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What Can You Take to Stop Nausea?

Many conditions cause nausea. Motion sickness is one, and pregnancy is another. You can become nauseated from over-eating, food poisoning or too much alcohol. Some medications, including those used in chemotherapy, cause nausea. Severe migraine headaches can make you nauseated, as can kidney disorders, gallbladder disease, heart attacks and other serious diseases and conditions.

  1. Motion Sickness Nausea

    • Dramamine is the most-known anti-nausea medication for motion sickness that you can buy over the counter. Kwells, Travel Calm and Sea-Bands are also for motion sickness. Kwells and Travel Calm are medications that should be taken before leaving, to get the maximum benefit. Sea-Bands help to relieve nausea through acupressure.

    Pregnancy Nausea

    • If you are extremely nauseated, your obstetrician may prescribe an anti-nausea pill and check that you are not dehydrated from vomiting. Fluid is vital, and you should consume 10 to 12 glasses of water a day. You can try Sea-Bands, which are an over-the-counter aid that uses acupressure to relieve nausea in pregnancy. Eating crackers or toasted bread often helps dissipate the nausea of pregnancy. So does lying down and taking a little rest. Do not take any medication, no matter how benign it appears, before consulting with your doctor.

    Food Poisoning Nausea

    • You can quickly become dehydrated from food poisoning. Your best bet is to suck on ice chips until you can tolerate clear liquids and drinks, like Gatorade, that replenish electrolytes. Your doctor may prescribe an anti-nausea medication. He may also want to test you for salmonella or a food poisoning that requires an antidote.

    Migraine Headache Nausea

    • Medication for nausea specific to migraine headaches must be prescribed by a physician. The best-known of these prescription drugs are Phenergan, Thorazine, Compazine, Tigan and Reglan. When using one of these medications, confusion, drowsiness and dizziness may result. Care must be exercised when operating machinery or driving a car while on any of these anti-nausea medications.

    Flu Nausea

    • Home remedies like sucking on ice chips, Gatorade, flat 7-Up or ginger ale, and nibbling on crackers, are often the only thing you have to help ease flu nausea. The only over-the-counter medication for nausea from the flu is Dramamine. If nausea persists and is accompanied by persistent vomiting, you should contact your health-care provider. He may prescribe you a medication to help stop your nausea.

    Other Nausea

    • If your nausea is accompanied with stomach or abdomen pain, chest pain or back pain, contact your doctor immediately, as these are signs of much more serious conditions. If you feel nauseated from overeating, Alka-Seltzer or Pepto-Bismol often provide relief. Alka-Seltzer and Gatorade help to lessen the symptoms of a hangover. Nausea resulting from chemotherapy must be treated by your physician because any medication prescribed for nausea is taken in conjunction with cancer medications; it is too dangerous to self-treat this type of nausea.

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