How To Not Throw Up: 8 Tips To Avoid Vomiting
Medically Reviewed By Kelly Kampf, LCSWIf you are vomiting, your brain has told your body that there is something harmful in your stomach, and it needs to be expelled.
Vomiting is not an illness. It is a symptom. There are various causes of vomiting, but it’s important to remember that the message to vomit comes from your brain as well as your gut. The causes for vomiting, and the tips to avoid vomiting, can be mental and physical.
Why Am I Vomiting?
Before covering ways to avoid vomiting, let’s consider the causes of vomiting in adults.
The primary reasons that an adult may be vomiting include the following:
- The early stages of pregnancy
- Food poisoning
- Stomach bugs, which are viral or bacterial infections
- Motion sickness or seasickness
- Migraines
- Chemotherapy
- Medication
- Alcohol
- Anxiety
- Severe Pain
- Concussion
- Irritable Bowel Syndrome
- Gallstones
- Acid Reflux
- Crohn’s disease
- Overeating
- Some forms of cancer
- Bulimia
- A reaction to unpleasant smells, images, or tastes
- Heart attack
- Appendicitis
As you can see, there are many reasons, both serious and non-serious, that a person can be vomiting. But luckily, the ways to avoid nausea are relatively universal, so our tips apply to vomit as a result of almost all these conditions.
8 Tips To Avoid Vomiting
1) Avoid Acidic Drinks
When you vomit, you lose a lot of fluids. When your stomach is upset, there is a high likelihood that you are dehydrated.
You should drink water and avoid acidic drinks. Acidic drinks can aggravate upper gastrointestinal issues like ulcers and acid reflux.
Fluids to avoid include lemonade, pineapple juice, apple juice, orange juice, and soda. Instead, drink water, sports drinks, and broths.
2) Stick To Safe Foods
Even if you don’t have an appetite, you still need food for sustenance and energy.
Stick to bland, easy-to-digest foods. Eat very small meals and eat them slowly. Some safe foods include crackers, pretzels, and toast.
Ginger has also been shown by multiple studies to aid with nausea from chemotherapy and pregnancy.
If you are experiencing an aversion to the smell of food, which is particularly common in pregnant women, then try sticking with cold foods like Jell-O, yogurt, pudding, and custard, which don’t produce strong odors.
3) Try Wrist Acupressure
This traditional Chinese method of handling nausea was later confirmed to be effective by modern medicine.
To try this method, apply pressure to the upper part of your wrist, underneath your palm, and massage in small circles for about three minutes. Many patients report feeling significantly healthier after trying this acupressure.
4) Aromatherapy
Certain smells can be quite calming, both for nausea and relaxation.
Essential oils or room diffusers may emit smells of clove, lemon, lavender, chamomile, rose, or peppermint.
Some studies have suggested merely cutting open a lemon and inhaling its scent if you don’t have the tools or oils.
5) Anti-Nausea Medications
If the vomiting has become such a nuisance that it’s interfering with your daily happiness and quality of life, various antiemetics might help relieve your problem.
Good medications for vomiting include Pepto-Bismol and Kaopectate, which contain bismuth subsalicylate. These are especially effective if your vomiting is caused by food poisoning.
If your vomiting is caused by motion sickness, Dramamine and other H1 blockers work by blocking the receptors responsible for stimulating vomiting.
For all guidance regarding medication, please consult a licensed medical professional.
6) Speak To A Counselor
Sometimes vomiting is a symptom of a mental health condition. These mental health conditions could be anxiety-related or perhaps are contributed to by an unhealthy relationship with food.
Even if you’re unsure if you’re experiencing a mental health condition, speaking with a licensed counselor can help tremendously in helping you work through the physical and emotional stress you may be experiencing from vomiting.
There are plenty of options for counselors, both online and in person. Online counseling has become quite popular in recent years because it offers privacy and the comfort of having sessions in your own home.
7) Speak To A Counselor About Anxiety
Nausea is a very common symptom of severe anxiety. The nervous system and the chemical responses between the mind and the stomach are very closely linked.
When anxiety triggers your fight or flight response, it causes nausea in the stomach. Increased focus on this nausea may lead to vomiting. This does not mean that the vomiting is intentional. In fact, it’s a typical response to anxiety to focus on the perceived problem.
A counselor may help you with anxiety or at least offer tips to not control you.
You can also try specific home remedies for vomiting from anxiety. Some options to prevent anxiety-induced nausea include:
- Eating Healthy
- Avoid fried foods and acidic drinks. Your stomach knows when it’s full of nutrient-rich food that it needs to stay healthy, and it’s less likely to reject foods and drinks that are good for you. If you are constantly vomiting and have no appetite, it’s best to eat bland foods like toast, pretzels, crackers, Jell-O, soup broth, and pudding. Replenish your lost fluids with water and sports drinks.
- Distractions
- It’s a normal reaction to focus on your nausea. Perhaps you are panicking about throwing up or subconsciously believing that you can solve it by focusing on a problem. But when it comes to nausea, the best thing you can do is take your mind elsewhere. This may mean focusing on your breath or distracting yourself with a book or a movie. We always feel worse when we’re thinking about how bad we think.
- Exercise
- Maybe you’re not in the mood, but exercise can be the perfect distraction, and it can keep your heart rate and breath steady. Exercise is also an effective stress reliever. Consider yoga, which includes the added benefit of meditation. You could also take a session, dance, or follow an online video. Exercise can be social, silly, calming, and confidence-boosting. You don’t need to become a fanatic overnight. Sometimes a simple walk is enough to increase your heart rate and remove you from a stressful situation.
If you worry about an anxiety disorder affecting your relationship health or the mental health of your loved ones, consider a free consultation with ReGain.Us. After one free class, the counselor will tell you if you should invest in further psychological help.
Sometimes anxiety stems from a chemical imbalance, and sometimes it stems from a negative work or home environment. A counselor can help you spot the difference between the things inside and outside of your control and help you find resources to get out of adverse situations.
8) Stop Drinking Alcohol
Drinking until you vomit is an example of binge drinking, and it can have very adverse effects on your physical and mental health.
Remember, you don’t need alcohol to be social, fun, and calm. You can enjoy social events, dance, and relax without drinking. Just sip on a soda or ginger ale, and you’ll end up saving money anyway.
However, binge-drinking and anxiety are closely linked. While there is a social concept of drinking to ‘unwind’ after a long day, these calming effects are only temporary. Alcohol changes the chemicals in your brain and body and can often lead to severe anxiety the next day, especially if you drank excessively.
Do not drink to manage social anxiety. A very common result merely is enduring more anxiety once the alcohol wears off.
Over time, binge drinking can lead to brain damage, liver damage, depression, obesity, and cardiovascular damage.
If you find it difficult to stop binge drinking, it may help speak with a counselor, either online or in person. Many online therapists offer a free consultation, in which they will honestly assess your current situation and advise you about whether you need further help or not.
Plenty of things can cause vomiting, but there are also many options to prevent vomiting in the future.
Vomiting is an unpleasant experience, especially when it’s accompanied by excessive nausea. Fortunately, there are extensive home remedies and professional remedies that can offer you some relief.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
How do you know if you are going to throw up?
Although each person is different and will deal with nausea and vomiting in different ways, there are definitely common signs that indicate you may be about to throw up. Some of the most common examples of these signs include gagging, choking, saliva buildup, retching, feeling the need to bend over, and involuntary stomach reflexes. However, since nausea and vomiting affect everybody differently, this isn’t a comprehensive list.
That is, you might have other signs that you’re about to throw up – it’s important to learn about your body and what affects you. Additionally, just because you have one of the signs listed above doesn’t mean it will necessarily lead to vomiting. Learning about your own body, what affects you, and what the signs are before nausea and vomiting, and what makes you feel better – these are incredibly important things to learn to stop vomiting. If vomiting and nausea are common for you, you know that learning how to stop vomiting is a difficult process. But it all starts with learning your body and learning what signs there are that could lead to vomiting.
What triggers you to throw up?
Each person is different, so each individual’s triggers for nausea and vomiting are bound to be different. Our bodies are so unique, complex, and distinct that there won’t be any singular trigger that causes everybody to throw up. It’s important to learn about your own body and figure out what your triggers are. If you find yourself dealing with nausea and vomiting a lot and want to stop vomiting, it can be really helpful to start keeping a journal and note what you ate before vomiting and what triggers you think you may have. Remember that nausea and vomiting may not just come about as a result of food but also from various mental health conditions.
With that said, there are definitely common triggers that affect many people in similar ways, so learning about them can help determine your own triggers for nausea and vomiting. The most common causes of nausea and vomiting in adults are:
- Medications or chemotherapy
- Viruses or bacterial illnesses (this may be more commonly known as “stomach bugs”)
- Food poisoning
- Alcohol
- Excessive eating, or “binging.”
- Medical conditions – specifically vomiting in pregnant women (vomiting is especially common in the earliest stages of pregnancy)
- Intense pain, physical or emotional
- Motion sickness/ seasickness
- Intense migraines
- An anxiety disorder or panic attacks
- Intense nervousness about an upcoming event, presentation, exam, etc.
- Concussion
- Acid reflux
- Irritable bowel syndrome
- As a reaction to extremely unpleasant smells, images, or tastes, some people, for example, tend to throw up when they see other people throw up.
- Gallstones
- Crohn’s disease
- Bulimia
- Appendicitis
- Heart attack
- Some types of cancer
These are common causes of vomiting and nausea, but the list is not exhaustive. You may have your own personal triggers, such as a certain type of food or certain fear that can lead to vomiting, such as stage fright. It’s important to learn the common triggers and be aware and try to identify any personal triggers you may have to stop vomiting.
What helps when you have to throw up?
Each person will deal with nausea and vomiting differently. Still, our bodies generally respond to many of the same techniques when looking to stop vomiting or mitigate some bad feelings. In general, these are some of the most important things to consider trying when dealing with vomiting and nausea:
- Drinking water – this is possibly the best solution as it helps regulate your body. Many people find that cold water helps more than warm water.
- Eating bland, basic, light foods such as saltines, bread, or other crackers.
- Avoid spicy, greasy, or otherwise strong foods that could upset your stomach.
- Also, avoid very strong smells.
- Eating and drinking things slowly.
- Getting enough sleep
- Stop drinking alcohol
- Speak to a counselor about anxiety
- Speak to a counselor about bulimia
- Try aromatherapy. This involves smelling certain calming scents, like essential oils, cloves, or lemon. If you do not have an oil diffuser, some people cut open a lemon or another citrus-smelling fruit and inhale the scent.
- Apply pressure to the upper part of your wrist, right underneath your palm
- Remember to hydrate because if you do throw up, then you may get dehydrated. It’s important to hydrate but do so with water or broths, not with acidic drinks like sodas or citrus juices like lemonade or orange juice.
Learning how to stop vomiting is neither an easy nor perfect process. Sometimes your body feels a certain way no matter how many precautions you take. The best thing you can do to stop vomiting is to try many of these common solutions and see which ones work best for you. Since nausea and vomiting are very personal to each body, you’ll have to learn which techniques help you the most.
What side do you lay on to not throw up?
Unfortunately, choosing the “correct” side to sleep on is not a panacea for dealing with nausea and vomiting. Still, for some people, it definitely can make a difference in the quest to stop vomiting.
Researchers have a theory that sleeping on your left side can reduce many issues related to nausea and vomiting and stomach acids. The idea is when laying on your left side, your stomach and gastric acids and fluids will stay below your esophagus. Sleeping like this could help reduce or mitigate some of the issues that these acids can cause in the future. Again, this isn’t the end-all-be-all solution to nausea and vomiting, but for some people, it can be a really helpful step in working towards limiting vomiting.
How do you fall asleep when you feel like throwing up?
If you feel like throwing up but are trying to go to sleep, some techniques and practices can help you sleep better.
- Maintain a healthy diet.
- Drink a lot of water and avoid acidic drinks.
- Make sure you are eating lighter, blander foods that won’t upset your stomach. Stay away from foods like pizza and meat and try having some basic foods like rice, crackers, and bread. To stop vomiting, your diet and fluid intake are essential.
- Practice deep breathing exercises and meditation to calm yourself down and keep your focus elsewhere
- Apply pressure to the small area on your upper wrist, directly below your palm.
- Try sleeping on your left side.
- Try aromatherapy with certain calming smells, like clove, citrus, lavender, or peppermint. If you do not have any essential oils on hand, it may be enough to cut open a lemon or orange and smell it.
- If throwing up has become a consistent issue, talk to your doctor about underlying health conditions that could be to blame.
- If vomiting is a consistent issue and you believe it may result from mental health symptoms, speak with a counselor about anxiety or bulimia nervosa.
- Vomiting in pregnant women is a different issue altogether. If you are pregnant and have severe vomiting issues, please don’t hesitate to contact your licensed medical professional for help.
Remember that your safety and health are always of the utmost importance.
How can I stop feeling sick at night?
If you’re dealing with vomiting and nausea at night, you know how uncomfortable it can be. Not only is it painful and uncomfortable at night, but you may lose sleep which negatively affects other aspects of your health, including your ability to stop vomiting in the future.
Everyone’s body is different, so some solutions might work for others and not for you. Likewise, you may find a solution that works well for you but not in the same way with other people. It’s important to try many techniques and keep a record of which ones work well for you and which don’t.
With that said, consider the potential causes of vomiting and nausea so that you might recognize something that could be causing your sick feelings.
Potential causes of nausea and vomiting:
- Certain medications
- Chemotherapy
- “Stomach bugs” from viruses or bacteria
- Undercooked or poorly managed food leading to food poisoning
- Drinking alcohol excessively
- Eating too much, too quickly
- The earliest stages of pregnancy
- Intense emotional pain, distress, or grief
- Intense physical pain or shock
- Migraines
- An anxiety disorder
- Panic attacks
- Nervousness or jitters about a certain upcoming event
- Concussion
- IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome)
- Acid reflux
- Reacting to extremely unpleasant images, tastes, or smells. This could even come in the form of invasive thoughts of violent or disturbing imagery.
- Gallstones
- Bulimia nervosa
- Appendicitis
- Crohn’s disease
- Some forms of cancer
- Heart attack
If you already know the cause of your nausea and vomiting, then consider some of these techniques to help yourself feel better:
- Drink a lot of cool water to stay hydrated.
- Eat bland, light foods.
- Avoid greasy or spicy foods.
- Avoid high-acid drinks like citrus juices and sodas.
- Get proper sleep.
- Try wrist acupuncture, which involves applying pressure to your upper wrist, below your palm.
- Try aromatherapy by inhaling calming essential oils or smells like chamomile, lavender, cloves, lemon, orange, or peppermint.
- Speak with a doctor or counselor about anxiety.
- Speak with a doctor or counselor about bulimia.
- If you believe you are experiencing symptoms of a health condition, speak with a medical professional.
