme discomfort.
- Seek feeling with nausea which becomes worse as you move.
- Lips become pale
If you experience these signs then either you will vomit or you might need to assist the body to throw up.
3. Let your body vomit
As discussed earlier, usually body triggers vomiting automatically. Most of the times you don’t need to induce it.
If you feel like vomiting, then just go to the toilet and sit for a few minutes and allow your body to vomit out.
If you don’t vomit naturally even after waiting for long enough and you feel uneasy, you might need to consider triggering the gag reflex in order to throw up.
4. Activate gag reflex
This is one of the easy & widely practiced methods to induce vomiting.
To begin, stand and bring your heels together and bend over. Make sure that your trunk is making approximately 90-degree angle with your feet.
Exhale completely and retract your abdomen and put a left hand over the stomach and press gently.
Use your index and middle finger to activate gag reflex. Push your finger towards the throat as deep as you can and push the back part of the tongue gently for few seconds, then remove the finger immediately. [03]
Doing this will induce gag reflex which will trigger vomiting. Putting slight pressure on the tongue will do the trick.
5. Drink lukewarm salt water
Salt water is an ancient home remedy to induce vomiting.
Excessive sodium chloride in the stomach activates vomiting process. So if you could not able to vomit by using your index finger technique have a glass of salt water and after a couple of minutes try to induce vomiting.
Add one teaspoon of salt in a glass of lukewarm and mix it thoroughly. Ingest this slat water and wait for a few minutes and use your fingers to activate the gag reflex and vomit.
Salt contains sodium. The sudden rise of sodium content in the stomach irritates the stomach mucosa and disturbs the natural electrolytes balance which often results in vomiting.
Salt water is a great emetic and works like a charm. But there are several risk factors involved in this procedure that you can’t ignore.
6. Use Ipecac Syrup
Ipecac syrup is a well-known remedy that triggers emesis. It is available on prescription as an FDA approved medication as well as without the prescription.
Usually, ipecac is taken via mouth to trigger the vomiting after a suspected poisoning. When taken orally, it irritates the stomach and triggers the brain to induce the vomiting. [05]
Read the label of a bottle for instruction and consult your doctor for the proper dose. Also, if you are allergic to the ipecac, don’t ingest it. Do not practice this remedy on infants.
7. Use mustard Solution
Mustard has some natural emetic properties that help to throw up.
Add one tablespoon of the mustard solution to one glass of warm water and drink it immediately. Though its taste really unpleasant, it will trigger vomiting within a few minutes.
This home remedy to induce vomiting is being used since ancient time and most of the time yield the good results.
8. Watch others vomiting
Usually, people feel nauseated when they see others throwing up. If you decide to practice this you will find it difficult to find a person who is vomiting at the same time as you get nausea.
Many website advice to watch a video of a person vomiting but it will not work in many cases (because the physiology of vomiting does not work that way).
If you are really a sensitive person then it might possible for you to vomit by watching a video of another person vomiting. Just give it a try.
9. Bloodroot Extract
Bloodroot herb can also make you puke in large doses while a small dose of this remedy stops vomiting.
It is also known as ‘Sanguinaria canadensis’ and being used by Native Americans for various health ailments. Exact dosage of bloodroot is depended upon various factors like age and health condition of a person consuming it.
Also, natural products are not always safe to consume. So, consult your doctor to see what he advise for you to consume bloodroot extract.
10. Gargle with Egg White
Uncooked eggs white have some typical smell and taste that some people do not bear.
This makes them useful for inducing vomiting. Take an egg white from 2 eggs, beat them slightly and use it to gargle which will induce vomiting.
Spit out the gargle in a container and repeat the procedure for two to three times until nausea is set.
11. Drink Carbonated Soft Drinks
Carbonated soft drinks like Coca-cola creates fizz effect which can be helpful to make yourself throw up.
Drinking such soft drinks really quickly may irritate stomach resulting in nausea and vomiting.
If it does not effectively build up nausea try drinking a half glass of water after drinking these soft drinks. Usually, it works in food poisoning.
12. Use Emetics
Emetics is a medical term used for the medicines that trigger vomiting.
Ipecac syrup is one of the great examples of emetics as it can easily make you throw up within a few minutes.
Mix the recommended dose of ipecac solution to warm water and drink it. It may take some time to work.
There are few other medicines are available that helps to throw up but before you take them please contact your doctor.
These medicines may cause some effects like shortness of breath, dizziness, and light-headedness, etc. so use them cautiously.
13. Prepare to vomit & avoid splatter
Once you are ready to throw up, sit close to the toilet or keep your mouth close to bucket or bowl.
If you are outside of the home then try to be close to the ground. This way you will not spread your vomit all over the place and can avoid splatter.
Try to get away from crowded places while vomiting. Remember, someone from the crowd may feel nauseated by watching you throwing up.
When to see a doctor?
Does your nausea & vomiting have some serious cause?
Most of the time nausea is the first sign of stomach upset & gastroenteritis, it is better to consult your doctor in the following conditions.
1. If your nausea and vomiting last more than 4 to 6 hours then it is better to consult your doctor.
2. In the case of women, if it stays a few days constantly in the morning and you missed your period then think about pregnancy. [06]
3. You feel dizzy after vomiting and tongue become dry. – The Dry tongue is the first sign of dehydration which needs to be corrected immediately.
4. If vomiting accompanies with diarrhea and other symptoms.
5. If you are not sure exactly what you eat that triggered nausea and vomiting.
6. If your kids getting nausea & vomiting. Sometimes they may get the fever.
7. If you see blood in vomiting. Your vomits will look coffee ground in color.
8. If you feel drowsy with vomiting or having a severe headache or neck stiffness.
9. If you have the high-grade fever with nausea as well as your heart rate increases more than 100 beats/min and you get sweating & palpitation.
10. If you get vomiting after eating every day. This might be bulimia & needs to be treated correctly.
How to prevent nausea?
As we know that eating wrong things, excessive eating or eating your meal fast can trigger nausea.
There is no way to stop vomiting if it is caused by some underlying disease, but you can change your lifestyle to minimize any possible disorders that can trigger vomiting.
Limit your alcohol consumption. Eat the right food which is healthy and non-irritating to stomach. Spicy, oily and carbonated food may trigger nausea by causing stomach irritation.
Sit in the upright position after you eat and avoid sleeping immediately after eating. Drink enough water throughout the day.
Do not stay awake late nights as it increases gastric acid secretion and causes nausea with burning in the abdomen.
Avoid drinking alcohol and smoking.
What things should you do after you throw up?
Once you finish your vomiting, you will feel tired because of loss of water and minerals through vomitus.
The first thing you should do after vomiting is to wash your face and mouth to get rid of the acidic taste in the mouth that vomiting leaves behind.
If needed, you can brush your teeth. Usually, brushing immediately after the vomiting is not recommended as it may cause dental erosion.
Vomiting leaves a thin coat of gastric content (which has acids) over the teeth and may cause dental erosion. In such a case, you can gargle with water to clean it up.
To regulate dehydration caused by vomiting, drink water. Take a sip of water at a time and repeat after every 15 to 20 minutes. Try drinking fruit juice like watermelon juice to re-hydrate.
Do not eat or drink anything that can potentially cause nausea like alcohol, carbonated drinks, etc.
Things you shouldn’t do
In order to trigger the vomiting, you shouldn’t be practicing a few things that may cause serious consequences.
Here are those –
Don’t use these throwing up techniques to lose weight.
We have observed that people use this throwing up techniques on a regular basis to remove the food that they have ingested just to lose weight.
You shouldn’t be doing this on a daily basis and using it to reduce the weight. Instead, you should seek medical help.
FAQs about vomiting & bulimia
Is making yourself throw up bad?
Inducing vomiting can potentially more harmful than when you vomit naturally. When you make yourself throw up, you are actively trying to induce the vomit which leads to the excessive strain on the esophagus.
Throwing up frequently in large quantities can not only lead to excessive dehydration, but it may also trigger esophageal tears. This condition is known as ‘Mallory-Weiss Tears‘ and it can cause you to vomit the blood.
What is Bulimia Nervosa?
Bulimia nervosa is an eating disorder and is characterized by the cycle of binge eating and then inducing vomiting as a compensatory behavior.
Binge eating, inducing vomiting, staining of teeth, self-esteem related to the body image are few dominant symptoms of bulimia nervosa. It is a harmful disorder that can damage the digestive system, esophagus, create electrolyte imbalance and irregular bowel movements.
It is predominant in women and the disorder often associated with the depression. If you have any of these symptoms, please consult your healthcare provider.
Can hydrogen peroxide be used to induce vomiting in humans?
References:
[01] Mead PS, Slutsker L, Dietz V, et al. Food-Related Illness and Death in the United States. Emerging Infectious Diseases. 1999;5(5):607-625. doi: 10.3201/eid0505.990502.
[02] Richard Brown. Physiology of Vomiting. Available from: http://www.vivo.colostate.edu/hbooks/pathphys/digestion/stomach/vomiting.html
[03] Christopher Freeman, Constance Barter, Melanie Fennell, Peter Cooper, Roz Shafran, Sarah Egan, Tracey Wade. The Complete Guide to Overcoming Eating Disorders, Perfectionism and Low Self-esteem Available from: https://books.google.co.in/books
[04] James L. Lewis, III , MD. Hypernatremia (High Level of Sodium in the Blood). Available from: https://www.merckmanuals.com/home/hormonal-and-metabolic-disorders/electrolyte-balance/hypernatremia-high-level-of-sodium-in-the-blood
[05] Drugs and Supplements – Ipecac Syrup (Oral Route). Available from: https://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements/ipecac-syrup-oral-route/description/drg-20064363
[06] Lee, N. M., & Saha, S. (2011). Nausea and vomiting of pregnancy. Gastroenterology clinics of North America, 40(2), 309–vii. doi: 10.1016/j.gtc.2011.03.009