Doctor issues warning for 'scromiting' among cannabis users as woman described pain worse than childbirth
A doctor has issued a harrowing warning about a condition which has become known as 'scromiting' on the internet.
The word is a portmanteau of 'screaming' and 'vomiting', and gives a graphic impression of what the health condition is like, with sufferers experiencing sustained nausea, vomiting, and severe stomach pain.
Medically, the condition is called cannabis hyperemesis syndrome, or CHS, and is associated with the heavy consumption of the drug.
The condition is showing up in emergency rooms in the US, including younger people arriving at the hospital with severe distress in their intestines.
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What many of these patients have in common is a heavy use of cannabis.
Dr Sam Wang is a pediatric toxicologist in Colorado, and described the horrific pain patients experience, telling CNN: “They’re writhing, holding their stomach, and can’t stop vomiting."
Meanwhile, one patient gave a harrowing account of her experience of having CHS.
“I was crying and screaming and I was like ‘I can’t take this anymore!’ I hate my life,” she in a video on TikTok. “I’m just begging God, like please make it stop!”
The mom even went on to describe the pain from the condition as being 'worse than childbirth'.
Dr Wang went on to say: “Regardless of whether it’s cannabis hyperemesis syndrome or another virus that makes you vomit a lot,” Wang said, “if you let it go too long, you can have electrolyte disturbances, go into shock and have organ failure. CHS is no different.”
That means that if the condition is not properly treated, then it can become life-threatening.
Researchers in Australia linked chronic marijuana use with severe vomiting and nausea back in 2004.
During the course of their research, the scientists found that patients would see their symptoms improving if they stopped using cannabis.
But if they then went on to start taking cannabis again, the problem would return.
In a strange observation, the researchers also noticed that more than half of the 19 patients that they observed had started to use a hot bath or shower as a way to manage their symptoms, with the practice of taking hot baths becoming more widespread for people trying to relieve the pain.
Dr Wang said that some younger patients will end up making repeated trips to the emergency room with the condition.
“For some of our kids, this is their fifth ER visit in the past two months, with symptoms that they can’t control,” Dr Wang said.
If you want friendly, confidential advice about drugs, you can call American Addiction Centers on (313) 209-9137 24/7, or contact them through their website.
Kit Roberts