Digestion & Nutrition
Nausea & Upset Stomach
That uneasy, queasy feeling — often calmed by ginger, slow sips, and fresh air.
Also known as: Queasiness, Sick to the stomach, Vomiting, nausea (definition: feeling of sickness or urge to vomit)
📝 At a glance
Likely root causes: A stomach bug or other infection (the flu, a cold, food poisoning); Eating too fast, too much, or food that didn't agree with you; Motion — car, boat, or plane travel.
First thing to try: Take small, slow sips of clear fluids — water, weak teaA warm drink made by steeping herbs in hot water. How to make a tea →, or diluted juice — rather than big gulps.
See a doctor if: Vomiting that won't stop or lasts more than a day or two
🔎 Start with the cause
Lasting relief rarely comes from covering a symptom. First find what is feeding the problem, change what you can, and then help the body do what it was designed to do — heal.
Likely root causes
- A stomach bug or other infection (the flu, a cold, food poisoning)
- Eating too fast, too much, or food that didn't agree with you
- Motion — car, boat, or plane travel
- Strong smells, pain, or feeling anxious or overtired
- Spoiled food or something mildly poisonous
- Some medicines, and for some people an empty or overfull stomach
Change what you can
- Take small, slow sips of clear fluids — water, weak teaA warm drink made by steeping herbs in hot water. How to make a tea →, or diluted juice — rather than big gulps.
- Sip ginger or peppermint teaA warm drink made by steeping herbs in hot water. How to make a tea →, two of the gentlest stomach-settlers.
- Get some cool, fresh air and sit or lie quietly until the feeling passes.
- Lay a warm, moist compress over the stomach to ease the cramping.
- Rest — stay still and calm, since movement and worry both stir up queasiness.
- Once steady, start back with bland foods like dry toast, rice, or plain crackers.
- If you've been vomiting, replace lost fluid — sip water with a small pinch of salt and sugar, slowly.
🌿 Then assist nature: remedies & protocols
With the cause being addressed, these are the actual things people do for this — ranked by the community. Vote ▲ on what helped you and ▼ on what didn't, and open How to do it for the steps. Each shows two quick signals: Evidence (how much science backs it) and Gentleness (how safe and in keeping with whole, natural health).
★ Start here — our first-line pick, pinned for safety
The essential first step - keep fluids down without overwhelming the stomach.
How to do it ▾
Why it works: Small amounts are gentler on an unsettled stomach than big gulps, keeping you hydrated without triggering more queasiness.
- Sip clear fluids slowly - water, weak tea, or diluted juice.
- Take small amounts often rather than big gulps.
- Rest quietly between sips.
- If you've been vomiting, sip water with a tiny pinch of salt and sugar.
Ongoing · Small sips often
Caution: Watch for signs of dehydration, especially in children and older adults. Persistent vomiting that keeps fluids from staying down needs medical care.
Source: Natural Remedies Encyclopedia 7th ed
Comments & experiences ▾
Also helps — ranked by the community (vote to reorder)
Ginger has good evidence for nausea.
How to do it ▾
Why it works: Ginger is well-studied for easing nausea and peppermint relaxes the stomach, helping calm the queasy feeling so it can pass.
- Steep a cup of ginger or peppermint tea.
- Sip it slowly while sitting still.
- Breathe slowly and let it settle the stomach.
- Repeat as needed until the queasiness eases.
10-15 minutes · As needed
Caution: Sip slowly. Peppermint can worsen reflux/heartburn in some people.
Source: Natural Remedies Encyclopedia 7th ed
Comments & experiences ▾
Gentle re-feeding after the stomach settles.
How to do it ▾
Why it works: Bland, simple foods are easy to digest and unlikely to restart the nausea, letting the stomach rebuild tolerance gradually.
- Wait until the worst queasiness has passed.
- Start with small amounts of bland food - dry toast, rice, or plain crackers.
- Add a banana or plain applesauce as you feel steadier.
- Build back to normal meals slowly, stopping if nausea returns.
Over a few hours · As recovery allows
Caution: Avoid greasy, spicy, or very sweet foods at first.
When to get help: Vomiting that won't stop, blood in vomit, severe belly pain, signs of dehydration, or vomiting with a stiff neck or confusion needs medical care.
Source: Natural Remedies Encyclopedia 7th ed
Comments & experiences ▾
Stillness and cool air calm queasiness.
How to do it ▾
Why it works: Cool air and stillness reduce the input that stirs up queasiness, letting the stomach and the balance system settle.
- Get some cool, fresh air - open a window or step outside.
- Sit or lie quietly and stay still.
- Avoid strong smells, screens, and sudden movement.
- Lay a warm, moist compress over the stomach to ease cramping.
Until it eases · As needed
Caution: Get up slowly afterward.
Source: Natural Remedies Encyclopedia 7th ed
Comments & experiences ▾
How the numbers work: a weighted voting system — trusted published sources cast endorsement votes for each protocol, and your ▲/▼ adds to them. Not medical advice.
🩺 When to see a doctor
- Vomiting that won't stop or lasts more than a day or two
- Signs of dehydration (very dry mouth, little urine, dizziness)
- Severe belly pain, blood in vomit, or a stiff neck with fever
- Nausea after a head injury
🌿 The seven pathways to health
Seven pathways for your nausea & upset stomach — tap the circle to check one off (saved on your device), or ask Remy for help.
“Disease is an effort of nature to free the system from conditions that result from a violation of the laws of health... In case of sickness 1cause should be ascertained, 2go to work intelligently to remove the disease. 3Unhealthful conditions should be changed, 4wrong habits corrected. 5Then nature is to be assisted in her effort 6to expel impurities and 7to re-establish right conditions in the system.”
🌿 Overview
Nausea is the body's warning that something feels off, from a bug to a bumpy ride to eating too fast. Most passes on its own. Small sips of fluid, ginger, fresh air, and rest usually help you feel steady again.
Nausea is that queasy, uneasy feeling that you might be sick to your stomach. It's the body's way of saying something is off — maybe a stomach bug, eating too fast or too much, a strong smell, a bumpy ride, or feeling anxious. Most of the time it passes on its own within a few hours. When the body decides to vomit, it is emptying the stomach to protect you — often after a virus, spoiled food, or too rich a meal. One or two episodes usually aren't cause for alarm, but the real risk afterward is losing too much fluid, so gently replacing liquids matters most. The kindest approach is slow and simple: small sips, calm air, rest, and bland foods once the worst has passed. Gentle helpers like ginger and peppermint have settled queasy stomachs for generations.
Common signs
- A queasy, uneasy stomach
- Loss of appetite
- Feeling you might be sick
- Sometimes light dizziness
- Stomach gurgling
🍃 Supporting foods & habits
The gentle, everyday foods and supports that help in the background — secondary to the active remedies above. Vote on what helped you.
Take small, frequent sips of water or an electrolyte drink to stay hydrated without overwhelming the stomach.1000
Rest quietly, ideally sitting up a little; sudden movement often makes nausea worse.970
The fragrant sweet basil of the kitchen, used fresh or as tea, traditionally easing digestion and lifting the mood.910
A warm cloth on the stomach or the back of the neck can bring comfort during waves of nausea.900
A milder, sweeter cousin of peppermint, brewed as tea to settle the stomach and gently calm the nerves.870
Chamomile tea soothes the stomach and eases the tension that can come with nausea.850
A sweet, aromatic pod-spice, chewed or brewed, traditionally used to settle the stomach and freshen the breath.840
The leaf and seed of one plant, used in food or tea, traditionally valued to ease digestion and calm a bloated gut.840
How the numbers work: this is a weighted voting system — every published book or article recommending a remedy counts as an endorsement vote, and your ▲/▼ counts too. Not medical advice. *Ties are broken by our editor score (sources, safety, simplicity, cost, lifestyle fit, eight-laws alignment).
🍽️ Eating to help
Food is one of the gentlest medicines — small, steady changes help most.
Favor these
- Clear fluids — water, weak tea, diluted fruit juice
- Ginger and peppermint teas
- Bland starches: dry toast, plain rice, crackers, applesauce
- Light vegetable broth to replace lost minerals
Go easy on
- Greasy, fried, or rich foods
- Strong-smelling or very sweet foods
- Large amounts of fluid all at once
- Milk and heavy soups until the stomach has settled
After vomiting, sip a little, pause, then sip again — and avoid cold or fizzy drinks, which can shock a tender stomach.
⚖️ Good to know
- Sip fluids slowly — gulping can make queasiness worse.
- Avoid greasy or strong-smelling foods until it passes.
- Watch for dehydration if you can't keep fluids down.
⚕️ What a doctor may offerConventional treatments for this condition — for your information.Show ▾
RemedyRank's heart is natural healing — and honest information. Here is what conventional medical care commonly involves for this condition, listed to inform, never to promote. Decisions about treatment belong with you and your own physician.
Conventional care for nausea treats the underlying cause and offers anti-nausea medicine when needed.
Commonly offered
- Small sips of clear fluids and bland foods–
- Ginger and rest–
- Anti-nausea medicines (e.g., antihistamines, ondansetron) for persistent cases–
- Treating the underlying cause–
Worth knowing
- Nausea with severe abdominal pain, blood in vomit, or signs of dehydration needs prompt care
- Some anti-nausea drugs cause drowsiness
👍/👎 shares whether a treatment helped you — community experience, not medical advice. For full professional details, see the sources under “Learn more” below.
📜 A note from history
Ginger has been trusted to settle queasy stomachs for many centuries across many cultures.
📚 Learn more
Sources for further reading. These open in a new tab.
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