Nausea and vomiting are the most common side effects during chemotherapy, and their frequency and severity vary depending on the type of drug and the individual patient. In general, if you are receiving chemotherapy, your doctor will prescribe medication specifically to prevent and treat nausea and vomiting. If you still feel unwell, be sure to inform your doctor so that your medication can be adjusted.
If you are experiencing nausea and vomiting at home, here are some home remedy tips to help you:
Adjust your diet to effectively avoid nausea
Take antiemetic medications as recommended by your doctor. If your doctor does not prescribe a medication, ask him if you can take over-the-counter antiemetics such as chlorpheniramine, teicoplanin, or benadryl.
To prevent dehydration, make sure you drink plenty of water. If you think drinking a whole glass of water at once is too much, you can drink small amounts several times.
Make sure you eat well, eat small meals, and chew slowly. Nausea may be worse on an empty stomach. It is better to have 5 or 6 small meals than 3 full meals a day. Also stay away from foods that tend to cause discomfort, such as greasy, spicy, sweet or salty foods. You can eat peppermint candies or chew peppermint gum, as peppermint relaxes the tense muscles in the stomach and relieves nausea. Ginger (a “ginger-flavored” diet doesn’t count) can also help you reduce nausea.
Also, try a wristband to prevent motion sickness and sea sickness.
Take a step-by-step approach to vomiting
Stopping vomiting is a gradual process, and it’s hard to get immediate results.
You can rest more until you feel better.
For 1 hour after vomiting stops, drink 30 mL of a light drink, such as apple or grape juice with half the water, rehydrated drinks (also called oral rehydration salts), sweetened light tea, clear soup, and jelly every 20 minutes for 1 hour. Avoid orange juice, grapefruit juice, tomato juice, or lemon juice. Do not drink apple juice or grape juice if you have diarrhea. Do not consume dairy products, alcoholic beverages, or carbonated beverages such as soda. If there has been no vomiting after this time, increase the amount consumed to one glass (237 ml) within the 2nd hour. If you do not vomit within the second hour, continue to drink enough water to prevent dehydration.
When you feel better, start eating broths, light foods, and water until all symptoms have disappeared for 12 to 48 hours. Jelly, dry bread, crackers, and cereal are also good choices. Smelly foods tend to aggravate nausea and should be avoided.
Vomit contains acids that can erode tooth enamel and lead to tooth decay (cavities). Therefore, rinse your mouth with water after vomiting, and brush your teeth if you can.
Find the antiemetic method that works best for you
Some patients feel better when they eat before treatment; in others, the opposite is true. Each person has a pattern that works best for them. Some patients will feel nauseous before treatment, and medication will not be effective at this time. But these suggestions may be helpful:
When nauseous, try distracting yourself by playing video games, reading, doing crossword puzzles, or other things you enjoy, and try relaxation exercises. If necessary, try mind-body therapies such as hypnosis or behavior modification.
Some symptoms to pay extra attention to
Be sure to contact your doctor if you experience one or more of the following symptoms during family therapy:
- Signs of dehydration.
- Signs of dehydration.
- Persistent vomiting for more than 24 hours with no access to water.
- Neck stiffness.
- Exacerbation of vomiting.
- Present with chest pain or other heart attack symptoms.
- Changes in mental agility, becoming extremely sleepy, paradoxical, confused, irritable, or restless.
- Begin to vomit blood, or vomit coffee grounds-like material.
- Fever greater than 38.3°C, or fever of 38°C for more than 12 hours.
- Present with abdominal pain or worsening abdominal pain.
- Persistent vomiting for more than 2 days.
- Worsening of symptoms or more frequent attacks.
Co-reviewed by: Guangdong Provincial People’s Hospital Guangdong Provincial Lung Cancer Institute Dr. Yue-Li Sun Dr. Wen-Feng Lai
Haiyan Tu (Guangdong Provincial People’s Hospital)