Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsCausesDuring PregnancyDurationHome RemediesMedicationContacting a Healthcare ProviderSeeking Medical CarePrevention
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Causes
During Pregnancy
Duration
Home Remedies
Medication
Contacting a Healthcare Provider
Seeking Medical Care
Prevention
In this article, we’ll review everything you need to know about dry heaving, including causes, remedies, when to see a healthcare provider, and more.
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What Causes Dry Heaving?
In many cases, dry heaving happens just after you vomit. Other causes of retching may include:
Exercise
Intense or prolonged exercise may lead to various forms of gastrointestinal (GI) distress. This includes dry heaving as well as nausea and vomiting. It’s not entirely clear why exercising causes GI distress, but researchers believe that it may be due to the effects of reduced blood flow in the gut and/or dehydration. It’s especially common if you don’t warm up before exercising.
For example, one study found that 60% of respondents who participated in a 100.2-mile ultramarathon experienced nausea during the race, and 25% reported vomiting.
Food Allergies or Poisoning
Retching is a common reaction to strong-smelling foods or foods that don’t sit well with you. However, it can also be a symptom of a more serious reaction, such as food allergies or food poisoning.
Symptoms of afood allergymay include:
If you havefood poisoning, you may experience:
Consuming Excess Alcohol
One of the most common causes of dry heaving is drinking excessive amounts of alcohol. This often happens during ahangover, a group of symptoms that often appear together after drinking heavily. Symptoms may include nausea, vomiting, retching, headache, dry mouth, light sensitivity, excessive sweating, and more.
Severe Pain or Shock
Nausea and/or dry heaves are often side effects of many different medications and treatments.
Most notably, many people experience vomiting and retching while undergoingchemotherapyfor cancer. This side effect is known as chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV). Also, up to 80% of people who undergoradiation therapyexperience radiation-induced nausea and vomiting (RINV), which often includes retching.
Severe Infection
Certain infections, such asgastroenteritis(often called the stomach flu), can cause nausea, vomiting, and retching. Ear infections, includingotitis media(infection of the middle ear), also sometimes cause nausea and vomiting, especially in young children.
Migraine Headaches
Acid Reflux
Acid refluxoccurs when your stomach contents, such as acid and food, go back up into your throat and esophagus. It can cause heartburn and other symptoms, including nausea and retching. You may experience dry heaves when you feel acid coming up into the back of your throat.
Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD)
Gastroesophageal reflux diseaseis a chronic condition that involves repeated episodes of acid reflux and heartburn due to the irritation of the esophagus. In addition to heartburn, symptom of GERD include:
Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome
People withcyclic vomiting syndrome(CVS) experience episodes of nausea and vomiting in cycles.
This may involve retching and throwing up, as well as symptoms like stomach pain, diarrhea, sleepiness, headache, thirst, and low appetite for several hours or days at a time. It’s particularly common for people with CVS to retch repeatedly just after vomiting.
Low Blood Sugar
Low blood sugar can cause retching, typically alongside nausea. Other symptoms of hypoglycemia include:
Dry Heaving and Pregnancy
Dry heaving often occurs during pregnancy, such as withmorning sickness, the nausea that’s typical in the first trimester, or just after vomiting. This is most likely due to hormonal changes, which can make you more sensitive to certain smells and foods.
How Long Does Dry Heaving Last?
Dry heaving typically lasts only a few minutes or hours. You may experience it on and off for up to a day. If you have a condition like cyclic vomiting syndrome, you might retch, usually alongside nausea and/or intermittent vomiting, for a few days at a time. Others may experience retching whenever they have a flare-up of other symptoms, such as acid reflux.
Home Remedies for Dry Heaving
In most cases, you can relieve the symptoms of dry heaving and temporary nausea on your own. Self-care measures and home remedies for retching include:
How to Stop Dry Heaving: OTC Medications
If you can’t stop dry heaving, ask your healthcare provider about recommending an appropriate antiemetic (a drug that can ease nausea and vomiting). An example of over-the-counter (OTC) medicine that may help with motion sickness induced nausea include some kinds of antihistamines as noted below:
Be aware that these medications can make you drowsy. Talk to your healthcare provider about potential side effects or drug interactions with other medications.
When to Contact a Healthcare Provider
Dry heaving is usually temporary and typically goes away on its own.
If your symptoms persist, reach out to a healthcare provider to be assessed. By evaluating your symptoms, reviewing your medical history, and performing any necessary tests, your healthcare provider can rule out any underlying medical conditions that might be causing your persistent retching.
When to Seek Immediate Medical Attention
Contact a healthcare provider right away if you are (or have been):
You should also seek medical help right away if you notice anysigns of dehydrationafter vomiting, such as:
How to Prevent Dry Heaving
Other ways to prevent dry heaving include:
Summary
Dry heaving, or retching, refers to going through the motions of vomiting without actually throwing up.
Common causes of dry heaving include excessive exercise, strong smells, food allergies, heavy drinking, dehydration, certain medications, and pain. Some underlying health conditions—such as cyclic vomiting syndrome, acid reflux, migraines, GERD,infections, and low blood sugar—can also lead to retching.
Usually, dry heaving resolves on its own or with home remedies like a bland diet and staying hydrated. If your symptoms persist, you should seek help and advice from a healthcare provider.
18 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.National Cancer Institute.Definition of retch.National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Symptoms & causes of cyclic vomiting syndrome.MedlinePlus.Nausea and vomiting - adults.Wilson PB.‘I think I’m gonna hurl’: A narrative review of the causes of nausea and vomiting in sport.Sports (Basel). 2019;7(7):162. doi:10.3390/sports7070162MedlinePlus.Food allergy.U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Symptoms of food poisoning.National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.Hangovers.Singh P, Yoon SS, Kuo B.Nausea: A review of pathophysiology and therapeutics.Therap Adv Gastroenterol. 2016;9(1):98-112. doi:10.1177/1756283X15618131Zhong W, Shahbaz O, Teskey G, et al.Mechanisms of nausea and vomiting: Current knowledge and recent advances in intracellular emetic signaling systems.Int J Mol Sci. 2021;22(11):5797. doi:10.3390/ijms22115797National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.Migraine.NIHMedlinePlus Magazine.Acid reflux, heartburn, and GERD: What’s the difference?.MedlinePlus.Hypoglycemia.American Diabetes Association.Understanding and managing low blood glucose (hypoglycemia).The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.Morning sickness: Nausea and vomiting of pregnancy.National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Definitions & facts for cyclic vomiting syndrome.National Health Service.Feeling sick (nausea).Karrim N, Byrne R, Magula N, Saman Y.Antihistamines for motion sickness.Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2022;10(10):CD012715. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD012715.pub2MedlinePlus.Nausea and vomiting.
18 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.National Cancer Institute.Definition of retch.National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Symptoms & causes of cyclic vomiting syndrome.MedlinePlus.Nausea and vomiting - adults.Wilson PB.‘I think I’m gonna hurl’: A narrative review of the causes of nausea and vomiting in sport.Sports (Basel). 2019;7(7):162. doi:10.3390/sports7070162MedlinePlus.Food allergy.U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Symptoms of food poisoning.National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.Hangovers.Singh P, Yoon SS, Kuo B.Nausea: A review of pathophysiology and therapeutics.Therap Adv Gastroenterol. 2016;9(1):98-112. doi:10.1177/1756283X15618131Zhong W, Shahbaz O, Teskey G, et al.Mechanisms of nausea and vomiting: Current knowledge and recent advances in intracellular emetic signaling systems.Int J Mol Sci. 2021;22(11):5797. doi:10.3390/ijms22115797National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.Migraine.NIHMedlinePlus Magazine.Acid reflux, heartburn, and GERD: What’s the difference?.MedlinePlus.Hypoglycemia.American Diabetes Association.Understanding and managing low blood glucose (hypoglycemia).The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.Morning sickness: Nausea and vomiting of pregnancy.National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Definitions & facts for cyclic vomiting syndrome.National Health Service.Feeling sick (nausea).Karrim N, Byrne R, Magula N, Saman Y.Antihistamines for motion sickness.Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2022;10(10):CD012715. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD012715.pub2MedlinePlus.Nausea and vomiting.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
National Cancer Institute.Definition of retch.National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Symptoms & causes of cyclic vomiting syndrome.MedlinePlus.Nausea and vomiting - adults.Wilson PB.‘I think I’m gonna hurl’: A narrative review of the causes of nausea and vomiting in sport.Sports (Basel). 2019;7(7):162. doi:10.3390/sports7070162MedlinePlus.Food allergy.U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Symptoms of food poisoning.National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.Hangovers.Singh P, Yoon SS, Kuo B.Nausea: A review of pathophysiology and therapeutics.Therap Adv Gastroenterol. 2016;9(1):98-112. doi:10.1177/1756283X15618131Zhong W, Shahbaz O, Teskey G, et al.Mechanisms of nausea and vomiting: Current knowledge and recent advances in intracellular emetic signaling systems.Int J Mol Sci. 2021;22(11):5797. doi:10.3390/ijms22115797National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.Migraine.NIHMedlinePlus Magazine.Acid reflux, heartburn, and GERD: What’s the difference?.MedlinePlus.Hypoglycemia.American Diabetes Association.Understanding and managing low blood glucose (hypoglycemia).The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.Morning sickness: Nausea and vomiting of pregnancy.National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Definitions & facts for cyclic vomiting syndrome.National Health Service.Feeling sick (nausea).Karrim N, Byrne R, Magula N, Saman Y.Antihistamines for motion sickness.Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2022;10(10):CD012715. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD012715.pub2MedlinePlus.Nausea and vomiting.
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National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Symptoms & causes of cyclic vomiting syndrome.
MedlinePlus.Nausea and vomiting - adults.
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MedlinePlus.Food allergy.
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Symptoms of food poisoning.
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.Hangovers.
Singh P, Yoon SS, Kuo B.Nausea: A review of pathophysiology and therapeutics.Therap Adv Gastroenterol. 2016;9(1):98-112. doi:10.1177/1756283X15618131
Zhong W, Shahbaz O, Teskey G, et al.Mechanisms of nausea and vomiting: Current knowledge and recent advances in intracellular emetic signaling systems.Int J Mol Sci. 2021;22(11):5797. doi:10.3390/ijms22115797
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.Migraine.
NIHMedlinePlus Magazine.Acid reflux, heartburn, and GERD: What’s the difference?.
MedlinePlus.Hypoglycemia.
American Diabetes Association.Understanding and managing low blood glucose (hypoglycemia).
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.Morning sickness: Nausea and vomiting of pregnancy.
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Definitions & facts for cyclic vomiting syndrome.
National Health Service.Feeling sick (nausea).
Karrim N, Byrne R, Magula N, Saman Y.Antihistamines for motion sickness.Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2022;10(10):CD012715. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD012715.pub2
MedlinePlus.Nausea and vomiting.
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