If you feel like you’re about to throw up, the fastest thing you can do is slow your breathing, sit upright, and get fresh air. Nausea often passes on its own within minutes to hours, but there are several techniques that can speed up relief or keep things from getting worse. Here’s what actually works.
Slow Your Breathing Down
Deep, controlled breathing is one of the quickest ways to calm nausea because it directly influences the part of your nervous system that controls your gut. The technique is simple: breathe in slowly through your nose, letting your belly expand rather than your chest, then exhale slowly. Place one hand on your chest and the other on your stomach. The hand on your stomach should move more than the one on your chest. Repeat this for a few minutes.
This works because diaphragmatic breathing shifts your body out of its stress response and into a calmer state, which quiets the signals between your brain and your gastrointestinal system. It’s the same principle behind why you instinctively want to step outside and take deep breaths when you feel sick.
Try the Wrist Pressure Point
There’s a well-known acupressure point on your inner wrist called P6 that can reduce mild nausea. To find it, place three fingers from your opposite hand flat across your wrist, just below the crease where your hand meets your arm. Right below where your third finger lands, press your thumb into the groove between the two large tendons that run down the center of your wrist. Apply firm, steady pressure for one to three minutes, then switch to the other wrist if needed.
This is the same principle behind anti-nausea wristbands sold in pharmacies. It won’t eliminate severe nausea, but for mild queasiness from motion sickness, early pregnancy, or a slightly upset stomach, it can take the edge off.
Adjust Your Position
How you sit or lie down matters more than you might think. Lying flat can make nausea worse by allowing stomach acid to creep upward. If you need to lie down, elevate your upper body by about 6 to 8 inches. A wedge pillow or stacked pillows under your back (not just your head) works well. Simply propping your head up with extra pillows can bend your body at the waist and actually increase pressure on your stomach.
If you’re lying on your side, choose your left side. This position uses gravity and your stomach’s natural anatomy to keep acid from flowing back toward your throat. Lying on your right side tends to make reflux worse. If you’re awake and able, sitting upright in a chair with your head supported is often the most comfortable option.
Sip, Don’t Gulp
When you feel nauseous, drinking a full glass of water can backfire. Instead, take small, frequent sips of clear fluids. Cold water, ice chips, or clear broth are good starting points. Room-temperature flat ginger ale or diluted sports drinks can help if you’ve already been vomiting and need to replace lost fluids and electrolytes. Avoid anything carbonated, very sweet, or acidic until the nausea passes.
Sniff Something Sharp
This one sounds odd, but inhaling the scent of rubbing alcohol (isopropyl alcohol) can reduce nausea quickly. Emergency department research has found that sniffing an alcohol prep pad, the kind you’d find in a first aid kit, provided faster nausea relief than a placebo and even outperformed a common prescription anti-nausea medication in one study. Hold the pad a few inches from your nose and take slow, gentle breaths through it. Peppermint oil works similarly for some people. The strong scent appears to interrupt the nausea signal.
Ginger Actually Works
Ginger is one of the few natural remedies with real clinical backing for nausea. It’s recognized as generally safe by the FDA and has been studied extensively for pregnancy-related nausea, post-surgical nausea, and motion sickness. For pregnancy nausea, the studied dose is 250 mg of ginger root extract taken four times a day, up to 1 gram total per day.
You don’t need capsules to benefit. Ginger tea made from fresh sliced ginger root, ginger chews, or even ginger snaps can help with mild nausea. The key is using real ginger, not ginger-flavored products that contain little or none of the actual root. If you’re pregnant or taking blood-thinning medications, check with your provider before using ginger supplements in concentrated doses.
What to Eat Once You’re Ready
You’ve probably heard of the BRAT diet: bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast. It’s fine for a day or two when your stomach is at its worst, but Harvard Health notes there are no studies proving it’s better than other bland options. A broader range of easy-to-digest foods is more nutritious and equally gentle on your stomach. Good choices include brothy soups, oatmeal, boiled potatoes, crackers, and unsweetened dry cereal.
Once the nausea starts fading, gradually add foods with more nutritional value: cooked squash, carrots, avocado, skinless chicken or turkey, fish, and eggs. These provide the protein and nutrients your body needs to recover, especially if you’ve been vomiting. Avoid greasy, spicy, or heavily seasoned foods until you’ve kept bland food down comfortably for several hours.
Over-the-Counter Options
If non-drug approaches aren’t enough, two main types of over-the-counter medications target nausea. Bismuth subsalicylate (the active ingredient in Pepto-Bismol) works by coating and protecting the stomach lining. It’s most helpful for nausea from stomach bugs, food poisoning, or general digestive upset.
Antihistamine-based anti-nausea medications (like dimenhydrinate or meclizine) work differently. They dull the inner ear’s ability to sense motion and block the signals that trigger nausea in the brain. These are your best bet for motion sickness, whether from a car, boat, or plane. They work best taken before the nausea starts, so if you know a triggering situation is coming, take them ahead of time. Drowsiness is a common side effect.
Signs That Need Medical Attention
Most nausea resolves on its own or with the strategies above. But certain combinations of symptoms signal something more serious. Get to an emergency room or urgent care if your vomit contains blood, looks like coffee grounds, or is green. The same applies if nausea comes with a severe headache unlike any you’ve had before, or if you’re showing signs of dehydration: very dark urine, dry mouth, dizziness when you stand, or you’ve barely urinated all day.
Seek prompt medical attention if nausea is accompanied by chest pain, severe abdominal cramping, blurred vision, confusion, or a high fever with a stiff neck. For adults, vomiting that lasts more than two days straight warrants a doctor’s visit. If you’ve been dealing with recurring bouts of nausea for more than a month, or you’ve lost weight without trying, that pattern also deserves evaluation.