ADVERTISEMENT
Doctors are sounding the alarm after a shocking new side effect of cannabis use is sending users to emergency rooms in droves — a condition so intense it’s been nicknamed “scromiting”.
It may sound like a joke, but the reality is terrifying.
Over the past decade, hospitals have seen a surge in patients suffering from severe nausea, relentless vomiting, and stomach pain so extreme it leaves them doubled over — sometimes multiple times a year.
The culprit? Cannabis Hyperemesis Syndrome (CHS).
“A person often will have multiple [emergency department] visits until it is correctly recognized, costing thousands of dollars each time,” says Dr. Beatriz Carlini, research associate professor at the University of Washington School of Medicine.
Symptoms so brutal they scream — literally
CHS attacks usually appear within 24 hours of cannabis use and can last for days.
Medical staff coined the term scromiting because sufferers often scream while vomiting.
Dr. Chris Buresh, an emergency medicine specialist, explains the difficulty in treatment: “There are currently no therapies approved by the Food and Drug Administration, and standard anti-nausea medications often don’t work.”
Shutterstock
Doctors sometimes turn to unusual remedies – from hot baths and showers to rubbing capsaicin cream on the stomach, or even Haldol, a medication usually reserved for psychotic episodes.
“That’s something that can clinch the diagnosis for me, when someone says they’re better with a hot shower,” Buresh said.
“Patients describe going through all the hot water in their house.”
Continue READING…
ADVERTISEMENT
