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Systemic visceral infection in children usually begins suddenly with vomiting, diarrhea, fever, and cough. Adults usually have a fever for 2 weeks to 2 months, along with nonspecific symptoms such as fatigue, weakness, and loss of appetite. Weakne...
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Leishmaniasis refers to several different illnesses caused by infection with an organism called a protozoan.
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Abdominal pain is pain that you feel anywhere between your chest and groin. This is often referred to as the stomach region or belly.
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New and severe abdominal pain always needs to be closely evaluated by a doctor. It is frequently a sign of serious illness.
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Repeated episodes of abdominal pain can arise from a variety of medical causes, including some serious conditions. Everyone who has unexplained abdominal pain requires a medical evaluation by a doctor.
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Most of the time, children with mild abdominal pain are not seriously ill; the symptoms go away in a day or two and can be managed at home. However, if your child has severe abdominal pain or has a bellyache along with frequent vomiting, you should contact your child's pediatrician.
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Abdominal pain is very common in children, and in many cases there’s no serious cause. But stomach pain can sometimes point to a serious problem, such as appendicitis, so it is important to know when to seek help.
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Coughing is an important way to keep your throat and airways clear. However, excessive coughing may mean you have an underlying disease or disorder. Some coughs are dry, while others are considered productive. A productive cough is one that brings up mucus. Mucus is also called phlegm or sputum. Coughs can be either acute or chronic: Acute coughs usually begin suddenly. They are often due to a cold, flu, or sinus infection. They usually go away after 2 to 3 weeks; Chronic coughs last longer than 2 to 3 weeks.
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Coughs, those mini-explosions in your throat, are valuable weapons in your body's self-defense arsenal. Their assignment: keep airways clear by quickly expelling intruders from the lower respiratory system -- principally your throat and upper lungs. If dust, fluid, viruses, bacteria or even tumors block any part of this region, your cough reflex takes explosive action.
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Your doctor should evaluate you if you are having symptoms that suggest a more serious cause, such as a bacterial infection, or if your symptoms aren't manageable with over-the-counter remedies or the passing of time.
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A cough is a forceful release of air from the lungs that can be heard. Coughing protects the respiratory system by clearing it of irritants and secretions.
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A cough is a forceful release of air from the lungs that can be heard. Coughing protects the respiratory system by clearing it of irritants and secretions.
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A cough is a forceful release of air from the lungs that can be heard. Coughing protects the respiratory system by clearing it of irritants and secretions.
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Detailed information on excessive sweating, including symptoms and treatment
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A Harvard Medical School physician discusses excessive sweating while eating in diabetics, called diabetic gustatory diaphoresis.
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My friend has a week-and-a-half old baby, who has been profusely sweating. The baby even became soaked with sweat while lying in his bassinet in only a diaper and socks. What could be the cause of this? Mom has had to give him sugar bottles because of constipation. She is worried the baby could be diabetic, because dad is diabetic.
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Diarrhea is loose, watery, and frequent stool. Diarrhea is considered chronic (long-term) when you have had loose or frequent stools for more than 4 weeks.
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Detailed information on diarrhea, including causes, symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment
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Oncology: Controlling DiarrheaDiarrhea(loose stools) is a common side effect of chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Diarrhea results when treatment affects the normal cells lining the intestine.
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Detailed information on diarrhea, including causes, symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment
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Detailed information on diarrhea, including causes, symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment
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Diarrhea From ChemotherapyDiarrhea can occur in cancer patients for a number of reasons. The tumor itself can bring on this side effect, as can changes in diet or an infection in the intestine.
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If your diarrhea is substantial, if you have other unexplained symptoms such as fatigue, abdominal pain, weight loss, or blood in your bowel movements, or if your diarrhea has persisted for more than five days, you should visit with your doctor to discuss your symptoms.
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We all dread diarrhea. But when the patient is your infant or toddler, diarrhea can range from a minor annoyance to a medical emergency.
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Detailed information on diarrhea, including causes, symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment
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Detailed information on diarrhea, including causes, symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment
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Detailed information on traveler's diarrhea, including causes, symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment
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Common causes of diarrhea in babies include infections of the stomach and intestines (gastrointestinal tract) or changes in diet. Most cases of diarrhea are not serious, go away in a day or two and can be managed at home.
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Answering the questions in this tool will help you understand more about the possible causes of diarrhea in children, and will help you decide when to call your doctor.
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To most persons, diarrhea means an increased frequency or softer consistency of bowel movements; however, the medical definition is more exact than this. Diarrhea best correlates with an increase in stool weight; stool weights above 300 g per day generally indicates diarrhea.
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Fatigue is a feeling of weariness, tiredness, or lack of energy.
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Fatigue is physical and/or mental exhaustion that can be triggered by stress , medication, overwork, or mental and physical illness or disease. Everyone experiences fatigue occasionally.
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Boosting Your Energy provides information on the causes and treatments of persistent fatigue. Includes information on aging and energy, eating for energy, and boosting your energy.
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Fatigue may be defined as a subjective state in which one feels tired or exhausted, and in which the capacity for normal work or activity is reduced. There is, however, no commonly accepted definition of fatigue when it is considered in the context of health and illness.
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If you regularly feel weary after waking from a good night’s sleep or for no apparent reason, it’s time to find out why.
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Fatigue: TreatmentIf the fatigue is related to a decrease in hemoglobin, or oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood, then replacing the red blood cells by transfusion or taking erythropoietin can help reduce fatigue. If the fatigue is not related to...
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Introduction Fatigue may be defined as a subjective state in which one feels tired or exhausted, and in which the capacity for normal work or activity is reduced. There is, however, no commonly accepted definition of fatigue when it is considered in the context of health and illness.
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Fatigue is physical and/or mental exhaustion that can be triggered by stress , medication, overwork, or mental and physical illness or disease. Everyone experiences fatigue occasionally.
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Fatigue is a feeling of exhaustion or loss of strength. The duration of fatigue for a patient with cancer has been found to last from one to two times the length of time between diagnosis and completion of treatment, so it is common for fatigue to persist beyond a patient ' s treatment regimen.
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Fatigue: ManagementIf the person on chemotherapy has decreased hemoglobin, or oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood, and it seems like the low hemoglobin level will last for a while, then a medicine called PROCRIT® (Epoetin alfa) may be prescribed...
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Fatigue: CausesWe currently understand some of the causes of fatigue but not all of them. Fatigue may be related to physical changes caused by cancer or its treatment (chemotherapy, biotherapy, radiotherapy, or surgery).
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Fatigue: DefinitionFatigue is a vague feeling of being tired, weak, or exhausted. It is often a symptom of cancer, when cancer is first diagnosed, or when cancer progresses (Ferrell et al, 1996).
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Many people experience late-in-the-day energy lags, but you can take steps to prevent them.
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Oncology: Managing FatigueFatigue is a common side effect of chemotherapy and radiation therapy. It can be caused by worry, lack of sleep, and poor appetite.
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Sometimes a person feels hot to touch due to illness or environmental situation that
causes elevated core temperature. A compounding factor can be dehydration (lack of
fluids.
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Normal body temperature varies by person, age, activity, and time of day. The average normal body temperature is 98.6?F (37?C.
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A fever is any body temperature elevation over100.4 ? F (38 ? C).
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Detailed information on fevers in children
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A fever is a special cause for concern in infants younger than 3 months of age. Parents and caregivers should be most concerned with changes in eating or sleeping habits, coughing, pain or other marked changes.
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Fever is defined as an abnormally high body temperature or a regulated rise to a new set point of body temperature. While a body temperature above 100 ? F(37.
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Normal body temperature varies somewhat from one individual to another but displays a general range and pattern around the " normal " temperature of 98.6 ? F.
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An elevated body temperature. While the standard for normal body temperature is 98.
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A fever is any body temperature elevation over 100 ? F (37.8 ? C).
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One minute you're hot; the next, you're chilled and your teeth chatter. You've got a fever. But look on the bright side: Fever seems to serve a helpful function in the body.
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Buying a thermometer isn't as easy as it used to be. You face an array of choices. But the decision doesn't have to be hard. Like temperature, it's a matter of degrees.
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Most medical professionals agree a fever by itself is not an illness; it is a symptom of an underlying problem. Fevers actually can be a positive sign the body is fighting an infection. However, a fever can cause discomfort for a child.
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A fever is a way for the body to fight infection. But it may also be a sign of a serious illness, especially in children younger than 3 months and children who haven't been immunized. Know when to seek medical care for your child.
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Detailed information on fever, including when to call your physician
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Detailed information on children and fever, including symptoms and treatment
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The best way to take an infant's temperature is rectally with a digital thermometer (never use a glass mercury thermometer). Taking the temperature under the arm, or using an ear thermometer, is less exact.
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Use a digital thermometer to take your child's temperature; never use a glass mercury thermometer. Most children aged three years and older can hold a thermometer under their tongue. If your child is younger than that, or you're having difficulty with the oral method, talk to your doctor about the best way to take his temperature.
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Hyperthermia involves raising the body ' s core temperature as a means of eradicating tumors. The treatment simulates fever .
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Hyperthermia is the use of therapeutic heat to treat various cancers on and inside the body. Purpose The purpose of hyperthermia is to shrink and hopefully destroy cancer without harming noncancerous cells.
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Children can become cranky, fussy or irritable for many reasons. Often it's because they're hungry or just tired. But sometimes irritability can be a sign of illness in children.
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Partial or complete loss of hair is called alopecia.
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Alopecia, also called hair loss, baldness, and epilation, is a common side effect of chemotherapy and radiation therapy . Most patients undergoing chemotherapy, especially those who are being treated with more than one drug, will suffer from hair loss.
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Detailed information on baldness (alopecia), including causes, different types of hair loss, treatment of baldness, and hair replacement surgery
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Hair loss. Alopecia is partial or total loss of hair as a result of any number of causes, including the normal aging process.
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Detailed information on baldness (alopecia), including causes, different types of hair loss, treatment of baldness, and hair replacement surgery
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Some hair on your head falls out every day, no matter what your age. And that's perfectly normal.
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Detailed information on managing alopecia in children
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Hair Loss--One Woman's StoryDebbie Dorsey sat with her family on Christmas morning in 1997 opening presents. She was watching her children and mindlessly touching her hair when seven dark strands clung to her fingers.
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Have there been any studies on the effectiveness of saw palmetto for stopping hair loss?
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Losing your hair can be a frustrating process, especially because you often have little control over it.
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My 7-year-old son has two bald spots on his scalp. His pediatrician said he has alopecia. Will he have this for the rest of his life? Will it continue to get worse? Did stress and anxiety cause this?
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Can severe anemia cause hair loss and hair thinning?
Mary Pickett, M.D., is a lecturer for Harvard Medical School and an assistant professor of medicine at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, OR. At OHSU, she practices general internal medicine and teaches medical residents and students.
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Half of Americans experience some degree of hair loss. Hair loss affects both men and women, but with different results.
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Alopecia is the partial or complete loss of hair- especially on the scalp- either in patches (alopecia areata), on the entire head (alopecia totalis), or over the entire body (alopecia universalis). A basic understanding of hair biology and normal hair development is essential in distinguishing normal versus abnormal hair loss in children and adolescents.
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Hair loss syndromes are a varied group of disorders and conditions characterized by the gradual or sudden loss of large amounts of hair- most often from the scalp, but sometimes from other areas of the body. Hair loss (or baldness) is sometimes referred to as alopecia.
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Hair loss syndromes are a varied group of disorders and conditions characterized by the gradual or sudden loss of large amounts of hair- most often from the scalp, but sometimes from other areas of the body. Hair loss (or baldness) is sometimes referred to as alopecia.
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Hair loss, or alopecia , is total or partial baldness caused by hormonal changes or physical or mental stress . Hair loss occurs for many reasons.
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Alopecia simply means hair loss (baldness). Hair loss occurs for a great many reasons- from pulling it out to having it killed off by cancer chemotherapy .
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Are there any vitamins that can be taken to help prevent hair loss?
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Is hair loss common with HIV?
Rebecca Campen, M.D., J.D. is an Assistant Professor of Dermatology at Harvard Medical School and former Deputy Director of the Harvard/Massachusetts General Hospital Cutaneous Biology Research Center (CBRC). She currently serves as Senior Advisor to the CBRC and divides her time between clinical practice of dermatology at the Massachusetts General Hospital and private practice in Savannah, Georgia. Dr. Campen is the author of two books for medical students and residents, Going Into Medical Practice and Blueprints in Dermatology.
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Oncology: Coping With Hair LossHair loss is a common side effect of chemotherapy and radiation therapy. It occurs because these treatments affect normal cells as well as cancer cells.
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Is hair loss a common symptom of diabetes, and is it reversible? I have noticed that my hair has gotten very thin and I have recently been diagnosed with diabetes?
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Anorexia is characterized by a loss of appetite or lack of desire to eat. Anorexia is common in cancer patients with reported incidence between 15% and 40%.
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Detailed information on anorexia, including causes, characteristics, types, diagnosis, treatment, complications, and prevention
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Appetite StimulationSymptom and Description Loss of appetite is a loss of the desire to eat. Not eating can lead to weight loss.
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Your loss of appetite may be because of anxiety or depression, aging, medications or a health concern.
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A harvard Medical school physician answers your question about the prevalence of anorexia in men, and discusses the biological and environmental factors that influence the disorder in both sexes.
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Women suffering from anorexia nervosa may benefit more from general support than in-depth therapy, according to a recent study.
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A macule is a small, flat, distinct, colored area of skin that is less than 10 millimeters in diameter, and does not include a change in skin texture or thickness.
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Malaise is a generalized feeling of discomfort, illness, or lack of well-being. It can be associated with a disease. Malaise can be accompanied by a feeling of exhaustion, or of not having enough energy to accomplish usual activities.
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Moist skin is an indication that the body is sweating (perspiring). Perspiration is the
release of liquid from the sweat glands of the body, a normal body function to help the
body stay cool.
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Various types of sores can appear anywhere within the mouth, including the inner cheeks, gums, tongue, lips, or palate.
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What Are Oral Lesions? (Precancerous and Cancerous)Precancerous oral lesionsare abnormal cell growths in or around the mouth.
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Mouth ulcers are sores or open lesions within the mouth, caused by various disorders. (See also mouth sores or canker sores)
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Stomatitis is an inflammation of the mucous membranes of the mouth. It may involve the cheeks, gums, tongue, lips, and roof or floor of the mouth.
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Inflammation of the mucous lining of any of the structures in the mouth, which may involve the cheeks, gums, tongue, lips, and roof or floor of the mouth. The word " stomatitis " literally means inflammation of the mouth.
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Stomatitis is an inflammation of the mucous lining of the mouth, which may involve the cheeks, gums, tongue, lips, and roof or floor of the mouth. The word " stomatitis " literally means inflammation of the mouth.
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Stomatitis describes an inflammation of the mucous membranes of the mouth. This condition, frequently referred to as mucositis , can result from cancer treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation therapy .
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Nausea is the sensation of having an urge to vomit. Vomiting is forcing the contents of the stomach up through the esophagus and out of the mouth.
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