Feeling sick is an annoyance that can occur for a number of reasons, and despite feeling like you might vomit, often you can feel nauseous without actually being sick. Feeling nauseous can happen for a range of reasons, from side effects to medication to certain illnesses, travel sickness or even being hungover.
For those who may feel nauseous regularly, it’s best to get checked by a doctor to make sure nothing else is going on.
When you feel sick, often laying down and sleeping away the feeling is the best thing to do – however, this can’t always be the case.
If it strikes while you’re out, or have important things to do you may need to try alternate methods to settle your stomach.
So whether you have morning sickness, travel sickness or just feel a bit sick – try these top six methods to help alleviate the symptoms.
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2. Distract yourself
While you may feel like laying on the sofa and doing nothing, distracting yourself can actually really help.
Pop on some music, watch a film or listen to a podcast to take your mind off your nausea.
You could also try guided meditation – there are a number of podcasts, apps or videos on YouTube to try.
3. Sip a cold drink
Often feeling sick is accompanied by a bad taste in the mouth, and drinking a cold drink can help this.
Try and opt for water, and don’t gulp as this may overload your stomach and cause your nausea to feel worse.
Instead, take a couple of sips little and often to help with any sick feeling in your mouth or throat.
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If you feel sick in general, increasing your fluids can really help to fight any stomach bugs or viruses.
5. Eat foods containing ginger
For anyone who’s suffered from morning sickness – often one tip you get is to keep ginger biscuits on hand.
Ginger has been used to treat stomach aches, diarrhoea and nausea for more than 2,000 years in China.
There’s no clear reason for why ginger is so good for treating sickness, but everydayhealth.com explains a key element – gingerol – “directly affect the digestive and central nervous systems.”
Dr Richter said: “It’s an excellent treatment for nausea, especially in pregnancy.”
6. Watch your posture
Often when we feel sick, the temptation is to crumple into the foetal position.
However, sitting up and stretching your back can help your stomach immensely.
If you lie down or scrunch up your stomach, you can cause your gastric juices to rise up and trigger acid reflux.
This can increase feelings of sickness or aggravate conditions like GERD.
So what should you do to avoid feeling sick?
The NHS advises to prevent nausea –
- do not eat or cook strong-smelling food
- do not eat hot, fried or greasy food
- do not eat too quickly
- do not have a large drink with meals
- do not lie down soon after eating
- do not wear clothes that are tight around your waist or tummy
Source: Daily Express
