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Morning Sickness or Stomach Virus?

Morning sickness, that queasy feeling women get when they are pregnant, can be hard to distinguish from a stomach virus. If you have not taken a pregnancy test and are having what feels like morning sickness, how do you know it is the real thing? How can you tell if you are coming down with a stomach virus or if you are actually pregnant?

Most women do not start noticing pregnancy symptoms like morning sickness until they are around six weeks pregnant. However, some women are more sensitive to the hormonal changes that occur during pregnancy. They may notice pregnancy symptoms even before their period is late. This is not the norm but it does happen.

When it comes to pregnancy symptoms, it is sometimes hard to determine whether or not the symptoms are related to pregnancy or just coincidental. Some women feel slightly nauseous around ovulation or due to PMS. If you tend to feel nauseous or have headaches around ovulation or menstruation, you may be more inclined to notice pregnancy symptoms like morning sickness early in pregnancy.

Morning sickness vs. stomach virus symptoms

Below are morning sickness and stomach virus symptoms. They have some similarities, but also some differences.

Stomach virus symptoms:

diarrhea
fever
nausea
vomiting
stomach cramps
muscle aches
fatigue
dehydration

Morning sickness symptoms

nausea
vomiting
fatigue
excessive salivation
sensitivity to odors

Generally speaking, morning sickness does not cause diarrhea or stomach cramps. And, if you are experiencing a fever, this is not from morning sickness. Usually a stomach bug will run its course in a day or two. This is not to say that there are not stomach illnesses that last longer than this, but most stomach bugs only last for a few days to a week.

Morning sickness, on the other hand, can last for months. If you have an extended period of nausea and/or vomiting and you think you could be pregnant, morning sickness could be what you are experiencing.

Still, it is easy to confuse early pregnancy symptoms with other conditions or illnesses. If you continue having nausea and/or vomiting for a prolonged period of time and do not test positive on a pregnancy test, you should consult your doctor.

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