Experiencing Vomiting After Eating? Here’s What You Can Do.

Ever experienced a moment where you’ve finished a great meal and felt sick just minutes later? If you’ve ever had that uneasy feeling, then it may be a sign that something is going on below the surface.

Vomiting is just your body’s way of dispelling any substances that may be contaminating your body. While many reasons could cause vomiting after eating, it can be time-consuming to figure out the exact cause.

Here are some of the leading causes of why you may be throwing up after eating.

Bacterial or viral infection

The simplest form of bacterial or viral infection is the common stomach flu. This will force your entire body to go through the effects of the stomach flu, which usually presents itself almost immediately after eating and may last for up to 24 to 48 hours.

Apart from vomiting, you may also experience a whole host of other symptoms such as muscle pain, joint pain, and fever.

While it may cause you serious discomfort, it’s a condition that usually goes away on its own, it is advised that you seek medical attention.

Food allergies and intolerances

Another common reason for vomiting is consuming foods that your body simply cannot tolerate. Causing your body’s immune system to react resulting in symptoms like vomiting.

Food allergies are another reason which affects everyone in different ways. The majority of cases where people experience allergies can present with very mild symptoms, however, if left untreated, each allergic reaction can have a more intense reaction than the last.

Apart from vomiting after eating, you can also have symptoms such as breaking out in hives or rash, swelling of the throat, high blood pressure, and increased heart rate.

Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)

More commonly known as acid reflux, GERD occurs when stomach acid goes up your oesophagus and inflames it. This, in turn, triggers vomiting.

Other common symptoms of GERD could be difficulty swallowing, heartburn, chronic coughing, and disrupted sleep.

Overeating

Your stomach has a limited capacity. If you keep eating well after your stomach has reached its capacity you may feel nauseous.

More often than not people tend to reach for snacks and overeat out of boredom or while they’re multitasking instead of when they’re hungry.

Vomiting after eating can occur in certain cases where your stomach simply cannot accommodate the amount of food you’re consuming.

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)

Those who suffer from irritable bowel syndrome may experience problems where they are not able to pass stool through their intestines. Even though your colon is structurally sound and normal, you may find that your stool moves too fast or too slow.

One way you can identify whether you’re having IBS is to see where the pain originates from. If the pain is coming from your throat or chest areas then it’s probably acid reflux, but if you’ve narrowed it down to your stomach area then it could be IBS.

If your IBS is acting up then your nausea can get worse and lead to vomiting.

Stress and anxiety

Even though stress and anxiety are categorised as mental or psychological conditions, they can cause gastrointestinal problems like vomiting after eating.

Physical symptoms can manifest themselves since there are a plethora of hormones released into your bloodstream, forcing your body to react. With everyone having their own threshold for stress and anxiety depending on your level of tolerance, you may also experience these symptoms after eating.

Now that we’ve explored what causes throwing up after eating, here are a few ways to prevent or control it.

Preventing vomiting after eating

Nausea is not a pleasant prospect, especially if it forces you to throw up what you’ve consumed. There are some simple ways to avoid these symptoms from occurring.

• Consuming small meals throughout the day instead of binge eating
• Consuming food at a slow pace
• Staying away from food that’s not easily digestible

After you’ve consumed food, take a few minutes to rest without engaging in any activities that require you to exert yourself.

Once you’ve started experiencing nausea, then there are a few ways you can help yourself control those symptoms.

• Consume small amounts of clear, slightly sweetened liquids like fruit juices, but try to avoid anything too acidic
• Get some rest without engaging in too many activities which can worsen your nausea

Timing is everything and in this case, your timing can also help identify why you may be throwing up after consuming food.

It could be a passing illness that isn’t very serious or it could be a sign of something more serious. The best way to know for certain is to consult your physician and get the right medical attention you need to control your symptoms and also get some valuable advice on how to prevent these symptoms from popping up in the future.