4 ways to stop vomiting depending on what's causing it
- You can stop vomiting by using methods like deep breathing exercises, getting fresh air, drinking ginger tea, and eating saltines.
- Some of the most common causes of vomiting include stomach viruses, food poisoning, pregnancy, and motion sickness.
- Deep breathing and getting fresh air may be especially helpful for motion sickness.
- This article was medically reviewed by Julia Blank, MD, family medicine physician at Providence Saint John's Health Centre in Santa Monica, California.
Vomiting is an unpleasant but common symptom that can be caused by many different conditions, ranging from pregnancy to food poisoning.
Most of the time, vomiting isn't harmful and will resolve on its own, but you can help soothe your stomach and ease nausea and vomiting using home remedies like eating ginger or doing deep breathing.
Here are five methods you can use at home to help you stop vomiting and feel better.
Common causes of vomiting
Vomiting can be caused by many different conditions, but for adults, some of the most common causes of vomiting include:
- Stomach viruses: Stomach viruses like norovirus and rotavirus are common illnesses that cause diarrhea and vomiting. Stomach viruses make you vomit because virus cells produce toxins that cause your digestive tract to release serotonin, a chemical that sets off the vomiting center in your brain.
- Motion sickness: "The exact mechanism of motion sickness that leads to vomiting is not clearly understood," says Troy Madsen, MD, a professor of emergency medicine at the University of Utah. "But it probably relates to the parts of the brain that provide our sense of balance and are then tied into the muscles that control vomiting." In other words, when you feel off balance from the motion of a car or train, your brain may send signals to your stomach to vomit.
- Bacterial food poisoning: Food poisoning is often caused by bacteria like campylobacter and salmonella found in contaminated or undercooked foods. When you get food poisoning, your body sets off an immune response that inflames your stomach, causing swelling and irritation. When this happens, eating food can irritate your stomach even more and make you vomit.
- Pregnancy: Experts don't know exactly why people feel nauseous and vomit during the first three months of pregnancy. It may have to do with certain hormones that rise quickly in the beginning of your pregnancy, and can trigger nausea. Pregnant people may also develop low blood sugar levels, which can make you nauseous.
Children tend to vomit more than adults for many reasons, including having a less developed immune system that allows them to get sick more often. Some of the most common reasons children vomit include:
- Stomach virus: Stomach viruses are the most common cause of vomiting in kids. Both adults and children can get stomach viruses, but children tend to vomit more, while adults suffer more diarrhea. This may be because children have a more sensitive gag reflex.
- Food sensitivity: Children may have a harder time keeping down certain foods, especially since they tend to have more food allergies than adults. "Young kids can be more affected by various types of foods that lead to vomiting, particularly with infants who may not do well with different types of formulas," says Madsen. But this reaction may be a normal step in development for young children. "In some cases, this may be part of the body learning to accommodate different foods," Madsen says.
- Motion sickness: Children often have more severe motion sickness symptoms than adults, which may make them more likely to vomit instead of just feeling nauseous. This may be partly because young children sit down lower or sit in car seats and have a harder time seeing out the window. Looking out the window can help your brain better adjust to the motion you are feeling and reduce carsickness.
How to stop vomiting
Here are four ways to stop vomiting from various causes.
1. Try deep breathing
Studies show that deep breathing exercises can help with motion sickness as well as nausea following chemotherapy or surgery.
To try deep breathing, you can follow these steps:
- Lie down on your back or sit in a comfortable position.
- Place one hand on your chest and the other on your stomach just under your ribs.
- Breathe in through your nose and let the breath push your belly outward without forcing it. Try to keep your chest still.
- Breathe out through your mouth with your lips pursed in a whistling position. Let your belly fall back inward, pushing out all the air.
- Repeat this exercise up to 10 times, trying to keep your breath slow and steady.
Both adults and kids can use this method, but very young children may need extra help or a demonstration from an adult to get it right.
2. Get fresh air
"I personally recommend deep breathing exercises and fresh air as a first-line attempt to control nausea," Madsen says. "Sometimes getting out of a hot, stuffy environment and into cool air can be enough to overcome the urge to vomit."
This method may work best for kids, as "children may often respond better to non-medication remedies than adults," Madsen says. It is also particularly effective for carsickness, as the small spaces in cars can easily become stuffy.
3. Try ginger
"Ginger is a great option if you're looking to try something which doesn't require a prescription," Madsen says. A review published in 2014 in The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine found that taking various forms of ginger for four days can lessen nausea during pregnancy.
Ginger has also been shown to help with symptoms of motion sickness and to ease nausea and vomiting in people receiving chemotherapy treatment for cancer. This may be because ginger helps reduce inflammation and can move food more quickly through your stomach, making it less likely to cause nausea.
Experts say that a good way to take ginger is to get fresh ginger from the grocery store, remove the peel, and mix it in with warm water or decaffeinated tea. You can also find ginger tea or ginger candies, which kids may tolerate better, in many grocery stores.
4. Eat saltines
Eating plain crackers, like saltine or soda crackers, are a good option for when you feel ready to eat something, as they are easy to digest and may help soak up excess acid in your stomach that can cause irritation.
Saltines also have very little smell – foods with strong smells can easily trigger nausea and make you start vomiting again. They also provide a small amount of salt, which can help replace the electrolyte salts you lose from vomiting.
When to see a doctor
In most cases, vomiting isn't dangerous and you can recover without any medical treatment.
However, some symptoms can be a sign of a more serious medical condition. If you keep vomiting for longer than 24 hours, have severe stomach pain, or show symptoms of severe dehydration like having dark urine, contact your doctor or get medical help immediately.
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