No one likes throwing up. It’s just that simple. Cicero – remember him, tough guy, around 100 BC, liked to hear himself talk? Well, he noted that he would rather die in battle than suffer sea sickness. Not so tough after all. The first cancer chemotherapy’s were all associated with severe vomiting. That was the number one fear people had of cancer was the vomiting. It is a deep, primordial response that comes over us in a matter of minutes, at first we fight it but eventually make the mad dash to the bathroom to just get it over with. Just giving someone something for the nausea is just a roll of the dice whether it gets thrown up or stays in long enough to do any good.
The best treatment for Nausea and Vomiting is IV Fluids containing Medications (or straight medications by IV. Unfortunately most urgent care clinics won’t, it can’t do IVs. That is not an issue at Perry Medical. We have an immediate process of starting an IV for o a liter of fluids, several medications either IV Push or slowly through the IV fluids. The actual IV fluids themselves reduce the swelling in the intestines and help with the vomiting just themselves. We add several appropriate medications to stop the vomiting, ease the stomach cramps, and help with the diarrhea. The fluids themselves reverse any dehydration and give you some reserve.
Diarrhea results from the large Intestine working too fast and moving the intestinal contents too quickly through the system and out before the water can be absorbed. There are oral medications to slow down the large intestine and others to absorb the toxins causing the diarrhea. In the old days we used ‘Activated Charcoal” which patients hated. It didn’t taste bad, But it did turn your mouth and teeth BLACK and even turned the toilet bowl black that would never come out, ever. Now we have a simple polystyrene bead, as fine as powder is dissolved in water four times a day. Binds the toxins and doesn’t turn anything black.
Antibiotics are sometimes prescribed to help reset the bowel bacteria, but usually the body takes care of itself.
Children have a tendency to start vomiting around 1-2am. There are few things more miserable than seeing your child vomiting. Almost all causes of pediatric vomiting are harmless. Occasionally we will get an X-ray to make sure it’s not a constipation issue. But if that’s not the problem a single shot of Phenergan in the buttocks will break the vomiting cycle, the child will go home and take a nap for 4-5 hours and wake up and be a little groggy but not nauseous. Start slow with crackers and sips of Ginger Ale and in the next day or so are fine.
But, we may make it sound simple, but each case in unique. We are highly trained and not afraid to start an IV in an adult, or give a cute little kid a shot. Whatever it takes, whenever you arrive, we are prepared to make your life a whole lot better.
