Why do you get flushed and sweaty just before you barf?

[chacoguy]

I just had this happen and was wondering.

[chacoguy]

Title should be flushed AND sweaty just before you barf?

Damnit.

[Kimstu]

One response to a similar question:

Vomiting is a very well coordinated event, choriographed by the area postrema in the brain. When it is triggered, not only are many parasympathetic functions turned on (gut motility, salivation, always seen in vomiting, but a few sympathetic ones also, like increased heart rate and sweating. Ultimately we don’t know why the sweating happens.

The increased heart rate may simply be a helpful response to a metabolically difficult process. And it may be hard to trigger a higher heart rate via the sympathetic autonomic system, without triggering sweating at the same time (certainly the two are usually seen together in physiology and medicine). So sweating might simply be a physiologic response that “is along for the ride” with trying to raise heart rate, and by itself (at least in this case) does nothing useful.

Of course, sweating is a lot of help when the high heart rate of the sympathetic response is triggered normally, for other situations where you need it (fight and flight). Fear makes sweat. You’re going into high metabolic demand mode, after all, and you’re going to need to cool down so as not to overheat, when that happens. But this response usually happens over longer periods of time than it takes to vomit.

Hope you’re feeling better, OP!