What should you know about early morning nausea?

Nausea after lying down or with a sour taste can occur with acid reflux or gastritis. Vomiting, diarrhoea, cramps or a shared meal can suggest gastroenteritis or food poisoning. Upper-right abdominal pain after rich meals may accompany gallstones. Heat exposure and poor fluid intake can contribute to heat exhaustion. Some medicines, alcohol, migraine, pregnancy and low blood sugar can also cause morning symptoms. The timing, food pattern and any pain or fever are useful clues, but nausea alone cannot identify one condition.

Take small sips of water or an oral rehydration drink and choose bland, small meals if tolerated. Avoid alcohol and foods that clearly worsen reflux or stomach irritation. Sit upright after eating and review new medicines with a pharmacist or clinician rather than stopping prescribed treatment yourself. In hot weather, move to a cool place and rest. If you are vomiting, note how often and whether you can keep fluids down.

Get urgent help for severe or persistent abdominal pain, blood or coffee-ground material in vomit, black stools, fainting, confusion, severe weakness or inability to keep fluids down. Prompt assessment is also needed with yellow skin or eyes, high fever, chest pain, pregnancy with troublesome vomiting, or signs of dehydration such as very little urine.

Share when nausea begins, what you ate, your medicines, bowel symptoms, pain location and fluid intake. Ask whether reflux, infection, low blood sugar or another cause fits the pattern, and what warning signs should bring you back for review.