CBD and Nausea: What You Need to Know About This Natural Supplement.

Emerging research suggests that CBD may provide relief for nausea induced by chemotherapy and other conditions. If you are searching for reliable information on CBD and nausea, you have come to the right place. One advantage CBD has is it doesn’t cause the “high” that comes with marijuana. Tetrahydrocannabinol or THC is the cannabinoid in the cannabis plant that causes the “high.” This article provides information on CBD and nausea, and what you should know before trying it

CBD and Nausea: What’s Nausea? 

Nausea is usually a discomfort in the stomach accompanied by an urge to vomit. A person suffering from nausea may feel a heaviness, tightness in the stomach, or a feeling of indigestion that doesn’t go away easily. Nausea can come from many different medical conditions. In fact, it is one of the most common medical symptoms. It may not be a sign of a serious problem most of the time. 

But there are times when nausea might be a symptom of a serious health condition that needs your immediate attention. For example, nausea is a common symptom of pregnancy, stomach flu, and chemotherapy. It may also simply be a side effect of a medication. Not all cases of nausea cause a person to actually vomit.

Why Do We Get Nauseous?

Nausea is your body’s highly evolved defensive mechanism. It helps the body quickly get rid of harmful substances you may have ingested. If you allow a harmful substance to continue its course through the digestive system, the pathogen can enter the bloodstream and cause more harm to your system. If the cause of nausea is a minor infection of the upper digestive system, expelling the content of the stomach before it crosses the duodenum helps prevent pain and discomfort. 

A negative past experience with a certain food or beverage can induce nausea once again. In fact, the sight or smell of such food can trigger nausea. Dopamine and apomorphine act directly on the receptors located in the brain’s fourth ventricle – which is a cavity near the brainstem. Activating these brain receptors causes nausea. There are some conditions such as inflammation in the gut that stimulate the brain to directly induce nausea. Even though nausea is unpleasant, the human race might not have survived without it.

The Mechanism Behind Nausea

The exact mechanism of nausea or emesis can be divided into three components. First, the afferent neurons will send inputs to the central nervous system or CNS to stimulate nausea and vomiting. The CNS then receives, recognizes, and centrally processes the signals. Then, the efferent neurons will carry signals from the CNS that lead to the coordinated respiratory, gastrointestinal, and abdominal muscle actions of nausea and vomiting. There are two medullary centers of vomiting in the CNS. These are the sensory CTZ or chemoreceptor trigger zone and the integrative center. The CTZ is in the medulla of the human brain. It has a blood-brain barrier to detect toxins that are circulating in the blood as well as cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). 

It is sensitive to a large number of circulating emetic agents such as intravenous copper sulfate, morphine, and certain metabolic emetic agents. The CTZ doesn’t induce vomiting itself. Instead, it relays stimuli to the integrative vomiting center to produce the actual sensation of emesis. The integrative vomiting center coordinates activities of the neural structures to produce the vomiting reflex. 

Cancer and Nausea

Even though nausea is often a side effect of some cancer treatments like chemotherapy, it can also be a direct symptom of cancer. For example, if a person has a tumor in some part of his/her bowel, it may lead to nausea and vomiting. When a person has tumors in the lining of the abdominal cavity (peritoneum), it can prevent food from digesting properly. This can lead to nausea and vomiting over time. Additionally, a tumor in the brain can increase the pressure in the brain and induce nausea and vomiting. 

Chemotherapy Nausea

Nausea and vomiting are common symptoms with some cancer treatments like chemotherapy. The vomiting center in the brain is responsible for controlling nausea and vomiting. The reason for chemotherapy-induced vomiting and nausea is the activation of the CTZ or chemoreceptor trigger zone by the chemotherapy agents circulating in the blood of the patient. In fact, the sight and smell of chemotherapy can be causes of anticipatory nausea & vomiting. They may occur before the treatment to patients who have experienced nausea in prior cycles. 

In fact, it can happen within 24 hours of beginning the treatment or later. If nausea and vomiting occ