Definition
Nausea is one of the typical symptoms that appear during pregnancy, especially during the first trimester of gestation.
Nausea occurs particularly in the morning after waking up or after breakfast, but it can also occur at other times of the day, whether near or away from meals.
Causes
The causes of nausea in pregnancy have not yet been fully clarified. However, it seems that the onset of nausea can be caused by a series of concomitant factors, such as hormonal factors, metabolic factors, gastrointestinal factors and psychological factors.
Furthermore, nausea can also occur when the pregnant woman suffers from hyperemesis gravidarum, gastroenteritis, appendicitis, cholecystitis or other pathologies not necessarily related to the interesting state.
Finally, even taking certain drugs can promote the onset of nausea.
Symptoms
Nausea is itself a symptom that - in turn - can present itself in association with other symptoms, such as feelings of general malaise, loss of appetite, salivary and reticulated hypersecretion.
Furthermore, nausea is often the feeling that anticipates vomiting.
Information on Nausea in Pregnancy - Drugs and Care is not intended to replace the direct relationship between health professional and patient. Always consult your doctor and / or specialist before taking Nausea in Pregnancy - Drugs and Care.
drugs
Antinausea drugs should not be taken during pregnancy, except in particularly severe cases.
Generally, pregnant women are advised to adopt certain behaviors that can prevent the onset of this symptom, such as avoiding eating too much food, eating little and often, avoiding fasting for too long and not taking too many liquids on an empty stomach.
Furthermore, both nausea and vomiting in pregnancy usually occur in mild form and tend to regress spontaneously at the end of the first trimester of gestation.
However, if this does not happen and if the nausea and vomiting should be more serious than normal, the doctor may decide to intervene by prescribing some drugs.
In any case, it is essential to remember that pregnant women must always seek the advice of their doctor before taking any type of medication, including over-the-counter medicines and herbal and homeopathic products.
Metoclopramide
Metoclopramide (Plasil ®) is an antiemetic drug that can be used against nausea and vomiting in pregnancy only in cases of absolute necessity and only after consulting the doctor. It is available in different pharmaceutical formulations suitable for oral or parenteral administration.
The dose of metoclopramide usually administered - both orally and parenterally - is 10 mg, to be taken up to three times a day, according to the doctor's prescription. An interval of at least six hours must elapse between one administration and another. The maximum dose that can be administered should not exceed 30 mg of active ingredient per day.
Domperidone
Domperidone (Peridon ®) is certainly not a drug of first choice in the treatment of gravid nausea, but it can be used if the doctor considers it absolutely necessary.
Domperidone is available both for oral administration and for rectal administration.
When administered orally, the dose of domperidone usually used is 10 mg, to be taken up to a maximum of three times a day.
As for rectal administration, however, domperidone is available as suppositories containing 30 mg of active ingredient. Therefore, in this case, the recommended dose is one suppository a day.
