Nausea is an all too common ailment, with causes as varied as motion sickness from travelling, a stomach bug like viral gastroenteritis, and morning sickness during pregnancy.
If you’re like me, you may prefer to handle this aggravating condition in a natural fashion, without the use of harsh medicines that can make you drowsy (among other negative side effects). Here are three great ways to cure nausea that don’t involve a trip to the pharmacy.
Side note: According to the Mayo Clinic, in rare cases, nausea and vomiting can indicate a serious or even life-threatening condition. So if your nausea does not improve with these natural methods, consider seeing your doctor just to be safe.
Ginger
It’s no surprise that ginger (or ginger root) is a helpful aid for battling nausea—after all, that’s one of its best-known qualities. What is unexpected is just how many ways someone can ingest ginger these days. Everything from ginger chews, ginger candies, ginger tea, ginger kombucha, ginger juice, and even ginger chips can be scooped up at local health food stores or online. Some favourite items are Chimes Ginger Chews, GT’s Gingerade kombucha, Prince of Peace 100% Natural Ginger Chews, Yogi Ginger Tea or Lemon Ginger Tea, and Ginger People’s Gin Gins Original Ginger Chews. Ginger is said to help speed digestion and decrease inflammation, both of which can make a difference for nausea sufferers. Simply ingest ginger preventatively before symptoms begin, or when needed as soon as symptoms start. Repeat as necessary.
Pro tip: for best results and to avoid chemical additives, be sure to carefully comb through the ingredient lists of your gingery picks. Finding just ginger as the lone ingredient is best, but other common additions include lemon juice and tapioca starch, as well as pure cane sugar.
Peppermint
Another well-known yet natural nausea combatant is the mighty peppermint. This plant can be ingested in candy form, as long as the ingredient list is short and not full of unnatural additives; some examples of common ingredients that are paired with peppermint include maple syrup, cane sugar, and tapioca starch. Other popular ways to get peppermint into the diet are via gum and mints. Quality products include Simply Gum’s Natural Peppermint, Meltzer’s Puremints, and VerMints organic mints.
Another celebrated treatment is Peppermint Essential Oil; it can be rubbed topically on the skin on areas like the temples or wrists. For something truly sensory, try this recipe for a peppermint travel balm.
Acupuncture or acupressure
Acupuncture and acupressure can also help battle nausea. Acupuncture uses needles to trigger specific points on the skin; it is an ancient approach with Chinese roots and should be practiced by a licensed or certified professional. Acupuncture is said to help improve the body’s sense of balance, or qi, which may help with a variety of conditions, nausea among them. It also works to stimulate the body’s immune system and increase circulation to specific areas.
On the other, but still related hand, acupressure uses pressure instead of needles to promote the same healing and nausea-fighting principles. Pressure gets applied to certain spots of the body and can help increase circulation; areas that may help are on the inner wrist (called P6), on the muscle between the thumb and index finger (L14), and on the outside of the shin bone just below the knee (ST36). A great way to use the aforementioned peppermint travel balm with acupressure is to rub the mixture onto your wrists with light pressure.
These tried and true solutions offer easy ways to always be prepared, since many of the items don’t take up much room and can be stashed just about anywhere. A glove compartment, purse, or backpack are just a few simple homes for these natural nausea cures, so that you can feel good no matter where you are.