Top 5 Tips for Helping Kids Manage Nausea
Kids with vestibular disorders experience a number of unpleasant feelings. Vertigo, dizziness, feeling off or lightheaded, difficulty staying balanced, and nausea are some of the most common symptoms that parents and kids tell me about when in for an assessment session. While our goal during this session is to get to the cause of the symptoms, many vestibular disorders take time to improve so having tips on what can be done at home to feel better is important.
One of the questions I hear most often is what can I do to help manage my kid’s nausea? It’s very common for nausea to limit how much a child can physically do in their day, including eating and drinking. Thankfully there are many things you can try to reduce nausea and help your child feel more like themselves again. Here are the top 5 tips for managing nausea without medication I share with the families I work with:
1) Sip on a peppermint or ginger drink or non-caffeinated tea
If your child enjoys flavoured beverages, both peppermint and ginger are great options for helping nausea. Peppermint helps relax the gastrointestinal tissue, and has analgesic and anesthetic effects on the central and peripheral nervous systems (1). Peppermint can be safely used for children over 30 months of age. Ginger can be used at any age and is believed to improve stomach emptying, stabilize blood pressure, and provide anti-inflammatory effects (2,3).
2) Suck on peppermint or ginger candies
For kids that are old enough to have hard candy, sucking on a peppermint or ginger candy is a great alternative. These are easily carried in a pocket or bag for times when nausea sneaks up while you’re not at home.
3) Use motion sickness bands at the wrists
Motion sickness bands (aka sea bands) are truly my personal favourite for nausea management. They’re super easy to use, comfortable to wear for long periods, and are easily taken on and off as they’re needed. I recommend that your child wear them at times they’re likely to not feel well to help with nausea prevention. Personally, I often wear sea bands with car & boat travel, and have found them very helpful for managing motion sickness-related nausea.
4) Eat smaller meals and drink smaller amounts of water regularly in the day
Staying well hydrated and fuelling your child’s body are both important when your child isn’t feeling their best. Encouraging your child to take in smaller amounts of water and food more often in the day when they’re nauseated will help them feel better overall by introducing less to their stomach at a time. Try to keep your child upright for up to an hour after eating and drinking to help minimize nausea or reflux after eating.
5) Get adequate sleep each night & rest when they need it
I know, you’ve heard before that getting sleep is important for overall health, but did you know that one of the symptoms of not getting adequate sleep is nausea? Nausea and other digestive symptoms can even happen in people without vestibular disorders if they’ve not been getting adequate sleep (4). So helping your child get in those much-needed zzz’s and taking time to rest when they need it will help them feel their very best.
Keep in mind that if your child has been vomiting or has been refusing liquids, it’s important to follow up with a physician or pharmacist for recommendations regarding the use of electrolytes as it’s easy for children to become dehydrated. The tips above aren’t the only ways that you can help your child’s nausea, but they are what I talk about most often with the families I see for vestibular rehabilitation at my clinic in Toronto, Ontario. I truly hope you found this a helpful place to start!
Have questions or want to know more about what vestibular therapy can do to help your child? Click here to contact me or use the button below to book a free consult call.
References:
1) McKay DL, Blumberg JB. A review of the bioactivity and potential health benefits of peppermint tea (Mentha piperita L). Phytother Res. 2006;20:619-633. DOI: 10.1002/ptr.1936
2) Giacosa A, Morazzoni P, Bombardelli E, Riva A, Bianchio Porro G, & Rondanelli M. Can nausea and vomiting be treated with ginger extract? Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci. 2015 Apr;19(7):1291-6.
3) Lete I, Allué J. The Effectiveness of Ginger in the Prevention of Nausea and Vomiting during Pregnancy and Chemotherapy. Integr Med Insights. 2016; 11: 11–17. doi: 10.4137/IMI.S36273
4) Cremonini F, Camilleri M, Zinsmeister AR, Herrick LM, Beebe T, & Talley NJ. Sleep disturbances are linked to both upper and lower gastrointestinal symptoms in the general population. Neurogastroenterol Motil. 2009 Feb; 21(2): 128–135. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2982.2008.01181.x
