What Causes Chronic Nausea?

Nausea is not a disease itself, but can be a symptom of many disorders related to the digestive system, including:

• Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)
• Peptic ulcer disease
• Problems with nerves or muscles in the stomach that cause slow stomach emptying or digestion (gastroparesis)
• Discomfort in your upper stomach that is not related to an ulcer (nonulcer dyspepsia)
• A condition that occurs when nerves and brain signals prevent food from passing along your digestive tract, even though there is no physical blockage (bowel obstruction)
• Problems with the area of your brain that controls the digestive processes (autonomic dysfunction)
• Migraine headache
• An abnormal change in heart rate when you change your posture (postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome)

Problems in certain areas of your body, your entire body, such as cancer or infection, and some medications can lead to nausea. Issues in these body regions commonly cause nausea:

• Abdominal or pelvic organs
• Balance centers in your inner ear
• Brain or spinal fluid