Vomiting Treatment at Home and the ER

Vomiting is your body’s way of removing harmful threats to prevent serious illness. For instance, if you eat contaminated food at a barbecue, your body will purge itself to eliminate the bacteria. However, throwing up can also be a symptom of another condition, such as a brain tumor, alcohol abuse, or a traumatic brain injury. Thus, it’s essential to watch your symptoms and go to the ER if needed. Learn more about treating vomiting at home and when a trip to the emergency room is in order.

3 Ways to Treat Vomiting at Home

1. Replenish your lost fluids and nutrients

Drink clear liquids and eat bland foods, such as saltine crackers. Don’t drink and eat too quickly, though, since that can cause your system to throw everything back up. It’s also important to avoid brushing your teeth right after eating or drinking because it can make you nauseous. Additionally, relax after consuming foods and beverages so your system won’t get overwhelmed.

2. Stop taking non-essential medications

These can irritate your stomach when dealing with bouts of nausea and vomiting. This includes over-the-counter medications and health supplements. However, if your doctor wants you to take those medicines, contact the provider before stopping them. Your doctor will then let you know if you should continue taking them, even though you have an upset stomach.

3. Take over-the-counter medicine

You can take over-the-counter medicine to treat vomiting as well. However, it’s good to discuss this with an urgent care provider first. Since throwing up eliminates dangerous invaders, you don’t want to put the brakes on it if you have a severe virus or infection. That’s why it’s always beneficial to discuss taking anti-nausea meds with a provider beforehand.

When to Go to the ER

Because vomiting can indicate other health conditions, you should go to the ER immediately if you:

• Feel dizzy
• Have chest pains
• Feel short of breath
• Experience weakness or numbness
• Are you vomiting up blood
• Have cognitive issues
• Are severely dehydrated
• Have bloody diarrhea
• Can’t keep down fluids
• Have a fever that won’t break
• Experience abdominal pain

Treatment at the ER or Urgent Care

If you come into the ER or urgent care for vomiting, the staff will quickly assess your situation and determine a treatment plan. First, the staff will likely provide IV fluids to rehydrate you. You also might require medication or other treatment to address the cause of your illness. For instance, if you have a bacterial infection, you might need antibiotics as part of your treatment plan.

Get Medical Help for Vomiting

Legacy ER & Urgent Care is here to meet your medical care needs by providing affordable pricing and quality care. As part of Intuitive Health’s innovative hybrid model ER and urgent care system, patients are only billed for the level of care they receive from professional and highly trained medical staff. With six facilities located in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, emergent and non-emergent care are accessible and transparent, focusing on superb customer service.

Legacy ER & Urgent Care has six convenient locations in the DFW area:

• Allen – Legacy ER & Urgent Care is located at 1310 W. Exchange Pkwy Allen, TX 75013, and may be reached at 972-526-5819.
• Coppell – Legacy ER & Urgent Care is located at 330 S Denton Tap Rd Coppell, TX 75019 and may be reached at 469-702-9917.
• Frisco East: Legacy ER & Urgent Care is located at 16151 Eldorado Pkwy Frisco, TX 75035 and may be reached at 972-526-7009.
• Frisco West: Legacy ER & Urgent Care is located at 9205 Legacy Dr. Frisco, TX 75033, and may be reached at 972-526-7020.
• McKinney – Legacy ER & Urgent Care is located at 2810 Hardin Blvd McKinney, TX 75072, and may be reached at 972-573-6688.
• North Richland Hills: Legacy ER & Urgent Care is located at 8950 N. Tarrant Pkwy North Richland Hills, TX 76182, and may be reached at 817-663-1247