The single best thing for nausea depends on what’s causing it, but ginger is the most broadly effective natural remedy, and small sips of fluid matter more than any food. For quick relief from common, mild nausea, a combination of ginger, proper hydration, acupressure, and small bland meals will help most people feel better within 30 minutes to a few hours. For more severe or persistent nausea, over-the-counter medications and prescription options can make a significant difference.
Ginger: The Most Studied Natural Remedy
Ginger has more clinical evidence behind it than any other natural nausea remedy. The active compounds in ginger root, called gingerols and shogaols, work by blocking serotonin receptors in your gut. This matters because serotonin is the same chemical signal your body uses to trigger the vomiting reflex. Prescription anti-nausea drugs work through a nearly identical mechanism, targeting those same receptors.
Clinical trials have used ginger in doses ranging from 160 mg to 15 grams per day, but the sweet spot appears to be around 1 gram (1,000 mg) or more daily, taken for at least three days, to meaningfully reduce nausea and vomiting. You can get this from ginger capsules, fresh ginger steeped in hot water, or even ginger chews. Ginger ale is less reliable since many commercial brands contain minimal actual ginger. If you’re buying supplements, look for products that list the gingerol content on the label.
Hydration Comes Before Food
When you’re nauseated, your instinct to avoid food is usually correct, at least temporarily. But staying hydrated is critical, especially if you’ve been vomiting. Dehydration makes nausea worse and can create a cycle that’s hard to break.
The key is small, frequent sips rather than gulping down a full glass. Good options include water, ice chips, broth, diluted fruit juice, weak uncaffeinated tea, and electrolyte drinks. If you want to make a simple rehydration solution at home, mix 4 cups of water with half a teaspoon of table salt and 2 tablespoons of sugar. That ratio of sugar to salt helps your intestines absorb fluid more efficiently than plain water alone.
What to Eat (and What to Skip)
The old BRAT diet (bananas, rice, applesauce, toast) was once standard advice for an upset stomach, but it’s no longer recommended. It’s too restrictive and lacks the nutrients your body needs to recover. The American Academy of Pediatrics has specifically advised against it for children, noting it can actually slow recovery.
The current guidance is simpler: eat as tolerated. Your stomach handles smaller meals better than large ones, so aim for frequent light portions rather than three full meals. Bland, soft foods are fine starting points, but you don’t need to limit yourself to just four items. Once you feel well enough to eat more variety, do so. If you’re actively vomiting, stick to liquids until that passes.
Acupressure at the P6 Point
Pressing a specific spot on your inner wrist can reduce nausea, and it’s free, fast, and has no side effects. The point is called P6 (or Neiguan), and it’s the same spot targeted by those anti-nausea wristbands sold in pharmacies.
To find it, hold your hand up with your palm facing you. Place three fingers from your other hand across your wrist, just below the crease where your wrist bends. The P6 point sits just below your index finger, between the two tendons running up your forearm. Press firmly with your thumb for two to three minutes, then switch wrists. Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center recommends this technique for nausea from multiple causes, including chemotherapy and post-surgical recovery.
Over-the-Counter Medications
Different OTC products target different types of nausea, so picking the right one matters.
- Bismuth subsalicylate (Pepto-Bismol, Kaopectate) works best for nausea from stomach bugs and food-related digestive upset. It coats and calms the stomach lining.
- Dimenhydrinate (Dramamine) is an antihistamine designed for motion sickness. It needs to be taken every four to six hours, and it causes drowsiness in most people.
- Meclizine (Dramamine Less Drowsy) targets motion sickness with less sedation. Like most motion sickness remedies, it works best if you take it at least an hour before traveling.
None of these are interchangeable. Pepto-Bismol won’t help much on a boat, and Dramamine isn’t the right choice for a stomach virus.
Motion Sickness: Prevention Over Treatment
Motion sickness is easier to prevent than to treat once it starts. For occasional car or boat trips, taking an antihistamine like dimenhydrinate at least an hour before travel is the most common approach.
For longer exposure, like a multi-day cruise or extended sea travel, a scopolamine patch is more practical. You apply it behind your ear at least four hours before you need it, and a single patch provides relief for up to three days. It requires a prescription in the United States. Beyond medication, sitting in the front seat of a car, focusing on the horizon, and avoiding reading or screens all reduce the sensory conflict that triggers motion sickness in the first place.
Nausea During Pregnancy
Morning sickness affects up to 80% of pregnant people, and it often lasts well beyond the morning. Vitamin B6 is the first-line treatment recommended by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, sometimes combined with doxylamine (the active ingredient in certain over-the-counter sleep aids, used at a 12.5 mg dose). Ginger is also considered safe during pregnancy at typical doses and has good evidence for reducing pregnancy-related nausea.
Practical strategies that help include eating small, frequent meals, keeping crackers by the bed to eat before standing up, and avoiding strong smells. If vomiting is so severe that you can’t keep fluids down or you’re losing weight, that crosses into a condition called hyperemesis gravidarum, which needs medical treatment.
When Nausea Signals Something Serious
Most nausea resolves on its own or with the remedies above. But certain combinations of symptoms require urgent attention. Call emergency services if nausea and vomiting come with chest pain, severe abdominal cramping, blurred vision, confusion, a high fever with a stiff neck, or rectal bleeding.
Go to an emergency room or urgent care if your vomit contains blood, looks like coffee grounds, or is green. The same applies if you have a severe headache unlike any you’ve had before, or signs of dehydration: excessive thirst, dark urine, dizziness when standing, or a dry mouth that won’t go away.
For adults, vomiting that lasts more than two days warrants a doctor’s visit. For children under two, the threshold is 24 hours. For infants, it’s 12 hours. Unexplained weight loss paired with ongoing nausea lasting more than a month also needs evaluation.