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You might be familiar with the term “scromiting,” a slang term for cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome, a condition that triggers severe vomiting after long-term marijuana use. However, it usually takes consistent, daily marijuana consumption for this issue to arise. Taylor Nichols, an emergency medicine specialist, recently explained to Slate, “It’s a rare condition that only emerges after prolonged, daily marijuana use. It’s not a case where someone who’s a nonuser smokes marijuana once and ends up experiencing ‘poisoning.’”
Scromiting symptoms
The symptoms unfold in two stages. Initially, a person may feel heartburn, nausea, abdominal discomfort, and/or burping. The second stage is marked by uncontrollable vomiting, often accompanied by loud retching or screaming noises, which is why the term “scromiting” was coined—it's a combination of “screaming” and “vomiting.”
An over-the-counter solution for scromiting
Over time, the only solution for scromiting is to cease marijuana use. Since scromiting is triggered by long-term consumption and marijuana can take a while to completely exit the body, it could take weeks or even months before a person feels relief. However, as science writer Laurel Hamer explains at ASBMB Today, there are a few over-the-counter treatments that appear to provide temporary relief.
The first suggested remedy is a hot shower. From personal accounts, compulsive bathing seems to be a symptom commonly seen in scromiting cases, often being the only way for sufferers to find some comfort. However, spending the entire day in a hot bath or shower isn’t exactly practical, so emergency toxicologist Jeff LaPoint looked into capsaicin cream as an over-the-counter solution for scromiting.
As LaPoint shared with ASBMB Today, he explored capsaicin cream based on a theory that the relief from hot baths might be linked to a receptor in the body called TRPV1, which responds to heat. Since capsaicin cream also triggers TRPV1, LaPoint thought it was worth trying and tested it on an ER patient suffering from the condition. The result was successful, with the patient experiencing considerable relief within 30 minutes.
As LaPoint reported at the 2014 North American Congress of Clinical Toxicology, applying capsaicin cream to the abdomen brought significant relief to seven people affected by scromiting, with their symptoms subsiding within 30 minutes. Researchers at the University of Virginia are now studying capsaicin cream as a treatment for scromiting in a clinical trial, with results expected soon. LaPoint told ASBMB Today, this discovery is a major advancement, as it offers an over-the-counter remedy that can help patients regain functionality.”
