Nausea is a common problem in dogs and cats and is one of the more common reasons pets are brought into the veterinarian’s office. Nausea is most commonly manifested by vomiting, but a dog or cat can also be nauseous if they are:
- Drooling
- Shaking
- Licking their lips
- Acting anxious
- Lethargic
- Refusing to eat
Nausea can be a sudden, short-lived episode, or an indication of a chronic issue.
When a pet has a sudden onset of nausea, there are many possible causes. They may have eaten something that irritated their gastrointestinal system (such as an irritant, toxin, or a foreign object).
They could also have:
- A viral, bacterial, or parasitic infection
- Motion sickness
- Side effects to certain prescription drugs
- A reaction to a sudden change in diet
- Long term nausea can also have multiple causes. Pets can experience extended periods of nausea and vomiting with:
- Allergies
- Pancreatitis
- Kidney diseaseLiver disease
- IBD
- Addison’s disease
- Cancer
These ailments can all exhibit extended periods of nausea and vomiting in the patient. Chronic nausea leads to more problems because it results in:
- Inappetance
- Dehydration
- Weight loss
Common drugs prescribed for nausea can have side effects including:
- Sedation
- Hyperactivity
- Abdominal pain
- Diarrhea
- Constipation
- Inappetence
- Low blood pressure
CBD has an important role in the future of medicine. CBD is a component of the cannabis plant. It is non-psychoactive, which means that it doesn’t produce the high commonly associated with marijuana. CBD is currently used by many patients who seek an alternative form of therapy without the unwanted side effects.
Compelling research studies have shown CBD to be powerful and effective in preventing and suppressing nausea. 1 Further, research has shown that CBD suppresses nausea caused by a disease or medication and nausea that pets can feel in response to a conditioned event. Researchers found that “the expression of this conditioned retching reaction was completely suppressed by pretreatment with…cannabidiol (CBD).” 2 Furthermore, studies indicate chronic use of CBD has not been shown to elicit negative side effects and does not induce tolerance. 3
Continue to explore and learn more about cannabinoid therapy right here, as we update you on the latest research and findings.
References:
1Parker, L., Mechoulam, R., & Schlievert, C. (n.d.). Cannabidiol, a non-psychoactive component of cannabis and its synthetic dimethylheptyl homolog suppress nausea in an experimental model with rats. NeuroReport, 567-570.
2Parker, L., Kwiatkowska, M., & Mechoulam, R. (2006). Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabidiol, but not ondansetron, interfere with conditioned retching reactions elicited by a lithium-paired context in Suncus murinus: An animal model of anticipatory nausea and vomiting. Physiology & Behavior, 66-71.
3Malfait, A., Gallily, R., Sumariwalla, P., Malik, A., Andreakos, E., Mechoulam, R., & Feldmann, M. (2000). The non-psychoactive cannabis constituent cannabidiol is an oral anti-arthritic therapeutic in murine collagen-induced arthritis. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 9561-9566.