Doctors have seen the rise of cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome as the use of marijuana increased in the United States. It affects heavy marijuana users and causes severe nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain.
Since the rise of the condition, people have found one thing that alleviates symptoms: hot showers.
Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome
A recent study looked into the prevalence of cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome among marijuana smokers. Researchers interviewed 2,127 adult emergency room patient under 50 at Bellevue, which is a large public hospital in New York City.
One way to relieve the symptoms that the study found was to take hot showers.
A doctor in Colorado says that after marijuana was legalized, they were receiving twice the number of people suffering from cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome. Before the recent spike in the syndrome, doctors thought that cannabinoid hyperemesis was rare.
Prevalence Among Marijuana Smokers
Scientists in the study found that out of the 2,127 emergency room patients, 155 patients say that they smoke marijuana at least 20 days a month. Out of those users, 51 patients said that they experience nausea and vomiting over the past six months that was relieved by taking hot showers.
If those numbers are taken as a proportion of the 8.3 million marijuana users, that would mean 2.7 million heavy marijuana smokers may suffer from cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome. Doctors are still unsure of the cause of the syndrome, but they do know that the only effective way to stop it is to quit smoking marijuana.
People have a hard time accepting that marijuana is the cause of such a distressing condition. Patients who are suffering from cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome can be dehydrated by the time that they make it to the emergency room.
What is strange about the condition is that marijuana is given to people who deal with chronic pain.
Other researchers have suggested that cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome is a burden on the healthcare system due to the amount of expensive diagnostic tests administered and the ineffective treatments.
This isn't the first time that marijuana legalization was linked with a negative side effect, but it marks the first occasion where hot showers are the solution.
Side Effects Of Marijuana
Tetrahydrocannabinol or THC is the active ingredient in marijuana that makes people feel high. Some of the physical side effects of marijuana include increased heart rate, dizziness, shallow breathing, red eyes and dilated pupils, dry mouth, increased appetite, and slowed reaction times. Heavy use of marijuana among men is linked to lower testosterone levels and decrease in sperm count and quality.
