Because apparently just getting really hungry or a bit paranoid is too much to ask for in the modern era. We now have to have brand new symptoms to put us all on edge.
Cannabis widely considered the safest of all drugs
Marijuana’s legal status in many states across America reflects the recreational use of which it is used by millions of people.
Having been legalized in 24 states across the US, including California, New York, Michigan, Massachusetts, Illinois, New Mexico, Washington and Virginia, one would assume that there would be little to no side effects worth particularly worrying about.
Usually, the most common side effect that comes with smoking weed is lung problems, which would be true of any regular cigarette smokers.
Excessive usage can trigger paranoia and some of the most masterful, absurd snack making known to man, also.
One study also discovered that regular weed smokers often had a lower IQ by 1.3 points, although medical experts were keen to stress this isn’t a noticeable difference.
Smokers displaying new symptoms
But, because we can’t have anything nice, now a new set of symptoms has emerged, which has led to new research being carried out to try and identify what is happening among a growing number of regular smokers.
With more and more smokers ending up in Emergency Rooms across America with the same symptoms, a study was carried out to find out why it was happening.
The University of Washington School of Medicine undertook the study in November of last year and their findings have been further confirmed by the World Health Organization, christening the new symptoms as a condition with its own title.
Officially, the condition is known as cannabis hypermesis syndrome (CHS). According to the study published by the University of Washington School of Medicine: “The new ICD code helps doctors identify cases more consistently and gives researchers a clearer picture of how often it occurs. Patients often resist the diagnosis, and the condition’s causes remain murky.”
Cannabis Hypermesis Syndrome
While CHS may not sound particularly worrying, the nickname for it is far more bleak.
That’s because the syndrome is also known as…..Scromiting.
Yep, that is a combination of the words ‘vomiting’ and ‘screaming’.
You will vomit. And you will quite likely scream while doing so.
In short, the symptoms produced by ‘scromiting’ are nausea, extreme abdominal pain and severe vomiting and they can take place around four or five times a year, often leading to hospitalization.
Symptoms can often appear within 24 hours of using cannabis, with the vomiting ocurring up to five times an hour, according to The Cleveland Clinic.
The clinic’s website states, “CHS is more than just a side effect of marijuana use. It’s a condition that can lead to serious health complications if you don’t get treatment for it.”
Why is ‘scromiting’ becoming more common?
According to one study, shared by The Cleveland Clinic: “32.9% of self-reported frequent marijuana users who came to an emergency department for care met the criteria for CHS. With the widespread use, increased potency and legalization of marijuana in multiple states in the U.S., CHS may be becoming increasingly common.”
People who have used marijuana for between 10-12 years are at increased risk of developing scromiting symptoms, often affecting people who use cannabis once a week or more and since their adolescent years.
Scientists have not yet been able to pinpoint what causes scromiting, but their main theory is, according to The Cleveland Clinic, ‘that it may happen due to long-term overstimulation of receptors in your endocannabinoid system (ECS). This may lead to issues with your body’s natural control of nausea and vomiting.’
What are the treatments for scromiting?
Oddly enough, hot baths and showers are recommended as a way to subdue the severe pain associated with scromiting. Some patients have also tried using capsaicin cream on their stomachs to ease the pain.
Doctor Chris Buresh, an emergency medicine specialist with the University of Washington and Seattle Children’s Hospital said of potential treatments, “That’s something that can clinch the diagnosis for me, when someone says they’re better with a hot shower. Patients describe going through all the hot water in their house.”
Scromiting victims share brutal stories
Just to strike the fear of every god possible into you, one man who had suffered through scromiting explained to Dr. Larry B. Mellick that he had been admitted to ER ‘four to five times’ over the course of six months.
Sharing that his symptoms involved, ‘massive vomiting, nausea and pain in the stomach not in one specific area’ which led to him having to be put on morphine to soothe the pain.
The man also spoke of a ‘burning’ pain which was ‘agony around the stomach’. What is most worrying is the man said he had only been smoking weed for three years rather than anything significantly long term.
Sydni Collins, 23, has warned about long-term cannabis use after being hospitalized via the New York Post.
Collins, who began smoking at 16, said: “There were some days when it lasted until noon, and I would not go to school because of how bad it was.”
She described how she would ‘be puking all morning’ and ‘let out yells or cries because nothing would come out.’
After multiple hospital visits and a feeding tube, she quit weed. Though she briefly resumed use for Crohn’s relief, another episode forced her to stop again.
Someone alert Seth Rogen, immediately. We need him.