Scromiting illness is surfacing as a serious health concern across the United States in late 2025. Known medically as Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome (CHS), this condition — often referred to by patients and online as “scromiting” — is now drawing urgent attention as emergency-room visits related to it surge sharply.
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What Is “Scromiting”?
The slang term “scromiting” blends “screaming” and “vomiting.” It describes the most extreme episodes of CHS, where individuals experience intense, nonstop vomiting often accompanied by screaming due to severe pain.
Medically, scromiting refers to the hyperemetic phase of CHS, characterized by relentless vomiting, abdominal pain, nausea, and dread of further vomiting — typically in people who have used cannabis heavily over long periods.
Why Is It Making Headlines Now?
- Global health authorities have taken notice. On October 1, 2025, a dedicated medical diagnosis code for CHS went into effect: ICD-10-CM code R11.16. This allows clinicians to properly track, diagnose, and study the syndrome.
- U.S. health institutions — including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) — have adopted the new code, standardizing how CHS is recorded nationwide.
- According to a recent nationwide analysis, emergency-room visits for CHS increased roughly fivefold from 2016 to 2022. The youngest and most affected groups are people aged 18–35.
- ERs across the country are reporting that they see new CHS cases nearly every day. Some hospitals report multiple cases per week, a stark shift from earlier years when CHS was considered rare.
What Happens During Scromiting/CHS: Symptoms & Phases
CHS generally unfolds in stages. The most severe episodes — “scromiting” — occur during the hyperemetic phase.
Common symptoms during scromiting episodes include:
- Severe nausea, often worse in the morning.
- Repeated, forceful vomiting — in some cases up to five times per hour.
- Intense abdominal cramping and pain.
- Rapid weight loss, dehydration, loss of appetite, and fear of vomiting again.
Some patients describe the experience as brutally painful — sometimes even worse than childbirth. In desperate attempts to ease symptoms, many resort to prolonged hot showers or baths, which can provide temporary relief.
What Causes Scromiting / CHS — And Who’s at Risk?
Medical experts still don’t fully understand why CHS develops in some cannabis users but not others. However, evidence suggests the following risk factors:
- Long-term, heavy cannabis use — often daily or several times per week over several years.
- Use of high-potency cannabis products, reflecting higher concentrations of THC in many modern marijuana products.
- Onset of use during adolescence or early adulthood followed by sustained use into adulthood.
Even among heavy, long-term users, not everyone develops CHS. Genetic or metabolic differences likely play a role in why some individuals are more vulnerable.
Why Traditional Treatments Often Don’t Work — And What Does
Standard anti-nausea medications often fail to halt CHS-related vomiting. That makes scromiting particularly difficult to treat.
Medical management tends to focus on supportive care:
- Intravenous (IV) fluids and electrolyte replacement to counter dehydration.
- Anti-nausea medications, pain relievers, capsaicin cream, or other supportive therapies to ease discomfort.
- Hot showers or baths, which many patients report relieve symptoms temporarily.
Importantly, the only known long-term solution — and the one most strongly recommended by doctors — is to stop using cannabis entirely. With sustained abstinence, symptoms generally fade over days to weeks, although full recovery might take longer.
Potential Complications — Why It’s Not Just “Badly Upset Stomach”
If left untreated — or if cannabis use continues — scromiting and CHS can lead to serious health issues, including:
- Severe dehydration and electrolyte imbalance — potentially leading to kidney problems or cardiovascular issues.
- Malnutrition, significant weight loss, and loss of appetite.
- Damage to the esophagus, tooth decay from repeated vomiting, aspiration pneumonia, or choking risk in extreme cases.
- Repeated hospitalizations, sometimes multiple visits in a short time span — especially among young people.
These complications make CHS more than just an uncomfortable side effect. For many, it becomes a recurring health crisis.
The Role of Legalization, Potency, and Public Awareness
As more U.S. states legalize recreational cannabis and high-potency THC products become widely available, health professionals are seeing a corresponding increase in CHS diagnoses.
Because the condition now has an official diagnostic code, data tracking should improve. Experts believe this will help both in raising public awareness and in understanding who is most at risk.
Still, many people — including heavy cannabis users — remain unaware of scromiting and its dangers. The term’s traction on social media has helped spark interest, but it also risks trivializing a very serious health disorder.
What Should You Do If You Suspect Scromiting / CHS?
- Be honest with your health care provider about any cannabis use, including frequency and duration. That helps doctors correctly diagnose CHS rather than treat symptoms in isolation.
- Seek medical attention if vomiting is persistent, severe, or accompanied by signs of dehydration (dark urine, dizziness, faintness, rapid heart rate).
- Recognize that relief from hot showers or baths may be temporary — only stopping cannabis use has been shown to reliably end CHS.
- If quitting cannabis feels difficult, consider reaching out to medical professionals or addiction specialists for support.
Scromiting may sound like internet slang. But it reflects a disturbing reality: a medical syndrome that is real, painful, and rising across the U.S. As cannabis becomes more accessible, understanding and awareness are key.
If you or someone you know suffers unexplained vomiting and heavy cannabis use — take it seriously. Scromiting illness isn’t just a bad night. It could be a warning sign.
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