Most of us try to save a visit to the doctor and use home remedies for nausea. Nausea is the subjective sensation that one experiences before vomiting. It is a sensation of discomfort in the upper abdomen accompanied by an involuntary urge to vomit. Nausea alone may occur without subsequent vomiting but vomiting tends to relieve the feeling of discomfort.
Causes for nausea can be enumerated as disgusting odours (sewage, petrol, vomitus) or sight (blood, dead animal or person), morning sickness of pregnancy, motion sickness, accompanying migraine, gastroenteritis, bowel obstruction, hepatitis, acute pancreatitis, drugs like those used in chemotherapy and other gastrointestinal conditions. Conditions like disgusting odours are temporary and nothing needs to be done to counteract the wave of nausea, but motion sickness and morning sickness can be extremely frustrating experiences.
Home remedies for nausea mentioned here could be extremely useful in such conditions as well as in the likes of hepatitis which tend to last long with no real treatment other than rest in conventional medicine. We’ve jotted down a few things that you can try out before you raid your kitchen for certain ‘grandma remedies’ for your nausea.
1. Lie calmly on the bed or an easy chair and let the wave of nausea pass off. Trying removing yourself from the source of nausea if possible.
2. Cold compress on the head also works. Soak a small napkin in cold water and place on the head. It is extremely soothing and may help relieve nausea instantly.
3. Avoid taking a puff of cigarette or alcohol. They do not relieve nausea, only worsen it.
4. Sometimes just vomiting is the best option to relieve nausea. Do not try to stop the urge to vomit, let it flow out. It’s the body’s natural mechanism to flush out what is bothering it.
If none of these seem to help then read on and use these homemade remedies to kick back the nausea.
1. Lemon – Smell a sliced fresh lemon. Alternatively, mix a teaspoon each of lemon and honey and have it very slowly. It will give instant relief. Have some lemon flavoured tea. Basically, lemon in any form relieves nausea rapidly.
2. Ginger – Ginger is scientifically the best cure for nausea. It has compounds which help against motion sickness, morning sickness and against certain bacteria like E.coli that commonly cause diarrhoea and nausea on food poisoning. Try anything with ginger- gingerbread, ginger snaps, ginger tea or just carry along crystallized ginger sticks and keep sucking on them at intervals. Avoid ginger ales as they don’t really contain much ginger. You will immediately feel much relieved. Crushed ginger along with some lemon and black salt also may be taken to relieve the nausea.
3.Mint – Scoop 1 tbsp of mint into a pint of boiling water, strain and drink. It will relieve your nausea rapidly. If you can chew on the leaves, that too shall help curb the nausea. Pepper mint is known to act on the pain sensory fibres of the stomach and relieve the sensation of nausea. Simply smelling the mint works instantly!
4. Cranberry juice – You can avoid the solids for the day and stick to clear fluids and juices like cranberry. It gives you the electrolytes without being heavy on your stomach.
5. Chamomile tea – Chamomile tea is known to soothe an upset stomach. Take 1 tbsp of chamomile tea leaves and boil in a cup of water. Strain and sip slowly till nausea is curbed. Other teas like mint, ginger, lemon, clove, raspberry or cinnamon prepared in the same manner work equally well.
6. Onions – Juice to get 1 tsp onion juice. Mix it with 1 tsp crushed ginger and have it with honey or water to relieve your nausea.
7. Vinegar– Mix 1/4th cup of vinegar and water each and rinse your mouth. This shall help relieve the wave of nausea and also remove the stuck particles of vomit if any.
8. Dry toast – Munch on some dry toast or salted crackers till the nausea is better.
9. Pickles – Sniffing some pickle or having some works well in relieving an upset tummy. But go slow on it.
10. Baking soda – Dissolve ½ tsp of baking soda in a whole glass of water and down it whole. It works wonders for the nausea.
11. Soda – Aerated drinks like soda, 7up or sprite work well in relieving nausea when you are away and can’t get your hands on something really natural.
12. Olfactory remedies – Sniffing on chamomile tea, lavender tea, lemon tea, peppermint or pickles can help soothe the nausea almost instantaneously.
If despite these home remedies for nausea, the sensation persists or worsens then don’t hesitate any further in seeing your family physician or a gastroenterologist and getting yourself thoroughly examined for causes of the nausea.
– Dr. Rachita Narsaria