CBD Oil for Nausea

CBD oil and its use for nausea as long been touted as an effective means of treatment. We shall discuss, in this article, the scientific research that backs it up, and how this natural remedy can help us deal with this common ailment.

What is nausea?

Well, we’ve all experienced in some way or another.  It is a hard to describe feeling that encompasses a wide range of causes.  It may be queasiness to some, discomfort to others, perhaps an urge to vomit, retching, or a combination of all of the above.  The degrees of these feelings could range from a few seconds, minutes, hours to waves carrying on for months.

Why do we get nauseous?

It could range from the more harmless, distaste of a foul smell or the hangover from a night of drinking, to the dreaded nausea of first term pregnancy or the infamous seasickness one experiences on the high seas.  Then, there are the more serious, such as, reactions to chemotherapy or underlying health issues.

There are many ways one can get this nauseous feeling.  Personally, I have felt the nausea of drinking green tea on an empty stomach, seeing an image that provoked retching, and sometimes it was just unexplained.  Oftentimes, these milder forms of nausea only required chewing a few pieces of fresh ginger or drinking a ginger ale.

But other times, that natural method did not work, and you had to choose something more powerful like dimenhydrinate, or perhaps meclizine hydrochloride, which are helpful because they block receptors that trigger vomiting in the brain.

When you are pregnant though, those are less of an option.  Some nausea due to first trimester pregnancy can last the entire 3 months or more.  We have spoken to several pregnant women who had severe nausea throughout their entire pregnancy and were often bed ridden.  So, it is safe to say, that they did not enjoy any part of their pregnancy.   And that, may in turn, affect the baby also.

Cancer patients going through chemotherapy, report an unbearable degree of nausea, vomiting, and general pain and discomfort.  It is often stated that nausea is more distressing than vomiting due to it being a continuous sensation.  As much as 20% of cancer patients stop chemotherapy treatment because of this condition.  That’s saying a lot, considering the pain that can accompany cancer.

There are many conventionally available pharmaceuticals for cancer patients, but as always, with their own sets of complications.

The role of the endocannabinoid system

The endocannabinoid system is made up of endocannabinoids, receptors, and enzymes.  These all interact with every system in our body.  The two main receptors CB1 and CB2 are situated in the central nervous system and peripheral system, respectively.   The body makes cannabinoids naturally but sometimes we can have a deficiency.  The goal of the cannabinoid system is always homeostasis, which means its seeks to maintain and internal environment that is as stable as possible even when there are fluctuations in the external environment.

The endocannabinoid system, we will sometimes refer to as ECS, is what regulates nausea and vomiting.  There have been clinical trials and studies demonstrating that CBD oil, or cannabidiol, can manipulate the ECS and suppress nausea and vomiting in humans and other animals.

Studies and clinical trials

The cannabis plant has been used by peoples around the world for several centuries for many applications, one of which include nausea and vomiting.  In the late 1970s and 1980s oncologists began investigation the treatment of nausea and vomiting due to chemotherapy.

There is evidence that cancer patients, namely children in this case, experience relief from cannabis based medicines when treating nausea and vomiting due to chemotherapy.  In these human clinical trials, almost all the children, with a total of 480 treatments, taking drops sublingually, experienced relief from their acute symptoms.

That is very promising.

On a side note, there trials also tested for the effectiveness of pain relief in patients with neuropathic conditions and advanced stages of cancer.

There have also been in depth animal studies that involved different species of animals, that all produced similar results.

Many of these studies and clinical trials may be found in the links below.

CBD oil

There is a lot of evidence that CBD works for nausea and vomiting, anecdotally.  There’s no shortage of personal stories and experiences on the internet, including our own familiarity with CBD.  But don’t take our word for it, do your research!  If you are interested in a natural, non toxic, effective means of combatting nausea and vomiting, try it out.

CBD oil is one of those products that has very little down side.  It is non-euphoric, meaning it does NOT get you “high”.  From years of propaganda from the “drug wars” of yester year, some of us have fallen victim to the fallacy of marijuana being on par with drugs that truly are destructive.

You measure cannabis to an “acceptable” drug like prescription medication, where there are actually people dying every day, and it’s not even comparable.  Or how about alcohol, something that is completely acceptable but ruins lives on the daily.

For too long, we have blocked the advancements of science based around cannabis, and it’s time that ended.

CBD oil causes no harm.  At the most, you could say that it is ineffective to treat certain ailments.  That would be the extent.  So, in actuality, it never hurts to try CBD oil.  There is no risk of addiction, no risk of overdose, no risk of it being a “gateway” to other medicines.  These are simply facts.

 

References:

1. https://www.drugs.com/health-guide/nausea.html
2. https://www.healthline.com/health/nausea
3. https://www.whattoexpect.com/pregnancy/morning-sickness/
4. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3165951/