What are the causes of nausea & vomiting postoperatively and how best to avoid it?
Answer Hi Sarah, I wish I knew the answer to your question (how to avoid nausea and vomiting)…I would be making millions! There are many causes of postoperative nausea and vomiting; pain (stimulates the nerve causing nausea), pain medications (side effects from it), dehydration or hunger (nothing to eat or drink after midnight for surgery), anesthesia (especially the general anesthesia with volatile agents), other medications used during anesthesia (narcotics, paralyzing agents, etc), certain types of surgery (surgery of the reproductive system or bowel or internal organs; the eye or inner ear surgeries etc), prolonged surgeries under general anesthesia versus a short procedure, hypoxia (not enough oxygen to brain). The list is not exhaustive…some patients are extremely sensitive, especially those who have a history of motion sickness. You can’t completely avoid postoperative nausea and vomiting, but you can try by doing the following. 1. Let your anesthesia provider know of your c
