Diagnosis

The diagnosis is relatively easy to make. Patients complain of nausea and vomiting after the procedure. Their general condition is thus worsened. The vomiting can lead to complications, which must then be further clarified diagnostically. These include disturbances of the electrolyte balance or an impediment to breathing.However, the primary diagnosis of post-operative nausea and vomiting can be made quite simply by the fact that the patient vomits immediately after surgery and feels sick.

How long does the nausea last?

How long the postoperative nausea lasts is very individual and cannot be generalized. Some patients only have mild nausea in the first hour after waking up from the anesthesia, others suffer from severe vomiting for hours. The duration and type of the operation also does not give any indication of the severity of the nausea that may occur afterwards. Only the probability of the occurrence of postoperative nausea can be calculated with the help of the apple score and the indication for prophylaxis.

Associated symptoms

Vomiting after anesthesia is an unpleasant condition. The patients complain of nausea and a nausea stimulus. As a result, the general well-being is understandably limited, so that the perception of postoperative pain may also be different.

Subjectively, many patients then find their complaints stronger and feel unwell and ill. Vomiting can lead to disturbances of the electrolyte balance, which can have various consequences, such as an increased heart rate or tremor. If the protective reflexes are missing, it can happen that gastric juice gets into the airways through the vomiting, so that in the worst case a Mendelson syndrome can develop. This is an inflammation of the lungs, which can lead to breathing problems within 2 to 12 hours with shortness of breath and a lack of oxygen supply. A blockage of the airways, which is called airway obstruction, can also occur during postoperative vomiting. Patients who have eaten solid food before surgery are particularly at risk.