Emergency department visits linked to cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome (CHS) have increased nearly 29 percent over a five-year period in Virginia.
According to the Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association Data Analytics Teams, the annual adult emergency department visits for cases of cannabis abuse, dependence, poisoning diagnoses, and CHS all rose during the period from 2020-2024.
There were 24,960 total visits associated with CHS specifically. Annual visits rose from 4,027 in 2020 to 5,175 in 2024.
Additionally, there were 172,778 adult emergency department visits for cannabis abuse, dependence or poisoning diagnoses from 2020-2024. It has been more than 31,000 visits each year over that period, with a peak of 37,690 in 2022.
CHS is a condition with symptoms that can cause recurring episodes of severe nausea, abdominal pain and vomiting among certain individuals who are long-time cannabis users.
Symptoms tend to set in after 10 to 12 years of chronic marijuana use, according to Cedars Sinai. While it’s not clear how marijuana use causes CHS, the health care provider said it may be brought on by receptors in the brain no longer responding to marijuana as they had before.
Some have referred to a combination of CHS symptoms — screaming and vomiting — as “scromiting.” The screaming can be brought on by intense pain, the Cleveland Clinic explains.
Treating CHS can include options like an IV of fluids to prevent dehydration, medication to decrease vomiting and pain, a prescription for benzodiazepines “that help calm you down,” or “frequent hot showers,” Cedars Sinai outlines.
“It’s pretty universal for these patients to say they need a really, really hot shower, or a really hot bath, to improve their symptoms,” Dr. Sam Wang, pediatric emergency medicine specialist and toxicologist at Children’s Hospital Colorado, recently told CNN.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, the only cure is stopping cannabis use.
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