Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Over-the-Counter Remedies for Nausea and Other Ills

Coffee Talk Thursday

Gosh, sorry--I realize talking about barfing over coffee (well, not literally over coffee--that would be extra gross!) isn't too appealing. Disclaimer aside, last week my sons and I had a cleanse--and I'm not talking about the kind you pay big money for. I don't know if we ate something that wasn't quite right, or just came down with an intestinal bug, but three out of the five of us spent a day sick--really, really sick. After the vomiting was over, I still felt nauseous for several days (I'm sure my little guys did, too).

Needless to say, all this got me thinking about various over-the-counter remedies that help fight nausea and other sicknesses. Here's some that work for me:
  • Flat Coca-Cola. A pharmacist told my husband that this really helps people who have been unable to keep anything down start keeping stuff down. Test a sip. Give it about a half hour. Try again if it stayed down.
  • Avoid water. While you're obviously, understandably, quite thirsty from getting rid of everything in your system, our doctor has told us that water makes vomiting worse. Don't quite know why. But you want to stay away from it in the throws of throwing up.
  • However...ice chips do not cause the same problems. Sucking on a few may help.
  • Sprite/Ginger-Ale/7-Up and/or Gatorade (when things start staying down)
  • I remember my mother giving us Jello water to drink when we were sick. (Prepare your Jello, and instead of refrigerating it, drink the liquid).
  • The BRAT diet for a few days after the upheaval. Bananas, rice, applesauce, toast.
Wondering what over-the-counter remedies you turn to when your tummy's turning over...

4 comments:

  1. My mom would do a teaspoon of Sprite every 15 minutes until we kept it down (or felt up to trying again). Once we kept that down, like you said jell-o but my mom would pour it over ice cubes. We'd try to drink it before it "set up". I know these days most doctors recommend Pedialyte or Gatorade. For morning sickness, most people recommend certain herbal teas but I never had much of that. :)

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  2. Never heard of jello! Interesting.

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  3. I always eat whatever I feel like eating. For me, a lot of times is pasta, pizza, spaghetti or something similar. I'm a big proponet of listening to your body and it will tell you what you need (within reason).

    I personally try to drink liquids during the whole experience. I found it really helps for keeping the dry heaves away and seems to help the bug pass quicker.

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  4. I love chewing peppermint gum for nausea. It really helps.

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