[Nausea: Current view]

Presse Med. 2019 May;48(5):478-487. doi: 10.1016/j.lpm.2019.04.004. Epub 2019 May 19.
[Article in French]

Abstract

Nausea is a common feeling felt by the subject as a state likely to evolve into vomiting. However a lot of nausea is maintained without being followed by vomiting. Nausea can be isolated or accompanied by a clinical picture. Some situations are often accompanied by nausea like dizziness, migraines, transport sickness, pregnancy, acute or chronic digestive disorders or anxious state. Outside of a know pathological context, there must be an etiologic investigation. When they are accompanied by vomiting and general signs - especially a fever - nausea must first eliminate a potentially serious disease (intracranial hypertension, meningitis, occlusion…). Nausea resounds on the patient's quality of life, they can decrease concentration and professional activities. Many patients do not treat nausea and use rest and waiting for the resolution of symptoms. In the absence of signs of gravity taking a treatment without a medical prescription can be considered (recommendation ANSM 2008) especially for recurrent crisis whose cause can be precisely identified. They are many pharmacological substances with antinausea effects. If the etiological approach is essential and sometimes sufficient, symptomatic relief can be helped by some agents with less intense nausea and shorter duration especially by using of antihistaminics, anticholinergic agents and derivatives of phenothiazines.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Humans
  • Nausea* / drug therapy
  • Nausea* / etiology