Nausea can range from a mild uncomfortable feeling to a debilitating sickness that negatively impacts overall quality of life. Depending on the cause, nausea can be short-term and pass quickly. However, in other cases, it is a long-term condition and treatment is necessary to prevent malnutrition or to enable life-saving treatments. Do you experience nausea that affects your overall quality of life? Here is what you need to know about treating it with marijuana.
Nausea is a term used to describe a feeling of stomach upset, light-headedness, dizziness, and often an urge to vomit. Nausea can be caused by a number of different viruses, medications, conditions, diseases, and environmental factors. Some forms of nausea, such as that caused by motion or the flu, are transitory in nature and can usually be treated with simple over-the-counter medicines or rest and fluids. However, other causes of nausea can be much more long-lasting and difficult to treat.
Simple lifestyle changes can be one solution for some types of nausea. For example, overeating, eating too little, or drinking too much alcohol can lead to nausea. By adopting a healthy diet and drinking only in moderation, nausea can be effectively prevented. Stress and pain are other common causes of nausea. Getting enough sleep and adopting effective stress management techniques can prevent nausea. If intense pain is chronic due to injury or other medical conditions, over-the-counter pain relievers are often ineffective or lead to unwanted side effects. Cannabis can be a good pain management tool and can prevent nausea caused by chronic or intense pain.
One of the most common causes of nausea that impacts a person’s well-being is medication. Those who have cancer and are undergoing chemotherapy and radiation treatments and those with HIV who are using anti-viral drugs can experience nausea so severe that it prevents them from fully benefiting from their treatment or causes them to forego treatment because they cannot withstand the side effects.
If nausea is caused by a short-term illness, by pregnancy, or by motion, it can usually be treated effectively with over-the-counter remedies like Dramamine. For those with nausea caused by cancer or HIV medications, traditional treatments like corticosteroids or serotonin receptor agonists are often used. However, these have some unwanted side effects such as feeling lethargic, drugged, or even delusional. For others, these drugs have no anti-nausea effects at all. If nausea cannot be effectively treated, sufferers can lose too much body weight, develop vitamin deficiencies, and can have a drastic reduction in overall well-being.
Marijuana works to prevent nausea by binding with the endocannabinoid system receptors. The endocannabinoid system affects the regulation of food intake and also influences intestinal inflammation and negative reactions such as vomiting and nausea. If the endocannabinoid system is not properly regulated due to medications, health conditions, or other factors, it can cause negative side effects. Cannabis can help regulate the system and bring it back into balance, relieving symptoms such as nausea.
Depending on the causes of nausea, strains high in both CBD and THC have proven to be effective in treating it. For those who want effective daytime relief while still being able to drive, work, or think critically, using strains high in CBD and very low in THC is the best option. For those who want to relax, de-stress, and have better sleep that is free of nausea, a high-THC strain is a good choice. Many of those who have both daytime and nighttime nausea will benefit the most from using one strain during the day and another at night. Cannabis can be taken in pill form, smoked, or ingested during the day and can be vaped overnight.
Do you have chronic nausea due to a medical condition or as the result of undergoing chemotherapy or anti-viral treatments? If you live in a state where medical marijuana is legal, you can qualify to use medical marijuana and get your MMJ ID card online. Schedule an appointment with MDBerry.com and talk to a qualified physician who will verify your condition and look into your health history. If the doctor determines you are a good candidate for medical marijuana, you will get an ID card that can be used to purchase medical marijuana at any licensed dispensary in your state.
