Nausea and Vomiting

You may have a blockage in your small or large intestine! If you are unable to keep down food or fluids, or if you have been unsuccessful when you have made efforts to pass stool during the last day, you should be examined by a doctor today.

Bowel Obstruction

An obstruction of the bowel can occur if a strand of fibrous scar tissue (usually from a previous surgery or infection) tightens around it. Less often, the bowel can be blocked if a portion of the intestine becomes a "hernia," bulging through an opening in the muscles of the abdominal wall. The bowel may also be blocked by a tumor. Symptoms of a bowel obstruction include nausea and vomiting, abdominal pain and abdominal distention, and in some cases an absence of gas passing from the rectum.

Fecal Impaction

Severe constipation can cause an unmovable blockage of stool within the rectum. Symptoms include urges to have bowel movements that do not lead to successful passing of stool, no bowel movement within the last two or three days (except for leakage or passing of liquid stool, which may still occur in the presence of a stool blockage), or a sensation of blockage in your rectum. A fecal impaction commonly causes nausea and vomiting as well as abdominal pain.