Cure Nausea Naturally Without Medication

Nausea, which may occur alone or with vomiting, is a symptom of an underlying condition. It is a feeling of uneasiness or queasiness centered around your stomach or abdomen. Nausea can be caused by a number of conditions, including gastroenteritis, pregnancy, chemotherapy, and so on. There are a number of things you can do to cure nausea naturally, including taking herbal remedies and trying alternative methods.

Steps

Making Quick Changes

  1. Avoid strong odors and smoke. Stay away from things that can trigger either nausea or vomiting. Clear out strong odors and smoke by opening a window. Otherwise, try going out into the fresh air.
  2. Use a cold compress. Heat can contribute to nausea, especially if your body starts to overheat. Try a cold compress to cool your forehead. Avoid heat and humidity if possible.
    • Heat exhaustion can cause nausea, and is usually accompanied by other symptoms, such as dizziness, headache, profuse sweating, fatigue, and others.[1] Get out of the heat and into a cool room.
  3. Get some rest. Try to sleep through your nausea. This can also help you handle stress, anxiety and muscle strain, which can cause nausea. Rest and relax as much as you can.
  4. Keep still. Movement can increase the feeling of nausea. Keep your body as still as possible. Try lying down in a dark, quiet room.
  5. Eat bland foods and liquids. Stick with unspiced, lean foods that are gentle on your stomach.[2] [3]These include foods such as whole grain crackers, rice or sesame crackers, brown rice, toasted whole-grain bread, or chicken without the skin. You can also try chicken broth or vegetable broth.
    • Eat small amounts of food to start.
    • Spicy or fatty foods can worsen nausea. Many people experience worsening nausea with tomatoes, acidic foods (like orange juice, pickles), chocolate, ice cream and eggs.
  6. Try the BRAT diet. The BRAT diet consists of bananas, rice, applesauce and dry toast. This is often recommended for nausea.[4]
  7. Drink lots of room temperature water. Make sure you drink as much water as you can. Dehydration can make you feel worse. For nausea, room temperature water is generally best tolerated.
    • Sip the water slowly. Drinking water too fast can make your stomach feel unsettled.
  8. Try breathing exercises. The University of Connecticut conducted a study which indicated that controlled, deep breathing can help relieve nausea.[5] Other studies have indicated that breathing can help control nausea after surgery.[6] Try this exercise adapted from the University of Missouri at Kansas City:[7]
    • Lie flat on your back. Use pillows under your knees and neck to make sure you are comfortable.
    • Put your hands palms down on your stomach, right below the rib cage. Place the fingers of your hands together so you can feel them separate and know you are doing the exercise correctly.
    • Take a long, slow deep breath by expanding your belly, breathing like a baby breathes. This ensures that you are using your diaphragm to breathe rather than your rib cage. The diaphragm creates suction that pulls more air into your lungs than can be achieved by expanding the rib cage. Your fingers should separate as they lie on your belly.
    • Breathe in this manner for at least 5 minutes.

Trying Herbal Remedies

  1. Take ginger capsules. Ginger has been used to treat nausea of many different causes including chemotherapy-induced nausea [8], [9], [10], and the nausea of early pregnancy.[11], [12] Ginger works by inhibiting or suppressing certain types of brain and gut receptors that are related to the sense of nausea.[13]
    • For nausea after chemotherapy, the recommended dose is 1,000-2,000mg in capsule form every day for the first 3 days.[14],[15][16]
    • For morning sickness in early pregnancy, take 250mg of ginger 4 times a day.[17]
    • Ginger has also been studied for the treatment of post-surgical nausea and has been shown to be very effective. [11], [18] Be sure to tell your doctor that you want to take ginger, since it may increase the amount of bleeding during surgery.[19] Take 500-1,000 mg one hour before surgery.
    • For nausea associated with food poisoning, gastroenteritis and most other non-serious causes, take 250-1,000 mg of ginger 4 times a day.[20]
    • Do not give ginger to children under 12 months old.[21]
  2. Make ginger tea. If you prefer ginger tea to a capsule, you can also make your own ginger tea at home. Drink 4-6 cups of this tea daily.
    • Buy fresh ginger and cut off a 2-inch piece.
    • Wash the ginger and peel or cut off the tan-colored “skin” to get to the paler, almost lemon-yellow ginger.
    • Cut the ginger into small pieces. You can use a grater, but watch your fingers when grating. You need about a tablespoon of ginger.
    • Add the ginger pieces to 2 cups of boiling water.
    • Cover the pan and boil for another minute.
    • Turn off the heat and let the ginger tea steep for 3-5 minutes.
    • Pour off a cup and add honey or stevia to taste
    • Cool to a comfortable temperature and sip the tea.
  3. Stay away from ginger ale. Relieving nausea is more effective with fresh ginger rather than ginger ale. First of all, most ginger ales do not contain real ginger. Second, they either have high levels of sugar, or high levels of High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS). When you are nauseous, you should avoid all sugars. The sugar generally makes you feel worse, since both high and low blood sugar can cause nausea![15][22]
  4. Try other herbal teas. Peppermint, clove and cinnamon may help relieve nausea, although it is not clinically known how this works. It’s possible that the herbs directly affect nausea centers in the brain. This helps to reduce any viral or bacterial infection that may be causing nausea. These herbal teas may also simply allow you to relax and minimize the sense of nausea.[23]
    • Feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium) is another remedy for nausea that has been used in tea form for centuries. It may be particularly helpful when used to treat nausea associated with migraines.[24]
      • Do not take feverfew if you are allergic to ragweed, chrysanthemums, marigolds, camomile, yarrow, or daisies. These may be cross-allergies.
    • To make these teas, steep a teaspoon of the dried powder or leaf in 1 cup of boiled water. Add honey or stevia (and lemon) to taste.
    • These herbs all have been traditionally used to treat nausea and are all recognized as safe to use.[25]

Trying Alternative Remedies

  1. Try aromatherapy. Aromatherapy uses essential oils derived from plants for healing purposes. Put a drop of peppermint oil or lemon oil on the insides of your wrists and on your temples.
    • Check to make sure you don’t have a skin sensitivity to essential oils by putting a single drop of the oil on your wrist. If you are sensitive to it, you may experience a rash, redness or itching. If you do have a sensitivity, try another oil.
    • Both peppermint and lemon oil have been traditionally used to treat nausea.[26] Several studies indicate that relief from peppermint or lemon oil may be due to direct action on the brain’s center, which influences nausea. It’s also possible that the oils are relaxing, thereby reducing feelings of nausea.[27]
    • In order for this to be effective, use concentrated essential oils. Peppermint or lemon candy or scents are not likely to have real peppermint or lemon oil. In addition, they are not likely to have these substances at high enough levels to be useful.
    • Use caution when trying aromatherapy if you have asthma. Strong scents such as those in aromatherapy oils can cause wheezing in people with asthma.
  2. Get acupressure. In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), the body is viewed as having a system of energy meridians networked throughout. Applying needles (as in acupuncture) or pressure (as in acupressure) to specific points along these meridians can re-balance the energy and reduce the symptoms. Try the “p6”, “Nei guan” or “inner gate” point to relieve nausea. This is located about 2 finger-widths below the crease of your wrists (at the base of the palms).
    • Start with your palms facing you. Feel for two tendons around the midpoint of that area above your wrist.
    • Using the index and middle finger of the opposite hand, apply firm, but gentle pressure for about 10-20 seconds and release.
    • Repeat on the other arm.
    • You can also press on the p6 point while also pressing on the outer side of your wrist at the same time. To do so, use your thumb on p6 and your index finger on the other side of the same arm. Hold for 10-20 seconds and release.
    • Repeat as often as necessary. You can also hold it for longer periods of time, even up to a minute or two.
    • Do this before every meal or beverage.[28]

Identifying Causes of Nausea

  1. Consider if you’ve got a stomach bug. The most common cause of nausea is a viral infection of the stomach called viral gastroenteritis. Viral gastroenteritis is caused by a number of different viruses including the norovirus and the rotavirus.[2]
    • Symptoms of rotavirus might include: diarrhea, vomiting, fever and abdominal pain. You may also be dehydrated and have no appetite.[29]
    • Norovirus symptoms include: diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal pain, headache, body aches and fever.[30]
  2. Take a pregnancy test. Another common cause of nausea in women is early pregnancy. In this case, it is often called “morning sickness” and is often the first sign of pregnancy. Contrary to its name, morning sickness doesn’t only happen in the morning. A pregnant woman can feel nauseated any time of day.
  3. Check your medications. Many types of medications can cause nausea. These include medications such as aspirin, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS), antibiotics, and chemotherapy. General anesthesia may also make you nauseous after you wake up.
  4. Identify any other causes. There are a number of other factors that can contribute to nausea. These can include ear infections and a number of ear conditions, head injuries, food poisoning and radiation therapy.
    • If you are nauseous for more than 1-2 days after trying home remedies, call your physician or healthcare professional. If you are nauseous and are vomiting, call your physician or healthcare professional for advice right away. While waiting for an appointment, you can try the remedies described
  5. Ask your doctor about serious medical conditions. Nausea can also be a symptom of serious medical conditions including heart attacks and heart disease, liver disease, viral infections of the brain (meningitis, encephalitis), pancreatitis (an inflammation of the pancreas) and Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD).
    • Nausea can also be a symptom of sepsis or shock. It could indicate swelling of the brain and increased pressure due to stroke, heat stroke, or head trauma. It may also be a result of environmental toxins.
  6. Talk to your doctor if you have more symptoms beyond nausea. If you are nauseous and are vomiting AND have any of the following symptoms, seek immediate medical attention. These could be signs of a serious problem:[31]
    • Chest pain
    • Severe abdominal cramping or pain
    • Headache
    • Blurry vision
    • Fainting or dizziness
    • Confusion
    • Pale skin that is cold and/or clammy
    • High fever with a stiff neck
    • If you vomit and see something that looks like coffee grounds, looks like or smells like stool

Warnings

  • If vomiting accompanies nausea, watch for signs of dehydration. These include thirst, decreased frequency of urination, a dark urine, dry mouth, sunken or darkened eyes, and crying without tears. If any of these happen, call your physician immediately.
  • If you have persisting nausea or nausea accompanied by excessive vomiting, see your doctor immediately.
  • Children under two years old should not be given ginger.
  • Some natural remedies may interact with current medications. Discuss these options with your pharmacist or doctor.

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

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