Throwing up long after a night of drinking alcohol is actually quite common. Here’s a quick overview of why you may experience delayed vomiting after drinking and when to seek medical attention.
Quick Answer
It’s normal to throw up many hours after drinking alcohol. This delayed reaction is caused by alcohol’s impact on your stomach and digestion. Vomiting the morning after is very common. As long as you feel better after throwing up and have no other concerning symptoms, it’s usually not an emergency. However, frequent vomiting after drinking can be a sign of a more serious health issue.
What Causes Delayed Vomiting After Drinking Alcohol?
There are a few reasons why you may throw up long after your last drink:
- Alcohol irritates the stomach lining. Drinking too much can inflame the stomach, causing nausea and vomiting.
- Alcohol dehydrates the body. Dehydration from alcohol makes vomiting more likely.
- Congeners expand stomach volume. Congeners are compounds that affect alcohol’s taste and can irritate the stomach.
- Alcohol impacts digestion. Alcohol causes the stomach to empty more slowly into the small intestine.
- Blood alcohol levels peak hours after drinking. It takes time for alcohol to enter the bloodstream from the stomach.
Due to these effects, the majority of alcohol-induced vomiting occurs in the morning after drinking the night before. Your body needs time to process all the alcohol and feel the full effects.
Is Throwing Up 12 Hours After Drinking Dangerous?
In most cases, vomiting 12 hours after drinking alcohol does not signal a dangerous health issue on its own. Here are some general guidelines on when delayed vomiting after alcohol may be cause for concern:
- Throwing up blood – This can indicate an ulcer, tear, or other internal bleeding and requires urgent medical care.
- Ongoing nausea/vomiting – If you can’t keep any fluids down due to continued vomiting, seek treatment to avoid dangerous dehydration.
- Severe pain – Stomach pain that worsens, moves to the back/shoulders, or limits your mobility can be a sign of pancreatitis.
- Other concerning symptoms – Seek help if you experience chest pain, trouble breathing, neurological issues like weakness or loss of consciousness.
- Repeated episodes – Frequently throwing up after drinking is not normal and may indicate a health condition requiring treatment.
Outside of these scenarios, nausea and vomiting the morning after drinking is usually not an emergency, even if unpleasant. The best approach is rehydrating and resting until it passes.
How Long Does Alcohol-Related Vomiting Last?
For most people, vomiting after drinking alcohol is a one-time event that resolves within several hours. Factors like your tolerance level, how much you drank, and whether you stay hydrated impact how long the effects last.
Here’s a general timeline of how long vomiting may occur after alcohol consumption:
- Within 1-2 hours – Some people may start vomiting soon after their last drink if they consume too much alcohol too quickly.
- 6-12 hours later – Most people experience peak nausea and vomiting the morning after drinking, as blood alcohol levels drop.
- Up to 24 hours – Lingering digestive issues can make some people continue to vomit on and off for up to a day after drinking.
- Over 24 hours – Vomiting that lasts beyond 24 hours after alcohol consumption starts to become cause for concern and may indicate a more serious health condition.
The duration also depends on factors like whether you drank on an empty stomach, your hydration level, if you combine alcohol with other drugs, and your personal tolerance. Some people vomit easily after just 1-2 drinks, while others only throw up after heavy binge drinking.
Tips to Recover from Vomiting After Drinking
Most alcohol-related vomiting resolves on its own within 24 hours. Here are some tips to help you recover:
- Rehydrate – Drink water, broth, or electrolyte beverages to replenish fluids lost from vomiting and alcohol dehydration.
- Eat bland foods – Stick to foods like toast, rice, applesauce, and crackers to give your stomach a break.
- Avoid fatty, spicy, or acidic foods – These can further irritate an upset stomach after drinking and vomiting.
- Rest and take it easy – Going about normal activity can prolong nausea and fatigue.
- Use OTC medications cautiously – Speak with your pharmacist before using medications like Pepto-Bismol, aspirin, ibuprofen, or acetaminophen, which can further upset your stomach after heavy drinking.
- Avoid more alcohol – Consuming more alcohol will likely make vomiting worse and delay recovery.
With rest and hydration, you should start feeling better within a few hours to a day. Seek medical treatment if nausea, vomiting, and other concerning symptoms do not improve.
When to See a Doctor
In most cases, throwing up after drinking resolves on its own without needing medical treatment. However, you should seek prompt medical attention if you experience:
- Blood in your vomit
- Inability to keep any fluids down due to ongoing vomiting
- Signs of severe dehydration, like excessive thirst, infrequent urination, fast heart rate, dizziness
- Abdominal pain that becomes severe, persistent, or spreads to your back and shoulders
- Vomiting that lasts more than 24 hours after stopping drinking
- Other concerning symptoms like chest pain, trouble breathing, weakness or loss of consciousness
The above symptoms can indicate a serious health problem like an ulcer, tear or blockage in your digestive tract, pancreatitis, alcohol poisoning, or an allergic reaction. Seeking prompt treatment is crucial for a quick recovery.
Can I Prevent Vomiting After Drinking?
It’s difficult to prevent vomiting completely after drinking too much. Your body’s natural response when overwhelmed with alcohol is often to vomit. However, you may reduce your chances of vomiting by:
- Pacing yourself and avoiding binge drinking
- Not drinking on an empty stomach
- Alternating alcoholic drinks with water
- Choosing lower-alcohol drinks like light beer
- Taking a heartburn medication before drinking
- Avoiding spicy, greasy, or sugary mixers
Keep in mind that vomiting can actually reduce alcohol toxicity by removing it from your body more quickly. While unpleasant, it is often the body’s way of protecting itself after excessive alcohol consumption.
When to Worry About Frequent Vomiting After Drinking
While vomiting after the occasional night of heavy drinking is normal, ongoing and repeated episodes of vomiting after drinking may indicate a more serious issue. You should be evaluated by a doctor if you:
- Vomit after drinking even small amounts of alcohol
- Experience vomiting nearly every time you drink, even without binge drinking
- Have symptoms like abdominal pain or blood in your vomit
- Feel like you rely on alcohol and cannot control your drinking
The above situations can be signs of health conditions like:
- Peptic ulcer disease – Ulcers in your stomach or intestines can cause pain, nausea, and bleeding when exposed to alcohol.
- Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) – Alcohol can worsen acid reflux disease, leading to increased vomiting.
- Gastritis – Inflammation in the stomach’s lining makes vomiting more likely after irritants like alcohol.
- Alcohol abuse disorder – People with AUD often experience nausea/vomiting when drinking due to increased alcohol sensitivity.
- Pregnancy – Vomiting after drinking small amounts can be an early sign of pregnancy.
Seeking treatment for frequent vomiting after alcohol, abdominal pain, or uncontrolled drinking can help prevent serious complications.
The Bottom Line
It’s common and generally not dangerous to vomit many hours after drinking alcohol. Delayed vomiting is caused by alcohol’s impact on your digestion and hydration levels. While throwing up the morning after drinking can make you feel miserable, it’s usually not a cause for concern provided it goes away within 24 hours. However, seek medical attention if you experience ongoing nausea/vomiting, blood, severe pain, dehydration, or other worrying symptoms. Frequent vomiting after even small amounts of alcohol may also indicate a health condition that needs addressed.
| Cause | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Alcohol irritates stomach lining | Can cause inflammation that leads to nausea/vomiting |
| Dehydration | Alcohol’s diuretic effect causes loss of fluids needed to process alcohol |
| Congeners expand stomach volume | Compounds that affect alcohol’s taste can irritate the stomach |
| Slowed digestion | Alcohol delays emptying of stomach contents into small intestine |
| Peak blood alcohol levels | Takes hours for all alcohol to be absorbed from the stomach into blood |
| Tip | Details |
|---|---|
| Rehydrate | Drink water, broths, electrolyte beverages |
| Eat bland foods | Toast, rice, crackers, applesauce |
| Avoid fatty/spicy/acidic foods | Can further irritate upset stomach |
| Rest and take it easy | Reduce activity to allow body to recover |
| Use OTC medications cautiously | Consult pharmacist before using Pepto-Bismol, aspirin, ibuprofen, acetaminophen |
| Avoid more alcohol | Prevents exacerbating nausea/vomiting |
When to See a Doctor
Seek medical treatment for:
- Blood in vomit
- Can’t keep fluids down due to ongoing vomiting
- Signs of severe dehydration
- Severe or spreading abdominal pain
- Vomiting lasting over 24 hours
- Other concerning symptoms like chest pain or weakness
These can indicate serious conditions requiring prompt treatment like:
- Stomach/intestinal ulcers, tears, or blockages
- Pancreatitis
- Alcohol poisoning
- Allergic reaction
Preventing Vomiting After Drinking
Tips to reduce chances of vomiting:
- Pace drinks and avoid binge drinking
- Don’t drink on empty stomach
- Alternate alcohol with water
- Choose lower alcohol drinks like light beer
- Take antacids before drinking
- Avoid greasy, sugary drink mixers
But vomiting can protect the body by removing toxins, so may be unavoidable after drinking excessively.
When to Worry About Frequent Vomiting
See a doctor if you:
- Vomit after just a small amount of alcohol
- Vomit nearly every time you drink alcohol
- Have concerning symptoms like pain or blood
- Feel unable to control alcohol intake
This can indicate conditions like:
- Ulcers
- Acid reflux
- Gastritis
- Alcohol use disorder
- Pregnancy
The Bottom Line
In summary, delayed vomiting after drinking is very common and usually not a cause for concern, provided it resolves within 24 hours. Seek medical attention for severe or ongoing symptoms. Frequent vomiting with alcohol could also indicate an underlying health issue that needs treatment.