I Threw Up My Medication. Should I Take Another Pill?
Key takeaways:
It’s common to experience nausea and vomiting, and it’s possible to throw up soon after taking a medication.
If this happens to you, it’s important to weigh the risks and benefits of retaking your medication.
It’s recommended to talk to a healthcare provider or pharmacist before deciding to retake a medication. They can look at your situation and specific medication to help you make a decision.
A common side effect of many medications is nausea and vomiting — sometimes casually referred to as “throwing up.” Many health conditions and situations can also lead to nausea and vomiting.
If you vomit after taking a medication, you may be curious if the medication will still work, or if you should retake it. Ultimately, a healthcare provider or pharmacist can best answer this question. But you can still empower yourself to consider a few factors when deciding what the best course of action may be.
In this article, we’ll discuss some of the common questions and concerns that you may have if you throw up soon after taking a medication.
Search and compare options
What commonly causes nausea and vomiting?
Nausea and vomiting have a variety of causes. Examples include medications, illness, and even severe anxiety. People often experience other symptoms along with nausea and vomiting. But the feeling of nausea is often a warning message your body sends after swallowing a potentially toxic substance. Sometimes, your body can interpret a medication as one of these substances.
Examples of medications that may cause nausea include:
Chemotherapy medications, such as cisplatin (Platinol)
Pain medications, such as ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin)
Heart medications, such as digoxin (Lanoxin)
Diabetes medications, such as metformin (Glucophage)
Antivirals, such as acyclovir (Zovirax)
Certain situations — such as driving in a car, being on a boat, or flying in a plane (motion sickness) — can also cause nausea and vomiting. Various illnesses or medical conditions can also cause these effects. The feeling of nausea usually happens before vomiting but not always.
If I vomit, should I retake the medication?
Maybe. It depends on the medication and situation.
As mentioned, there are a few things to consider when deciding if you should take a medication after vomiting. It’s important to talk to your healthcare provider if you’re taking medication and vomit after taking it. But there are still some questions that you can ask yourself.
1) What does the label recommend?
In some cases, a medication’s label can tell you when to potentially retake the medication if you vomit. The FDA’s website is a helpful resource to find your medication’s label.
Your pharmacy may also provide you with information about what to do if you vomit soon after taking a medication. Be sure to keep any printed information that the pharmacy provides.
For example, consider Yaz (drospirenone/ethinyl estradiol), a common birth control pill. Yaz's labeling suggests that if you vomit within 3 to 4 hours after taking it, it's considered a missed dose. Since birth control doses can be tricky, it provides a detailed list of instructions for what to take depending on which pill was missed.
2) How long after taking the medication did you vomit?
Again, this depends on the medication and situation. But some research is available to help answer this question.
One small study surveyed 65 pediatric healthcare professionals to see what they would do if one of their patients threw up soon after taking a pill.
More than half of these professionals said they would give the medication again if a child vomited within 30 minutes of taking a dose. This is generally about the amount of time it takes for a medication to dissolve. About one-third of them said they’d give the medication again if vomiting occurred within 15 minutes.
In this same study, healthcare professionals generally agreed that medications shouldn’t be taken again if someone vomited 60 minutes or more after a dose. This is because your digestive system breaks down oral pills over time. Once a medication is fully broken down and absorbed through the digestive tract, vomiting shouldn’t affect how it works.
Although healthcare professionals generally agreed that often you can retake medications if vomiting occurred within 15 to 30 minutes, there are some types of medications that may be absorbed faster than others. We’ll discuss this more in a bit.
3) What’s the impact of not taking the medication?
Certain medications may cause more harm than others if you potentially miss a dose or vomit before your body has the chance to absorb the medication.
For example, missing a dose of Truvada (emtricitabine/tenofovir disoproxil fumarate) — a common medication used to prevent HIV — can be risky. This medication needs to be taken every day to be effective. Missing a dose puts some people at a higher risk of getting HIV.
Some medications like ivermectin (Stromectol) may also be prescribed as a single-dose therapy. This means you may only need one dose. If you vomit the medication without it being absorbed by your body, the medication may not work.
If I retake my medication, how long should I wait?
If you decide to retake your medication, you may have another question: When should I retake it?
You’ll want to make sure that you’re no longer feeling nauseous. If you believe you may vomit again, consider waiting until you no longer feel like vomiting.
If you can see the medication you took in your vomit, you may have an idea of how much medication your body absorbed. If you can see most of the pill, discuss retaking the medication with your healthcare provider. You may be able to take another dose.
Are there any specific medication types that I shouldn’t retake if I vomit?
Yes — some medications usually don’t need to be taken again.
Medications that dissolve under your tongue (sublingually) or in your cheek (buccally) are absorbed quickly. They may only stay in your mouth for about 5 to 10 minutes before dissolving. Orally disintegrating tablets (ODT) are placed on top of your tongue and typically dissolve in less than a minute.
Importantly, these medications don’t go through your digestive tract. They all dissolve in your mouth and spread throughout your body. Because of this, vomiting doesn’t affect them as much. For this reason, it’s likely unnecessary to retake sublingual, buccal, or ODT medications.
Examples of medications that come in sublingual, buccal, and ODT forms include:
Olanzapine (Zyprexa Zydis)
Ondansetron ODT (Zofran ODT)
Nitroglycerin (Nitrostat, Nitrolingual)
Are any other medication types affected by vomiting?
In addition to capsules and tablets, liquid medications also pass through your digestive tract. If you vomit soon after drinking a liquid medication, it’s possible that your body didn’t have the chance to absorb all of it. Your body absorbs liquid medications at different speeds, depending on a few different factors. This includes the amount of liquid consumed and if there’s food in your stomach.
If I vomit frequently, are there any types of medications that I can use aside from oral pills?
Medications come in different forms aside from oral pills. If you frequently throw up after taking a prescribed medication, it’s recommended to talk to your healthcare provider. They may be able to offer some alternative options. As mentioned, some medications avoid the digestive system, and vomiting doesn’t alter their effectiveness.
Examples of medication forms that do not pass through the digestive system, or that are less likely to cause vomiting include:
Sublingual medications
Buccal medications
ODT medications
Nasal sprays
Injections or infusions
Suppositories
Topical medications
Other ways to lower your chances of vomiting after taking medication include:
1) Taking medications with food: Many medications may cause nausea when you take them on an empty stomach — consider taking your medications with a meal. But always be sure to ask if a medication needs to be taken on an empty stomach. Some medications are less effective if there’s food in your stomach.
2) Crushing pills: If a pill is large and difficult to swallow (or you have trouble swallowing pills in general), you may be able to crush the pill and mix it in food or drinks. But certain pills should never be crushed. A pharmacist or medication label can tell you if a medication can be crushed or not.
3) Opening capsules: Some capsules may be opened and sprinkled over drinks or soft foods like applesauce or yogurt. Refer to your medication information or ask your pharmacist if a capsule may be opened.
It’s recommended to talk to your healthcare provider or pharmacist before following any of the methods listed above.
The bottom line
If you vomit after taking a medication, it’s important to understand the risks and benefits of retaking a medication or skipping the dose. There are different factors to consider when making this decision, including timing, type of medication, and safety concerns. If you vomit more than once after taking a medication, it’s recommended to talk to your healthcare provider about different medications or medication types that may make you less nauseous.
Why trust our experts?
References
A-S Medication Solutions. (2021). Truvada [package insert].
Bartlett, J. A., et al. (2012). Understanding the oral mucosal absorption and resulting clinical pharmacokinetics of asenapine. AAPS PharmSciTech.
Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals Inc. (2017). Yaz [package insert].
Bicker, J., et al. (2020). Timing in drug absorption and disposition: The past, present, and future of chronopharmacokinetics. British Journal of Pharmacology.
Brizuela, M., et al. (2021). Histology, oral mucosa. StatPearls.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2021). About HIV.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2022). Motion sickness.
Davis, S. S., et al. (1986). Transit of pharmaceutical dosage forms through the small intestine. Gut.
Institute for Safe Medication Practices. (2020). Oral dosage forms that should not be crushed.
Kendrick, J. G., et al. (2012). Vomiting of oral medications by pediatric patients: Survey of medication redosing practices. The Canadian Journal of Hospital Pharmacy.
Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp. (2020). Stromectol [package insert].
Rimsza, M. E., et al. (2015). Definition of a pediatrician. Pediatrics.
Şenel, S., et al. (2018). Orally disintegrating tablets, fast-dissolving, buccal and sublingual formulations. Pharmaceutical Development and Technology.
Singh, P., et al. (2016). Nausea: A review of pathophysiology and therapeutics. Therapeutic Advances in Gastroenterology.
U.S. Food and Drug Administration. (n.d.). FDA online label repository.
Zhang, H., et al. (2002). Oral mucosal drug delivery: Clinical pharmacokinetics and therapeutic applications. Clinical Pharmacokinetics.
