Compulsive hot showering or bathing may be critical in distinguishing CHS from CVS and other conditions with similar symptoms. Studies show that between 90% to 100% of people with CHS use hot showering or bathing to relieve symptoms. Researchers have proposed that this behavior may be included in the diagnostic criteria for CHS. At low doses, the effect of cannabis on your brain can have an antiemetic effect that suppresses nausea and vomiting. However, with repeated use in some people, it can have the opposite effect on the digestive tract. This results in the persistent vomiting and nausea characteristic of CHS.

Other Literature Sources

To diagnose CHS, a healthcare professional will study your symptoms and ask you questions. They’ll also examine your abdomen and may order tests to rule out other causes of vomiting. In one study, about 84% of people who received treatment for CHS stopped using cannabis, and of those, about 86% reported resolution of symptoms. Patients are often diagnosed with the syndrome based on the way they treat their own symptoms. Typically, patients can only find relief from intense and persistent nausea by taking hot baths or showers.

Product Reviews

• When you use marijuana for many years, it can start to slowly change how the receptors in your body respond to the cannabinoid chemicals.
• During this phase, patients may experience morning nausea, abdominal discomfort, or anxiety about vomiting.
• Symptoms of CHS often improve with cessation of cannabis use but are also noted to respond with compulsive hot showers 12.
• Marijuana cessation relieves CHS, sometimes in a matter of hours or a couple of days.
• Interestingly, endocannabinoids play a role in allostasis, that is, they promote the recovery from stress and help to reestablish homeostasis of neurotransmitters, neurohormones, and neuropeptides 60.

Physicians should explain that and advise patients on resources to help them quit, he says. Future studies are needed to better understand the etiology, prevalence, and risk Oxford House factors for developing CHS (eg, understanding medical, psychiatric, ethnic, or socioeconomic conditions as well as amount and potency of cannabis). Randomized controlled clinical trials are needed to identify the optimal pharmacotherapy for managing CHS.

• They may increase their use of cannabis due to their belief in its beneficial effects in nausea relief.
• In a case study of a 27-year-old man who suffered repeated episodes of gastric pain, up to 20 vomiting episodes per day, coupled with severe nausea, multiple diagnostic tests were performed before a CHS diagnosis could be made.
• CHS is a condition caused by chronic and repeated cannabis use that leads to severe nausea and vomiting.
• The patient had stopped drinking and smoking cigarettes 2 years earlier because of the suspicion that these might be the cause of the symptoms, but continued to smoke cannabis.
• One study looking at Reddit posts on the subject found that spicy food, greasy food, coffee, black tea, and alcohol were frequently mentioned as CHS triggers.

Health Conditions

With the only known treatment being abstinence and the high risk of relapse, it is important to rely not solely on acute care but also on long-term follow-up strategies. Though rare, hospitalization may sometimes be required; we believe this can be reduced by a combination of specific acute care treatment choice and optimal community support programs. We believe more research is needed regarding both acute and long-term treatment options. No studies have evaluated the treatment of abdominal pain, as its incidence in CWS is significantly less than in CHS.

If you use cannabis often and frequently experience vomiting and nausea, you should tell a healthcare professional. With the recent legalization of cannabis in Canada, it is important that conditions like CHS receive appropriate attention. This can be achieved, as suggested by previous authors,4,7,16 by increasing the amount of research on the subject that is conducted and published, as we have done here. In addition, it would be prudent for the government to increase awareness of cannabis complications through warnings on packages, as is done for tobacco products. Given that hospital admissions due to CHS are likely to increase, we propose building CHS screening protocols or tools to be used at the hospital level for patients who present with nausea, diarrhea, and/or stomach pain. Being more readily able to discuss cannabis use with patients may help direct physicians toward a more accurate diagnosis.

How Is Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome Treated?

Among these cannabinoids, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the most well-known for its ability to induce euphoria, alter perception, and stimulate appetite. Cannabidiol (CBD), another major cannabinoid, has gained attention for its potential therapeutic properties, including anti-inflammatory, anxiolytic, and neuroprotective effects 1. In the last decade, several reports describing what is Oxford House the structure and function of the CB1R, its allosteric ligands, and their translational potential have increased enormously.

This leads to an important question, especially in light of our gradual societal paradigm shift toward liberalizing marijuana. Certainly marijuana use disorder exists, but it is not clear if it is addictive in the same manner as opioids or alcohol. A 42-year-old CHS patient treated for hyperemesis in the hospital presented with a reddish-brown pigmented rash on his trunk and extremities. The patient reported that he got the rash from prolonged exposure to hot water in showers that he took to relieve the symptoms of his CHS 143.

As cannabis becomes more potent and widely available, CHS is increasingly prevalent. Many patients are hesitant to consider cannabis as the cause of their symptoms, which can delay diagnosis and hinder further research. Moving forward, physicians should be aware of rising cannabis use and identify potential CHS cases to ensure proper treatment and investigation. Further research, particularly at the microscopic level, is essential to better understand this condition.

Along with the discovery of the CB1 and CB2 receptors has been the identification of endogenous arachidonic acid derivatives that bind to these receptors (Figure 1). These compounds are referred to as endogenous cannabinoids, or endocannabinoids. The best characterized endocannabinoids are anandamide and 2-arachidonylglycerol (2-AG) 9. The endocannabinoids are present in both the central nervous system 8 and enteric nervous system 15.