If you’re experiencing nausea from weed, throwing up after smoking, or stomach pain from THC, you might have noticed something unusual: hot showers help with nausea. This isn’t just a coincidence-it’s actually one of the most common patterns reported by people with Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome (CHS).
If you’ve found yourself wondering why hot water helps when you’re nauseous from weed, or if you’ve discovered that taking multiple hot showers a day is the only thing that makes you feel better, you’re not alone. This behavior is actually a key sign of CHS, and many people discover this relief on their own before they even know what CHS is.
For a clinical overview of CHS and current research, see our main page on Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome (CHS).
For authoritative medical information on CHS, see:
What People Actually Experience
If you’re dealing with CHS, you might recognize this pattern: you wake up feeling nauseous, maybe you’ve already thrown up, and your stomach is cramping. Then you get in a hot shower-really hot, almost scalding-and suddenly the nausea starts to fade. The relief can feel almost instant.
But here’s the catch: as soon as you get out and your body cools down, the nausea comes back. So you get back in. And again. Some people report taking four, five, or even more hot showers in a single day just to get through the worst of it.
People describe it in different ways:
- “The only thing that helps is burning hot water”
- “I spend hours in the shower just to stop feeling sick”
- “As soon as I step out, I feel like I’m going to throw up again”
- “I’ve burned my skin because the water has to be so hot to work”
This pattern is so common that doctors now recognize it as a strong diagnostic clue for CHS. If you find yourself compulsively taking hot showers to manage nausea and vomiting, especially if you’re a regular cannabis user, it’s worth talking to a healthcare provider about CHS.
Why Hot Water Helps When You’re Nauseous from Weed
So why does hot water help when you’re nauseous from weed? The leading explanation involves something called TRPV1 receptors-think of them as sensors in your body that respond to heat and certain chemicals.
Here’s what’s happening: when you have CHS, your body’s nausea signals are basically going haywire from chronic cannabis use. But when you expose yourself to very hot water (or capsaicin, the stuff that makes peppers hot), it activates these TRPV1 receptors in a way that temporarily shuts down or overrides those nausea signals.
It’s like hitting a reset button, but only while the heat is there. That’s why the relief is so immediate when you get in the shower, and why it disappears as soon as you cool off.
This same mechanism is why some emergency rooms use capsaicin cream (the active ingredient in chili peppers) on the abdomen-it activates the same receptors without requiring you to stay in a hot shower for hours. (PubMed: TRPV1 and CHS)
Capsaicin Cream: An Alternative to Hot Showers
If you’ve ever been to the ER for CHS symptoms, you might have had a doctor apply capsaicin cream to your stomach. This is basically the same principle as hot showers-it activates those TRPV1 receptors-but without the risk of burns or dehydration from spending hours in hot water.
Some people also try using capsaicin cream at home, applying it to their abdomen when they feel an episode coming on. It can provide similar relief to hot showers, though it may cause a burning sensation on the skin (which is why it’s often used in medical settings where they can monitor you).
Important note: Capsaicin cream doesn’t cure CHS-it just provides temporary relief, just like hot showers. And you should be careful with it, as it can cause skin irritation. (PubMed: TRPV1 and CHS)
Why It’s Only Temporary Relief
Here’s the hard truth: hot showers don’t fix CHS. They just mask the symptoms while you’re in them. As soon as you step out and cool down, the nausea and vomiting come back because the underlying problem-whatever cannabis is doing to your body’s systems-is still there.
This is why people get stuck in cycles of taking shower after shower. It’s not that you’re doing something wrong-it’s that you’re treating a symptom, not the cause.
The only thing that actually resolves CHS long-term is stopping cannabis use completely. This can be really difficult, especially if you’ve been using it regularly, but it’s the only proven way to make the symptoms go away for good. Many people find that their CHS symptoms disappear within days or weeks of stopping cannabis use. (Cleveland Clinic, WebMD)
What This Means for You
If you’re reading this because you’ve been taking hot showers to manage nausea and vomiting, especially if you use cannabis regularly, you might have CHS. The hot shower behavior itself is actually a diagnostic clue that doctors use to identify the condition.
This is important: While hot showers can help you get through the worst moments, they’re not a treatment. If you’re experiencing:
- Repeated episodes of severe nausea and vomiting
- Stomach pain or cramping
- Relief from hot showers that disappears when you cool down
- Regular cannabis use (especially daily or near-daily use)
…you should talk to a healthcare provider. CHS can lead to serious dehydration and other complications if not addressed. Many people don’t realize they have CHS until they end up in the emergency room, but getting help earlier can prevent things from getting that bad.
The good news? Once you stop using cannabis, CHS symptoms typically go away. It’s not a permanent condition-it’s your body’s way of telling you that cannabis isn’t working for you anymore.
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