Oh, barf. Literally, though: Today, NBCLosAngeles.com reports on children with abdominal migraines, also called cyclic vomiting syndrome, a mysterious disorder that causes bouts of nausea and vomiting -- sometimes as often as six times an hour -- that can last for hours, or even days. (Days!)
It's a condition with no known cause or cure, according to the Mayo Clinic, but it most often occurs in kids ages 3 to 7. Typically, it's something kids grow out of by the time they're teenagers, but it can last into adulthood, which is when things get really icky: For adults, symptoms can last as long as a week.
The National Institutes of Health lists all the possible triggers for an episode of near-constant retching: emotional stress or excitement; anxiety and panic attacks; colds, allergies, sinus problems and the flu; eating too much or eating before bed, hot weather, physical exhaustion, menstruation and motion sickness. (In short: Being alive can trigger symptoms.) Medications are sometimes prescribed to stop all the barfing, but the NIH says most people learn to control their symptoms by staying in bed and sleeping in a dark, quiet room.
Quoth one small sufferer of cyclic vomiting syndrome: "I'll vomit up to about 40 times a day. That's just terrible, terrible. For being my age especially," Olivia Brown told NBCLosAngeles.com.
Poor thing. Readers, have you ever heard of cyclic vomiting syndrome? And, just for fun -- tell us your grossest vomiting story, won't you? For Olivia's sake.
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