Heat and vomiting

Heat can make the body lose fluid through sweating, and overheating may cause nausea, vomiting, headache, weakness, dizziness, or confusion. Vomiting with diarrhoea can occur with gastroenteritis, food poisoning, or rotavirus infection. Severe headache with vomiting may occur with migraine, while marked abdominal pain can point toward gallstones or pancreatitis. Vomiting with a stiff neck, light sensitivity, confusion, or a rash needs urgent assessment because meningitis is another possible concern.

The timing, temperature exposure, recent food, sick contacts, pain location, headache pattern, medicines, and ability to drink help a clinician judge the cause. Vomiting itself can worsen dehydration, creating a cycle of fluid loss and weakness.

Move to a cool, shaded or air-conditioned place and loosen extra clothing. Rest quietly and take small, frequent sips of water or a suitable rehydration drink if you are alert and able to swallow. Avoid alcohol and strenuous activity. Once nausea eases, try bland foods in small amounts. Do not force fluids if every sip triggers vomiting; seek medical advice instead.

Call emergency services for confusion, collapse, seizure, severe breathing trouble, a very high body temperature, blood or coffee-ground material in vomit, severe abdominal pain, or a stiff neck with severe headache. Seek prompt care when vomiting is repeated, you cannot keep fluids down, urine becomes very scant, or weakness and dizziness are worsening.

Ask whether heat illness, dehydration, infection, migraine, or an abdominal condition best fits the pattern. Ask how to replace fluids, whether you need examination or testing, which medicines to avoid, and what symptoms should send you to emergency care.