GC: n
S: TAG – https://goo.gl/AahnnW (last access: 1 November 2017); NHS – https://lc.cx/NvDX (last access: 1 November 2017).
N: 1. Since the early 15{SUP()}th{SUP} Century, from Latin nausea “seasickness”, from Ionic Greek “nausea” (“Attic nautia”) which means “seasickness”, “disgust,” literally “ship-sickness” from naus, “ship”. Despite its etymology, the word in English seems never to have been restricted to seasickness.
2. An unpleasant sensation vaguely referred to the epigastrium and abdomen, with a tendency to vomit. Nausea may be a symptom of a variety of disorders, some minor and some more serious.
3. Nausea is usually felt when nerve endings in the stomach and other parts of the body are irritated. The irritated nerves send messages to the center in the brain that controls the vomiting reflex. When the nerve irritation becomes intense, vomiting results.
4. Nausea and vomiting may be set off by nerve signals from many other parts of the body besides the stomach. For example, intense pain in almost any part of the body can produce nausea. The reason is that the nausea-vomiting mechanism is part of the involuntary autonomic nervous system. Nausea can also be precipitated by strong emotions.
5. Nausea and vomiting are common side effects of some medications. Usually nausea is not an allergy to a drug (which is a severe reaction that can include skin rash or trouble breathing), but an unwanted side effect of the medicine. Some medicines such as those used in cancer treatment (chemotherapy), antibiotics like erythromycin, and strong painkillers are well known to cause nausea and vomiting.
6. Some women get a very severe form of nausea and vomiting called Hyperemesis Gravidarum (HG), which can be very serious. It needs specialist treatment, sometimes in hospital.
7. Exactly how many pregnant women get HG is not known as some cases may go unreported, but it’s thought to be around 1 in every 100.
8. Signs and symptoms of HG include: Prolonged and severe nausea and vomiting (some women report being sick up to 50 times a day), dehydration (not having enough fluids in your body because you can’t keep drinks down); if you’re drinking less than 500ml a day, you need to seek help; ketosis (a serious condition that results in the build-up of acidic chemicals in the blood and urine); weight loss and low blood pressure (hypotension) when standing.
9. It is very common to find the word “nausea” together with “vomits” because both terms make reference to symptoms related to the same causes. Nevertheless it is very important to remind that they are not completely linked: One can suffer nausea and not ending up vomiting. That is the case of nausea related to the first moths of pregnancy (also known as “morning sickness”). The relation is made according to the feeling of being about to vomit when one suffer nausea.
10. Cultural Interrelation: We can mention the novel Nausea (1938) from the author Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980).
In relation to the real cases where people suffered from strong nausea symptoms we can find:
- Kate Middleton. It is known that the Duchess of Cambridge has suffered along her three pregnancies from Hyperemesis Gravidarum (strong nausea and vomits).
- Charlotte Brontë (writer of the bestseller Jane Eyre), who died in 1855 in the early stages of pregnancy, is believed to be one of its highest-profile victims of Hyperemesis Gravidarum. In the weeks before her death, she complained that all food made her feel sick, and couldn’t keep anything down.
S: 1. OED – https://www.etymonline.com/word/nausea (last access: 31 October 2017). 2 to 4. MEDICALDICT – https://goo.gl/KigcvZ (last access: 31 October 2017). 5. EME – https://goo.gl/YAxqXm (last access: 31 October 2017). 6. NHS – https://lc.cx/NvDX (last access: 1 November 2017). 7. NHS – https://lc.cx/Nvrw (last access: 1 November 2017). 8. NHS – https://lc.cx/Nvrw (last access: 1 November 2017). 9. NHS – https://lc.cx/NvDX (last access: 1 November 2017); TAG – https://goo.gl/AahnnW (last access: 1 October 2017). 10. JPSar – https://goo.gl/68yqNc (last access: 1 November 2017); The Guardian – https://goo.gl/uAFXfS;The Guardian – https://goo.gl/D7jEn7 (last access: 1 November 2017).
SYN:
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CR: symptom
