Several approaches can relieve nausea quickly, from simple dietary changes and ginger to pressure point techniques and over-the-counter medications. What works best depends on the cause, but most people find relief by combining two or three strategies rather than relying on just one.
Eat Small, Bland, and Often
How and what you eat matters more than most people realize when nausea hits. Eat small amounts every two to three hours instead of full meals. Chew slowly and thoroughly. Avoid lying down for at least two hours after eating.
Stick to soft, low-fiber, low-fat foods: bananas, applesauce, plain crackers or toast made with white flour, broth-based soups, plain rice, baked chicken, eggs, and gelatin. Potatoes, custard, and weak tea are also gentle on the stomach. Skip anything fried, greasy, or heavily seasoned. Raw vegetables, high-fiber cereals, nuts, dried fruits, and strong cheeses tend to make nausea worse. Caffeine and alcohol are also worth avoiding until you feel better.
Stay Hydrated Without Overdoing It
Vomiting and even persistent nausea without vomiting can lead to dehydration surprisingly fast. The key is to sip fluids slowly rather than gulping large amounts, which can trigger more nausea. Small, frequent sips of water, diluted juice, or an oral rehydration solution work best.
Oral rehydration solutions (sold as Pedialyte and similar products) contain a careful balance of sodium, potassium, and a small amount of sugar that helps your body absorb water more efficiently than plain water alone. For mild to moderate dehydration, the general guideline is roughly 50 to 100 milliliters per kilogram of body weight over four hours. In practical terms, that means a 150-pound adult would aim for about 3 to 7 cups over a four-hour window, taken in small sips. If you’re also vomiting, take extra sips between episodes to replace what you’re losing.
Ginger: The Best-Studied Natural Remedy
Ginger is one of the few natural remedies with solid clinical evidence behind it. Compounds in ginger root speed up the movement of food through the digestive tract and block serotonin receptors involved in triggering the nausea signal, similar to some prescription anti-nausea drugs.
Clinical trials have used doses ranging from 250 milligrams to 2 grams per day, split into three or four doses. Interestingly, the 2-gram dose didn’t perform better than the 1-gram dose, so about 250 mg taken three to four times daily is a reasonable starting point. You can get this from ginger capsules, ginger chews, or freshly grated ginger steeped in hot water. Ginger ale is less reliable because many commercial brands contain very little actual ginger.
Peppermint Inhalation
Simply smelling peppermint oil can reduce nausea within minutes. A review of clinical trials found that inhaling peppermint oil reduced nausea scores in people recovering from surgery, pregnant women with morning sickness, and patients undergoing chemotherapy. The effects were measurable within two to six hours after the first use and continued to improve over 48 to 96 hours with repeated use. Across all the studies reviewed, no adverse events were reported from inhaling peppermint oil during pregnancy or after surgery, and only isolated cases of headache occurred in chemotherapy patients.
To try this, place one or two drops of peppermint essential oil on a cotton ball or tissue and hold it a few inches from your nose. Breathe normally. You can also use a personal inhaler stick designed for essential oils.
The P6 Pressure Point
There’s a spot on your inner wrist called the P6 acupressure point that, when stimulated, reduces nausea and vomiting by about 30% compared to doing nothing. A large Cochrane review found it also cut the need for anti-nausea medication by a similar margin. In higher-risk groups (people more prone to nausea after surgery, for example), stimulating this point reduced vomiting rates from about 40% down to 28%.
To find it, hold your arm out with your palm facing up. Place three fingers from your opposite hand across your wrist, starting at the crease where your hand meets your wrist. The point sits just below your three fingers, in the groove between the two tendons running down the center of your forearm. Press firmly with your thumb and hold for two to three minutes, or use a commercial acupressure wristband (often sold as “sea bands”) that applies constant pressure to this spot.
Motion Sickness Prevention
If your nausea is triggered by travel, behavioral strategies can be remarkably effective. The CDC considers gradual habituation (repeated exposure to the motion over time) the single most effective countermeasure, outperforming any current anti-nausea drug once you’ve fully adapted. That’s a long-term solution, though. For immediate relief, these techniques help:
- Fix your eyes on the horizon. This gives your brain a stable visual reference that matches the motion your inner ear is detecting, reducing the sensory mismatch that causes motion sickness.
- Stop reading or looking at screens. Visual tasks that lock your eyes on something stationary inside a moving vehicle make the mismatch worse.
- Minimize head movements. Keep your head as still as possible, ideally resting against a headrest.
- Lean into turns. As a passenger in a car, tilting your body into curves helps align your sense of balance with the forces acting on you.
- Choose your seat wisely. Sit near the wings on a plane, in the front seat of a car, or midship on a boat, where motion is least intense.
- Get fresh air on your face. Open a window or step outside if possible.
- Practice slow, controlled breathing. Lab trials show this is about half as effective as anti-nausea drugs, with no side effects.
Over-the-Counter Medications
Bismuth subsalicylate (the active ingredient in Pepto-Bismol and Kaopectate) works by coating and protecting the stomach lining. It’s best suited for nausea from stomach bugs, food-related upset, or general indigestion. Common side effects include darkened stools or tongue and constipation. If you notice ringing in your ears, stop taking it, as that’s a sign you’ve had too much.
Bismuth subsalicylate is related to aspirin, so avoid it if you have an aspirin allergy or sensitivity. It should not be given to children under 12, or to any child or teenager with the flu or chickenpox due to the risk of Reye syndrome. If you take blood thinners, gout medications, diabetes medications, or arthritis drugs, check with a pharmacist first because interactions are common.
Antihistamines like dimenhydrinate (Dramamine) and meclizine (Bonine) are specifically designed for motion sickness and vertigo-related nausea. They work by dampening signals from the inner ear. Drowsiness is the main trade-off.
Prescription Options for Severe Nausea
When nausea is severe or persistent, such as after surgery, during chemotherapy, or from a medical condition, doctors typically prescribe one of several drug classes. The most commonly used block serotonin receptors in the brain’s vomiting center, effectively intercepting the nausea signal before it fully registers. Another class targets dopamine receptors in a similar brain region. A third type works on both pathways and also speeds up stomach emptying, which helps when nausea is partly caused by slow digestion.
These medications are available as pills, dissolving tablets, suppositories, and injections, so there are options even if you can’t keep anything down. Side effects vary by class but commonly include headache, dizziness, and constipation.
Pregnancy-Related Nausea
Morning sickness affects up to 80% of pregnant women, and it often strikes well beyond the morning hours. Vitamin B6 is the standard first-line recommendation from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. If B6 alone isn’t enough, it can be combined with doxylamine, an antihistamine available over the counter in some sleep aids (half of a 25-mg tablet provides the recommended 12.5-mg dose). Ginger at 250 mg three to four times daily is another option with good safety data in pregnancy, and peppermint inhalation has shown benefit with no reported adverse effects in pregnant women.
The same dietary principles apply: small, frequent meals of bland food, staying hydrated with small sips, and avoiding strong smells or greasy foods. Many women find that eating a few plain crackers before getting out of bed in the morning helps prevent the wave of nausea that comes with an empty stomach.
Warning Signs That Need Urgent Attention
Most nausea resolves on its own or with the strategies above. But certain combinations of symptoms signal something more serious. Seek emergency care if nausea or vomiting occurs alongside chest pain, severe abdominal cramping, blurred vision, confusion, high fever with a stiff neck, rectal bleeding, or vomit that contains what looks or smells like fecal material. These patterns can indicate conditions like bowel obstruction, meningitis, or a cardiac event that require immediate treatment.