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Some links in this article are affiliate links. We may earn a small commission if you make a purchase through these links, at no extra cost to you. We only recommend products we find useful to our readersHave you ever faced yourself in a situation with a dire urge to empty what you just ate or just an urge of throwing up irrespective of the contents in your stomach? It may be for several reasons, but have you ever had this thought lingering at the back of your mind? If yes, it is necessary to know that self-induced vomiting should be something that happens as a last resort and should never be made into a habit. It is a completely different approach if you are suffering from bulimia nervosa but if not, it is time to rethink your choices and ponder on the ghastly side-effects before you even think of throwing up.
Is Making Yourself Throw Up Good or Bad?
That being said, it is necessary to be very careful not to cross the fine line and simply make throwing up a habit. This is the last thing you want because the aftermath of this habit results in a number of ghastly health issues, even death if the situations go way out of hand. This is why it is necessary to keep things in proportion and treat situations wisely rather than getting swayed by them just to satisfy an urge.
When Should You Make Yourself Throw Up?
1. Consumption of Excess Alcohol
2. Excess Food Consumption
3. Consumption of Toxins
How to Make Yourself Throw Up?
Self-induced vomiting can be a done in a number of ways. But, the only speck of caution is to ensure that you are doing it as a last resort and not making it a habit whenever you are feeling off or unsettling in the stomach. That is probably the last thing you want to do. Throwing up inflicts a number of side-effects which is why it is very important to rethink all the plausible options before resorting to this.
If you are looking up ways on how to induce vomiting, here are they:
- By Using Fingers
- Warm Salt Water
- Rubbing Toothbrush
- Egg Whites
- Drinking Coca-Cola
- Mustard Solution
- Watching Someone Throwing Up
- Spin Around
- Bloodroot Powder
- Emetics
1. Throw Up By Using Fingers
Before you proceed forward with this process, make sure that your fingernails are chipped and clean so as to ensure no tissue damage while you throw up. That being said, brushing your fingers against the back of your throat triggers the gag reflex which, in turn, induces an anti-peristaltic movement and thus makes you throw up the remnants of your stomach.
What You Need To Do?
- Brush two fingers at the back of your throat
- Make sure to constantly try and brush the epiglottis and the area surrounding that
- Once you start feeling queasy, remove the finger and you are going to throw up
2. Warm Salt Water to Throw Up
Consumption of salt mixed in warm water is an age old remedy for the process of throwing up. While this may seem like one of the most conventional methods to make yourself throw up, it has its repercussions as well.
According to one of the most reputed American Heart Organisation, the permissible amount of salt per day should never cross the 1500mg per day. Inducing self-vomiting with an excess amount of salt water consumption disrupts the overall metabolism and functioning of the body.
[Read More Benefits of Gargling with Salt Water]
What You Need To Do?
- Mix three heaped teaspoons of salt in one cup of warm water
- Drink the solution at one go and wait for 30 minutes
A little note of caution against this precaution is to try and avoid it. The excess consumption of salt often creates shocks inside the body, especially the stomach. This is how you feel queasy and throw up but the process of regurgitation often leaves the stomach walls distended. Not just that, excess salt often results in the destruction of the brain cells and neurons.
3. Rubbing Toothbrush Make You Throw Up
What You Need To Do?
- Brush the bristles of the toothbrush gently at the back of the throat
- Once you feel like throwing up, remove the toothbrush from the mouth
4. Egg Whites Can Make You Throw Up
Raw eggs have a very distinctive smell and taste to it which not many people are very accustomed with. This is thus a great way of inducing vomiting and that too within a short span of time, especially during emergencies. This method is very effective when one needs to immediately induce vomiting due to ingestion of any kind of toxic materials. The smell and taste of raw egg whites often triggers the gag reflex which makes you throw up easily.
What You Need To Do?
- Crack an egg and separate the egg white from the yolk
- Start with smelling the egg white and see if it triggers any feeling of queasiness
- If not, eat the raw egg white and that is more than enough to make you throw up
5. Expose Yourself To Unpleasant Smells and Sights
Majority of people have the tendency to throw up when exposed to bad smells or sights that are a turn off for them. These kinds of situations can often help in encouraging the procedure of purging, thereby, providing with a sense of relief to the suffering individual. Try and commemorate any of the situations that can set you off or the kind of smells that you tend to avoid because it makes you queasy and try and do that exactly to make yourself throw up.
6. Drinking Coca-Cola Make You Throw Up
What You Need To Do?
- Gulp down the coca cola instead of sipping on it
- The sudden rush of sugar and fizz can only be attained with gulping
7. Mustard Solution To Throw Up
What You Need To Do?
- Mix two tablespoons of smooth mustard paste into a glass of warm water
- Drink the solution at a go and wait for 30 minutes for it to kick in
8. Watch Someone Else Throw up
Ever got stuck with a friend who consumed a little too much of alcohol? Do you feel queasy while taking care of them when they are emptying their guts out? This is definitely an involuntary reflex and is often triggered when we watch someone else throw up. While, this is not a kind of scenario that we encounter on a daily basis, there are a few ways you can watch someone else and make yourself throw up.
What You Need To Do?
- Find someone close by who is puking
- If that’s not possible, binge watch videos of people vomiting
9. Spin around
Spinning on a constant axis for a prolonged period of time often results in dizziness, feeling of queasiness and not to mention, unsettling feeling. Our body works on alignment and balance and when the same is disrupted, there are chances of the entire body losing its sheen of functionality. Consistent spinning results in dislocation of focus which makes people dizzy and induces the feeling of purging which can happen if the intentions are aligned with the cause.
What You Need To Do?
Well, not much, just spin around aimlessly till the room starts spinning around you
10. Bloodroot Powder Can Induce Throw Up
What You Need to do?
- Mix one tablespoon of bloodroot powder to one glass of water
- Drink the entire glass and that should do the trick
11. Emetics Make You Throw Up
The least painful way of self-induced vomiting is probably just the consumption of emetics. These are professionally and completely medicated way that induce vomiting in an individual. These are formulated so as to guarantee regurgitation without any kind of added hassle or possible health risks. One of the best and most sought after emetics is the Ipecac Syrup. The only line of caution is to never overdo the dosage of the syrup and religiously follow what’s written on the package or what the pharmacist or doctor suggests.
What You Need To Do?
- Consume the prescribed amount of syrup
How To Stop Yourself From Throwing Up?
There are often times when we feel queasy and nauseous. There may be some valid reasons behind the same or it might just be something that happens in the moment. If you are persistently feeling something like this on a regular basis, it is time to rethink some situations. Some of the remedies that effectively help in stopping you from throwing up includes:
- Take a walk in the fresh air and try to divert your mind from the feeling of purging.
- Eat something light on the stomach like that of crackers or such. You can even pair that with some ginger ale to accentuate the effect of it on stopping you from throwing up.
- Place a wet cloth over the head and around the neck often helps in subsiding the urge to puke
- Acupuncture is yet another common remedy that helps in levelling down the feeling of throwing up
What to Do After You Make Yourself Through Up?
Throwing up for certain reasons need aftercare as well. On second thoughts, whatever the situations are, if you have thrown up, it is necessary to take care of yourself following that situation. But, you are wondering how and what to do after you throw up? Well, much like anything you would do to keep your health conditions in check, you need to do the same after you have thrown up as well.
Aftercare is a very important necessity after throwing up. Some of the crucial stages of the same include:
- Rinsing the mouth thoroughly after throwing up. This step helps in ensuring that all the remnant stomach acid in the mouth is washed away. Not just that, it even helps in washing out the stale taste of the vomit that is unbearable to withstand.
- Drink a good quantity of water. The primary reason behind the same is because many often tend to become dehydrated after throwing up. Regurgitating is a very strenuous process and it is thus advised to keep yourself hydrated following throwing up for all the safety measures.
- Getting rest. Yet another important cautionary measure after throwing up is to ensure that you get a good sleep and rest for a good amount of time. It helps restore the lost energy in the body.
- Not talking much. This step is an important one in the aftercare process because it helps keep the throat and the vocal channel stay at rest. Purging puts a lot of strain on the throat and oesophagus and this is why it is mandatory to not put even more strain on these which end up causing adverse effects.
- Many even suggest taking a hot shower to remove the tiredness and uneasiness from the body. This also helps in feeling fresh.
Possible Side Effects of Throwing Up
“With every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.” This quote from Isaac Newton holds true for every single action we take in our life, irrespective of the situations and their consequences. Every time you are throwing up, it not just leaves behind a bad taste in your mouth, but in your entire body as well. Some of these aftermath of regurgitation inflict a negative impact in the body in a long haul which is why it is necessary to think twice before you induce vomiting.
Some of the Side Effects Include:
1. Tears and Lesion in the GI Tract
The food that we ingest is pushed down our throat through the oesophagus with the help of the peristaltic movement. Purging does quite the opposite and promotes the anti-peristaltic movement of the semi-digested food. It is not just the food that comes up but a good quantity of stomach acids travel along with it as well. For people who weren’t aware, our stomach produces hydrochloric acid which has a pH of 1.5-3.5 which is highly acidic. Consistent purging and throwing up induces the upward movement of the acid as well which damages the walls of the GI tract.
2. It Damages the Teeth
3. Eating Disorder
Self-Induced Vomiting vs Anorexia vs Bulimia
Eating disorders are a very delicate and important subject of concern. It is necessary to understand that just throwing up doesn’t necessarily insinuate that a person is suffering from an eating disorder. Quite the opposite, actually. There are multiple types of eating disorders and even though they do include throwing up, the situations involved are often times different.
- Self-induced vomiting is a situational occurrence where the person is forced to opt for this in order to provide themselves with a relief. This kind of process is only administered during times of emergencies like excess alcohol consumption, toxin ingestion or excess consumption of food. This necessarily doesn’t have much to do with an eating disorder and the level of severeness it binds itself with.
- Anorexia is an eating disorder where the suffering individual often just purges because they feel like eating makes them gain weight, when in reality, they tend to avoid food like plague. This is a kind of situation that seeks professional interference because it often reverts with dangerous impacts on one’s health.
- Bulimia nervosa, on the other hand, is a type of eating disorder where the individual sometimes stuffs themselves with food and overeats, only to throw it all up because they think it’ll make them gain weight and throwing up acts as a sort of relief for them. Bulimic patients often overeat at times and sometimes even go without eating for consecutive days.
Food for thought with some FAQs
1: Is it Okay to Make Yourself Throw Up While Pregnant?
A: There are certain phases in the pregnancy that comes accompanied with morning sickness and a general feeling of queasiness. While it is not okay to make yourself throw up just because you feel like it, there are no other options when it comes to dealing with morning sickness.
2. Can You Make Yourself Throw Up On An Empty Stomach?
A: Yes, one can make themselves throw up on an empty stomach. But, the repercussions for that is seriously harmful. Since the stomach is empty, the only thing that possibly comes up while you purge is the stomach acid mixed with the bile which is not good for the health.
3: Does Making Yourself Throw Up Makes You Skinny?
A: This is a very common myth regarding purging that it makes you lose weight. That is definitely not the case. There are often instances where you might end up gaining more weight than actually losing any because the food is improperly digested when you throw up.
4: Does Making Yourself Throw Up Hurt?
A: Most definitely it does. Throwing up puts a strain on the entire body and can cause possible tears and lesion throughout the entirety of the GI tract which makes it hurt a lot. There are chances that the stomach acid can burn through the tissues in the GI tract due to repetitive purging which can definitely be a lot hurtful.