The most effective immediate step when you’re vomiting is to stop eating, let your stomach rest for a few hours, and then slowly reintroduce fluids in very small amounts. Beyond that initial recovery window, several remedies, from ginger to pressure point techniques, can reduce how often you vomit and help you feel better faster.
What to Do Right After Vomiting
Give your stomach a break. For the first few hours after throwing up, don’t eat or drink anything substantial. Once that window passes, start with ice chips or tiny sips of water every 15 minutes. The goal is to keep fluid down without triggering another episode. If plain water stays down, you can gradually move to clear broth, diluted juice, or an oral rehydration solution.
Resist the urge to gulp water, even if you’re very thirsty. Large volumes hit an irritated stomach all at once and often come right back up. Think tablespoons, not glasses.
Ginger: The Best-Studied Natural Remedy
Ginger is one of the few home remedies with solid clinical evidence behind it. Its active compounds work by blocking serotonin receptors in the gut, the same pathway targeted by prescription anti-nausea medications. It also speeds up the rate at which your stomach empties, which helps when nausea is tied to food sitting too long in your digestive tract.
A systematic review of clinical trials found that taking 1 gram or less of ginger per day for more than four days reduced acute vomiting by roughly 70% compared to a placebo. That dose is about half a teaspoon of ground ginger, or the equivalent in capsule form. Ginger tea, ginger chews, and flat ginger ale (with real ginger listed in the ingredients) are all reasonable options, though capsules make it easier to hit a consistent dose.
Over-the-Counter Medications
Bismuth subsalicylate, the active ingredient in Pepto-Bismol and similar products, can help settle your stomach. It works by reducing inflammation in the gut lining and slowing the intestinal contractions that contribute to nausea. Adults and kids 12 and older can take 524 mg every 30 minutes to an hour as needed, up to about 4,200 mg over a two-day period. For children ages 3 to 12, lower doses are available but should be used carefully since pediatric data is limited.
Antihistamine-based medications like dimenhydrinate (Dramamine) or meclizine are particularly useful when vomiting is caused by motion sickness. They work by calming the signals between your inner ear and your brain’s vomiting center. These tend to cause drowsiness, which can actually be a benefit if nausea is keeping you from resting.
The Pressure Point on Your Wrist
There’s a spot on the inside of your forearm, about three finger-widths above your wrist crease, right between the two tendons you can feel when you flex your hand. This is the P6 acupressure point, and stimulating it has been studied extensively for nausea relief.
A large Cochrane review covering over 3,000 patients found that pressing or stimulating this point reduced vomiting by about 30% compared to sham treatment. It also cut the need for additional anti-nausea medication by a similar margin. You can press the spot firmly with your thumb for two to three minutes at a time, or use a wristband designed for this purpose (often sold as “sea bands” for motion sickness). It’s free, has no side effects, and works well as a supplement to other approaches.
What to Eat as You Recover
You’ve probably heard of the BRAT diet: bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast. It’s a fine starting point, but there’s no research showing it’s superior to other bland foods. Harvard Health notes that brothy soups, oatmeal, boiled potatoes, crackers, and plain dry cereal are equally gentle on your stomach and provide more variety.
The bigger point is not to stay on bland foods longer than you need to. A day or two of easy-to-digest meals makes sense, but restricting yourself too long means you’re missing out on the protein and nutrients your body needs to recover. Once your stomach feels settled, start adding cooked vegetables like squash and carrots, skinless chicken or turkey, eggs, fish, and avocado. These foods are still mild but give your body more to work with.
Morning Sickness During Pregnancy
Pregnancy-related vomiting responds well to vitamin B6, either alone or combined with doxylamine (an antihistamine). This combination is the only FDA-approved treatment specifically for morning sickness. The typical approach starts with two delayed-release tablets at bedtime. If nausea persists the next afternoon, you add a morning tablet, working up to a maximum of three or four tablets per day depending on symptom control.
Ginger is also considered safe during pregnancy and can be a good first step before trying medication. Small, frequent meals tend to help more than three large ones, and keeping crackers by your bed to eat before standing up in the morning can prevent the empty-stomach nausea that hits many pregnant people first thing.
Dehydration: The Main Risk of Prolonged Vomiting
Vomiting itself is rarely dangerous, but the fluid loss it causes can become a serious problem quickly, especially in young children and older adults. Watch for these signs that dehydration is becoming significant:
- Dark urine or urinating much less than usual. In infants, no wet diaper for three hours is a red flag.
- Skin that stays pinched. If you gently pinch the skin on the back of your hand and it doesn’t flatten back immediately, you’re dehydrated.
- Dizziness, confusion, or unusual sleepiness. These suggest your brain isn’t getting enough fluid.
- Sunken eyes or cheeks. This is easier to spot in children.
- Rapid heart rate. Your heart speeds up to compensate for lower fluid volume.
If you can’t keep any fluids down for more than 24 hours, if vomit contains blood or looks like coffee grounds, or if you have a fever above 102°F alongside persistent vomiting, those are situations that need medical attention. Black or bloody stool alongside vomiting also warrants a call to your doctor, as it can signal bleeding in the digestive tract.