Stomach – Vomiting ( What is heart burn, nausea, regurgitation, motion sickness & or haematemesis) & its causes

Ayurveda for a healthy life- 72/2026 on 16.3.2026

6. Stomach – Vomiting

1. What are the functions of the stomach ?

In the stomach of a cow, there are four compartments. The stomach acts as a storehouse of food. The cow ruminates, that is brings back the food from the stomach to the mouth, ruminates it and swallows it again. In the human stomach have no such compartments. Still the food is stored for 2 to 4 hours. The food is well mixed by contractions and expansions of the stomach. The digestive juice secreted by the stomach contains hydrochloric acid, pepsin and renin which digest the proteins and kill the germs.

2. What is heart burn ?

When the acid in the stomach enters in the reverse direction to that of oesophagus, it leads to inflammation of the oesophagus and a burning sensation in the region of the heart. Though it is called heart burn, it has no connection whatsoever with the heart.

3. What is nausea ?

A sensation or a feeling of vomiting is called nausea. It may or may not be followed by vomiting.

4. Why do infants regurgitate, that is bring out small quantities of milk or curds through the mouth ?

Many healthy infants bring out one or two teaspoonfuls of milk or curds off and on. After drinking milk, the lower end of the oesophagus opens and milk enters the stomach.

In the first 4 to 5 months after birth, the opening at the junction of the oesophagus and the stomach does not close completely. Hence, whenever the pressure in the abdomen rises, e.g. while crying, laughing, belching or lying on abdomen, a little milk or curds regurgitates. By 6 months of age, the baby develops control over the opening and the regurgitation automatically stops.

The baby should be burped after feeding. No treatment is necessary. If the colour of the vomitus is green, if the baby coughs during regurgitation, if the frequency of vomiting gradually increases or if the child is not gaining weight satisfactorily, the parents should consult a paediatrician.

5. What is motion sickness ?

Some children & adults suffer from vomiting while travelling by bus, ship or a plane. While travelling, the fluid in the semicircular canals of the ear (the vestibular system is the apparatus of the inner ear involved in balancing) keeps moving to and fro, which stimulates the vomiting centre in the brain and results in vomiting.

6. What is the significance of green or yellow vomiting ?

Normally the colour of the vomitus is the same as that of the food eaten previously. The green or yellow colour of the vomitus is due to the presence of bile in it. The bile is secreted by the liver and brought to the duodenum, a part of the small intestine, through the bile duct. Normally, bile does not enter the stomach because the lower end of the stomach known as the pylorus is closed.

When the food passes from the stomach to the small intestine, the pylorus opens. Occasionally a small amount of bile enters the stomach. At this time the vomitus becomes greenish. However, in cases of obstruction of the intestine, bile and intestinal secretions and food enter the stomach and the patient develops persistent green or yellow vomiting. In such cases, a surgeon should be consulted immediately.

7. What are the causes of haematemesis, that is blood in the vomitus ?

The causes of haematemesis are –

1. Increased acidity in the stomach

2. Medicines such as aspirin

3. Inflammation of the stomach along with peptic ulcer

4. Accidental ingestion of an acid or alkali

5. Cirrhosis of liver. In chronic hepatic disease also, bleeding takes place in the liver, which becomes blackish brown. This comes out in the form of vomiting. In cases of haematemesis, a specialist should be consulted.

8. How should one handle a baby who has vomiting ?

One should diagnose and treat the cause. If the patient is severely dehydrated, he should be hospitalised. When at home, the patient should be treated on the following lines. Following care should be taken for maintaining good health of the liver and to maintain the water balance in the body :

1. Rest should be given to the stomach by fasting or rigorously restricting the diet.

2. The patient should avoid eating heavy and fried food items.

3. The patient should be given tender coconut water and juice of sugarcane, sweet lime, orange, pomegranate, apple, grapes and lemon. These are to be given frequently, that too in small quantities.

4. Quarter teaspoonful of powders of each of coriander, cumin seeds, fennel seeds and cardamom should be mixed in two litres of water. Four teaspoonfuls of sugar and a quarter teaspoonful of salt should be added to this mixture. Boil the mixture till one litre of it remains. The patient should drink it sip by sip after it cools down.

5. The patient should avoid hot drinks and hot food items.

6. Offer the patient whatever drink he likes.

7. When hungry the patient should eat popped rice, wheat items, mung (green gram) or masur soup, mutton soup, mango, orange and gradually increase the diet so that he can start to fill his stomach within 3-4 days.

If the vomiting is not controlled and signs of dehydration appear, a doctor should be consulted and the patient should be hospitalised and given intravenous fluids.

9. Causes of vomiting

Vomiting is a protective mechanism of the body. It helps to get rid of excessive, undigested, irritating or poisonous food and germs.

Infants have a habit of putting any object into their mouth. Hence, they swallow a lot of germs. When the germs cause inflammation of the stomach, the condition is called gastritis, wherein vomiting is the main symptom. When the germs cause inflammation of the intestine, the condition is called enteritis wherein the main symptom is diarrhoea. When vomiting and diarrhoea are both present, the condition is referred to as gastroenteritis.

One of the common causes of vomiting in children is forced feeding by the mother.

In the first stage of jaundice and in inflammation of pancreas that is pancreatitis, vomiting is a common symptom. In diseases of the kidney, if the waste products such as urea, creatinine which are excreted through urine accumulate in the body, the patient suffers from vomiting.

In cases of meningitis, brain tumours or brain abscess, the intracranial pressure increases. Hence, the patient suffers from headache and vomiting. In migraine too, the patient suffers from headache and vomiting.

In some children and adults, the vomiting centre in the brain is sensitive. Such patients may vomit while crying, laughing, due to bad odour, irritation of throat, travelling, fever, etc. In cyclic vomiting, the vomiting occurs every few minutes and stops only when the vomiting centre gets exhausted. This is known as ‘cyclic vomiting’.

If vomiting is not controlled within a few hours, a specialist should be consulted. Constant or severe vomiting causes dehydration that is severe water loss of body. If necessary, one should be hospitalised and should be administered glucose saline.