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Have you ever seen anything so dirty that you felt disgusted, nauseous, and then vomited? You don't have to worry, vomiting is normal and good for you.
Vomiting is not a disease. As explained by WebMD, vomiting and nausea are symptoms that indicate other conditions, which may also be signs that you are sick. Vomiting is the discharge of the contents in the stomach due to a certain force. It is associated with nausea and strong contractions in the abdominal muscles. Vomiting is different from regurgitation, which is the rise in stomach contents into the esophagus without feeling pain and without strong muscle contractions.
What does disgust have to do with nausea and vomiting?
When you feel disgusted by something and make you feel like throwing up, maybe the nausea is because our bodies have a unique signal that signals something is dangerous.
Like this disgust, for example, which then gives you a reaction that makes you want to throw up. That is what the neuroscientist Richard Clarke, from University College London, said as reported DailyMail Last October 2015.
According to him, the human brain is so powerful that until when it receives a picture of something that could be poisonous, such as spoiled food, rotten meat, and other disgusting things, the lower brain sends signals to the body to coordinate the action of feeling like vomiting.
"Vomiting is the body's protective reflex when seeing or ingesting toxins. In addition, vomiting can also reduce pressure due to blockage or enlargement of organs that causes pressure on the digestive tract, "said Clarke.
Adam Perkins, lecturer at King's College London, also argues, people who experience nausea and vomiting reflex when they see something disgusting, usually tend to survive more. "This means, the brain areas in your body that respond to things that are not normal are working properly," he said.
Why are we disgusted?
What's with disgust? Is that actually disgust, to the point that it can make us vomit? Quoted Detik, an expert from the UK's London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Val Curtis, said disgust is a form of preventive measure to protect ourselves from signs of threat, such as disease. Disgust turns out to be good for the body, because it can prevent more serious health problems, such as contracting viruses or germs.
Val Curtis said, when we see dirty things, our bodies will feel disgusted. Disgust itself is a nervous response from the brain to a potential bacterial threat if it is not avoided.
"Feelings of disgust appear before contact with bacteria, thus preventing the body from becoming infected. And the body will usually respond to this disgust with vomiting or nausea, "said Val Curtis.
Although it may seem unhealthy to the layman, we now know that in some ways, vomiting is actually a sign that our body's response is working well.
However, if after vomiting you feel sick or your health condition is not good, it's a good idea to check with your doctor to confirm your condition.