Why Do I Always Feel Nausea? Explore Common Causes and Solutions

Constant nausea can come from stress, acid reflux, medicines, pregnancy, or gastritis. See a doctor if it persists.

Common causes

• Stress and anxiety.
• Acid reflux (GERD) and gastritis.
• Medicines.
• Pregnancy.
• Migraines.
• Gastroparesis (slow stomach emptying).
• Gallbladder disease.
• H. pylori infection.
• Hormonal changes.

What helps

Small meals, ginger, avoiding fatty food and strong smells, and sipping fluids.

See a doctor if

Nausea lasts more than a couple of weeks, or comes with weight loss, vomiting, pain or blood in vomit.

Pregnancy

A test is available from a missed period.

Tip

Keep a food and symptom diary.

What nausea is

Nausea is the unpleasant sensation that you are about to vomit. It is triggered by the brain’s chemoreceptor trigger zone, which responds to signals from the stomach, inner ear, bloodstream and mind. Persistent nausea over weeks needs a medical look.

Common causes

• Pregnancy: about 70% to 80% of pregnant people have nausea in the first trimester.
• Acid reflux and gastritis.
• Medication side effects, such as antibiotics, painkillers, metformin, iron pills and chemotherapy.
• Anxiety and stress, which affect the gut-brain axis.
• Migraine.
• Motion sickness and inner ear problems.
• Food intolerance, gallbladder disease and pancreatitis.
• Gastroparesis, delayed emptying of the stomach, common in diabetes.
• Low blood sugar, dehydration, and infections.
• Liver or kidney disease.
• Hormonal changes and thyroid disease.
• Cannabis and alcohol.
• Cyclic vomiting syndrome.

What helps

• Eat small, frequent meals and avoid empty stomach.
• Choose bland foods and avoid greasy, spicy foods.
• Ginger (250 milligrams four times a day) has good evidence for reducing nausea.
• Sip cold, clear fluids slowly.
• Fresh air and avoiding strong smells.
• Acupressure at the P6 point on the inner wrist may help.
• Vitamin B6 for pregnancy nausea.
• Treat the cause, like reflux or anxiety.

See a doctor if

Nausea lasts more than 2 weeks, comes with weight loss, vomiting, abdominal pain, blood, yellow skin, trouble swallowing or fever. Call right away if you might have a heart attack, since nausea with chest pain or sweating can be a symptom, especially in women.

Pregnancy

If you could be pregnant, take a test. Severe nausea and vomiting with weight loss (hyperemesis gravidarum) needs medical care.

Tip

Keep a diary of when nausea strikes, foods, medicines and stress. This helps your doctor find the pattern.

Frequent triggers and numbers

Chronic or recurring nausea has many causes, including acid reflux, gastritis, gastroparesis, migraines, anxiety, medications, pregnancy and gallbladder disease. About 70 to 80 percent of pregnant women experience nausea, usually starting around week 6 and easing by week 14 to 16. Medicines that often cause it include antibiotics, metformin, opioids, chemotherapy and iron supplements. Anxiety triggers the gut brain connection, and skipping meals can leave stomach acid with nothing to work on. Eating small bland meals, sipping ginger tea (ginger up to 1 gram a day is considered safe), fresh air and avoiding strong smells help many people. Ask a doctor about nausea lasting more than a week, unexplained weight loss, or vomiting blood. Severe pain in the upper right abdomen with nausea, a yellow tint to skin, or chest pain needs urgent attention.

Based on data from the Mayo Clinic and ACOG