Is v*ing really medically necessary?

[mjewell]

I've seen a lot of threads on here where the discussion turns to the medical necessity of v*ing...people are always saying stuff like v*ing is just the body getting rid of toxic substances, etc. I have to say I think i disagree with this. As emetophobes, since we ararely v* anyway, don't you think we have ingested a lot of toxins in our lives? If it were the case that the bodyNEEDS to purge these toxins, we emets would surely all be dead by now! I found a question relating to this topic on another emet web site and I just wanted to see what your thoughts were. For me it is comforting actually...


Q. But couldn't suppressing the vomiting center mean than poisons that would otherwise be vomited will instead be absorbed and cause damage?


A. It's doubtful. One doctor writes that vomiting is practically useless in food poisoning to begin with, because by the time enough poison has been absorbed to trigger vomiting, it's too late for vomiting to do any good.<SUP>26</SUP> And there is a small but fervent clique of emetophobics on the Web who have assiduously avoided vomiting for 5, 10, 20, 30 ... 50 years! They have undoubtedly consumed their share of vomit-inducing poisons. Yet they've suppressed their vomiting centers and remain alive. (See the Emetophobia FAQ for more on this or look up their "vomit streaks.".)


One instance where it would definitely be inadvisable to monkey with the vomiting center is in case of alcohol intoxication. Many cases have been documented where drunks have died when they failed to vomit the alcohol that a normal person would have. It's not clear why this is so; in none of the documented cases did the intoxicated person take a drug to prevent vomiting. And of course, if preventing vomiting had been a priority, presumably the person wouldn't have consumed a lethal level of alcohol!

[samara's on tv]

Yeah I read that on the FAQ for Emetophobics. That's why I won't get drunk, cause I'm afraid that I will just supress the v*ing and die! LoL, also I don't get drunk cause it's not fun...well at least I don't think it is!


~Monica

[rileyl]

I am glad you raised this question, because I have often wondered this myself. I mean, it's arguable that v'g is just a symptom of the gastrointestinal virus itself. Much like a runny nose etc. is a symptom of a cold. I don't think that having a runny nose helps me get over a cold any faster, but does v'g help one get over the stmach flu more quickly? Isn't that just thebody's reaction to the virus?

[shiva]

When I think about it rationally, the worst part about vomiting is the feeling before and feeling sooo sick. If I was not so afraid of it, I would totally welcome it in order to feel better when I am sick. (You ever notice how much better you feel when it's over with?) So, medically necesary? I don't know.. But, could you imagine how we could feel sometimes if it didn't happen? I think it's probably a benefit we have, actually. To be able to do that and then feel okay when we are sick.

[nonem]

When I went to see my doctor afterthe recent discovery that I could no longer v* (as described in the "Opposite of Emet" thread in the General forum), he did seem to think this was potentially a problem in the event of me ingesting something toxic. He said that in a worst-case scenario hopefuly I'd be hospitalised and they'd do something called gastric lavage (which I assume is like having your stomach pumped after a drug overdose).


There followingwebpage also seems to think thenatural process is a good thing.It seems pretty sensible,although I don't know how authoritative it is in a medical sense.


http://www.school-for-champions.com/health/vomiting.htm