nausea
Meaning of nausea: Nausea is an uncomfortable stomach sensation often preceding vomiting, with causes ranging from motion and illness to medication and pregnancy.
Definition of nausea
Nausea is an unpleasant sensation of unease centered in the stomach and throat, frequently accompanied by an urge to vomit, though vomiting does not always follow. It is a common, nonspecific symptom rather than a disease in itself, meaning it can arise from a wide range of underlying causes.
Nausea can result from digestive conditions, infections, migraine, motion sickness, pregnancy, and many medications, including but not limited to chemotherapy drugs, as well as from problems affecting the inner ear's balance system or the brain's own nausea and vomiting control centers.
Because nausea has so many possible causes, evaluating it typically considers accompanying symptoms, such as abdominal pain, fever, or recent changes in medication, alongside the pattern and timing of the nausea itself, to help identify what is responsible.
Used in a sentence
The patient reported nausea that improved somewhat after eating a small meal.
Good to know
Nausea is frequently assumed to be a side effect of cancer treatment specifically, though it is an extremely common, nonspecific symptom with many possible causes unrelated to cancer or its treatment.
Word origin
Where “nausea” comes from
Formed from Greek nausia, from naus, meaning ship, an early term originally describing the sick feeling associated with seasickness.