What is Yellow Bile: Causes, Symptoms, and Treatment

There are different causes why a person may vomit bile:

• There is no content in the stomach: if you have already vomited one or more times, managing to expel what was in the stomach, or if food has not yet been ingested, the vomiting may be bilious, that is, bitter and yellow in color. greenish.
• Pregnancy: Nausea and vomiting are common during the first three months of pregnancy (between weeks 9 and 14). Vomiting frequently appears in the morning, before eating breakfast, although it can occur at other times of the day as well. The content of the vomit may be alimentary or bilious if the woman did not ingest food.
• Intestinal obstruction : some type of brake of the intestinal contents at the end of the duodenum or at the beginning of the jejunum can give bilious vomiting of abrupt onset. In addition, there is abdominal pain, difficulty passing gas and distention of the abdomen.
• Bile reflux: it is the rise of bile content to the esophagus, even leading to vomiting. It is a rare, rather chronic and frequent pathology in people who have undergone gallbladder surgery.
• Alcoholism: Heavy drinkers may experience nausea and vomiting in the early morning hours.
• Liver disease: vomiting may or may not be bilious and is usually accompanied by yellowing of the skin and mucous membranes (jaundice), light-colored stools, itchy body, abdominal pain, headache, among others.
• Duodenal tumors: This is very rare, but biliary-type vomiting, unexplained weight loss, and abdominal distension may occur after meals.

As seen, if you vomit before consuming food, vomiting can be bilious, that is, yellow and bitter.

There are some diseases that cause vomiting in the morning, such as alcoholism or liver disease , and they can also occur during pregnancy .

It is important to see your doctor if vomiting is continuous or occurs every morning upon waking. In addition, you should see a specialist if you have signs of dehydration , such as excessive thirst, dry mouth, dry skin, sunken eyes, little need to urinate.

Nausea often occurs during pregnancy before breakfast , when the woman has an empty stomach. That is why if vomiting also occurs, it is normal for them to be yellowish or bilious because the bile content returns in addition to the gastric one.

As mentioned in the previous section, vomiting of pregnancy usually occurs between weeks 6 and 14. When they are present throughout the pregnancy, there is a greater risk of dehydration and weight loss, and when this happens, we speak of a condition called hyperemesis gravidarum.

At this point, or when nausea and vomiting limit the woman’s activity, some type of treatment can be instituted.

As a first measure, lifestyle changes are suggested to avoid vomiting in pregnancy:

• Eat small meals more often, instead of eating less and more.
• Avoid carbonated drinks, coffee, refined sugar, and processed products. Try to eat as natural a diet as possible: with more fruits, vegetables and nuts; and less dairy, flour and meat, since they generate inflammation and are more difficult to digest.
• There are certain foods that are usually well tolerated, among them are: banana, apple, rice and toast (these last two are whole grain).
• Avoid exposure to the most annoying odors.
• Drink enough water: it is very important to keep the body hydrated, therefore, it is advisable to always have a bottle of water at hand and drink small sips throughout the day. Perhaps decrease the amount by arriving in the late afternoon / evening to avoid going to the bathroom during the night.

Ginger has been shown to help with nausea and vomiting of pregnancy. The most natural form and well accepted by the body is in the form of tea: it is boiled for 10 minutes about 2 slices of ginger in half a liter of water and, then, it is left to rest for another 10 minutes. It can be drunk with honey, both hot and cold.

In the following article, you can see more tips to avoid nausea in pregnancy .

If this is not enough, in a severe case of vomiting, you can resort to the use of certain drugs: vitamin B6, doxylamine, dimenhydrinate, metoclopramide, ondansetron. All these drugs should be prescribed by a doctor, since the risk versus the benefit of using drugs during pregnancy should always be evaluated.

If vomiting began after week 9 or if other accompanying symptoms (such as abdominal pain or tenderness, headache, fever, swelling in the front of the neck – due to an enlarged thyroid -) may be due to another type of diseases such as biliary problems, food allergies, gastrointestinal infections, thyroid diseases, ulcers, among others. In this type of case, the family doctor should be consulted.

A professional should also be consulted if nausea or vomiting affects the quality of life or if they do not subside with the indicated treatments.

This article is merely informative, at FastlyHeal .com we do not have the power to prescribe medical treatments or make any type of diagnosis. We invite you to see a doctor in the case of presenting any type of condition or discomfort.

If you want to read more articles similar to Why do I vomit yellow and bitter , we recommend that you enter our Digestive System category .