Nausea and vomiting

Dealing with nausea and vomiting

Some medicines can help to relieve nausea. If the nausea does not go away, seek advice from a heath worker.

• Sit up when eating. Try not to lie down until one or two hours after eating.
• Drink plenty of fluids after meals.
• Try not to prepare food yourself. The smell of preparing or cooking food may worsen the feeling of nausea. Ask somebody else to prepare food or eat food with little preparation.

Foods to eat and drink

• If you are vomiting, keep drinking small amounts of water, soups and spice teas. Eat soft foods and go back to solid foods when the vomiting stops.
• You may be able to relieve the feeling of nausea by smelling fresh orange or lemon peel, or by drinking lemon juice in hot water or a herbal or ginger tea.
• Eat dry and salty foods such as toast, crackers and cereal.

Foods to avoid

• Fatty, greasy and very sweet foods can make nausea worse. Try to remove one food at a time from the diet to see if it makes a difference. If so, avoid that food. What affects one person may not affect others. You have to find out what suits you best.