It goes without saying, but here it is anyway: There is never a time when anyone wants to feel nauseous. With or without vomiting aside, feelings of nausea can be painful and cause intense discomfort.
As parents, one of the worst feelings in the world is watching our kids in pain and not being able to stop it. And if you’ve ever had a little one roll around or toss and turn in bed due to a stomach ache, you feel hopeless and helpless.
Whether it’s you or the kids, trying to soothe nausea isn’t a straight road. Certain products don’t work, and prescriptions sometimes come with adverse side effects.
So what can we do to eliminate further issues when feeling queasy? Reach for essential oils.
Indigenous peoples and communities have relied on essential oils and natural products for thousands of years.
Essential oils have been used for dozens of purposes, from repelling insects to reducing anxiety. Thankfully, nausea is another ailment that can be helped using essential oils. Today we want to break down all the facts on nausea, all the different causes of nausea, and what essential oils to keep around to combat the symptoms.
Defining Nausea
There are quite a few ways our stomachs can hurt, and nausea is a sort of stomach pain. Not all stomach pains, however, are nausea.
Yes, that’s a little convoluted, but here’s what we mean: Your stomach can hurt without being associated with feelings of nausea, but anytime you are nauseous, your stomach will hurt. For example, stomach ulcers or kidney stones could cause intense pain in the stomach.
You might writhe in pain and feel discomfort, but these aren’t the same feelings associated with being nauseous. So, as a true definition, nausea is a feeling of uneasiness in the stomach. This sensation may start slowly and feel very similar to butterflies in the stomach but will likely grow in intensity and induce a feeling of impending vomit.
You may or may not actually vomit due to nausea, but it is more common to vomit when feeling this way rather than not.
Explaining the Difference
Nausea and vomiting are closely related, but as we’ve said before, just because you’re nauseous doesn’t mean you’ll automatically vomit.
Nausea induces the feeling of vomiting, and vomiting itself is the forcible involuntary or voluntary emptying of the stomach through the mouth.
In general, vomiting is usually predated with pains and uneasy feelings in the stomach. These feelings churn the stomach until, inevitably, you vomit.
What Are Some Common Reasons for Nausea?
It is a long list of conditions associated with nausea. These include:
- Pregnancy, most notably in the first trimester
- Cancer or cancer-related treatments, such as chemotherapy
- Sea sickness or motion sickness
- Infections
- Food-borne illnesses
- Indigestion
- Exposure to toxins
- Emotional stress
- Food allergies or intolerances
While treatment is available and in large supply, it’s not always as easy as saying you need help. There are a lot of tests that could be necessary to pinpoint what is causing nausea.
If you experience nausea that won’t fade, reach out to your healthcare provider to eliminate illnesses and pinpoint the precise cause. This rings especially true in our little ones. While it’s never a good thing, adult or child, to feel nauseous, it can be easier for an adult to articulate other symptoms that may be present.
With children, many times, they just don’t understand exactly what or where it hurts and can’t help you or your healthcare provider find the best treatments for relief. Taking them in to see a doctor at the first signs of nausea and vomiting will help treat the causes fast.
Essential Oils That Help Soothe Nausea
Food allergies, pregnancy, chemotherapy, and motion sickness are all causes of nausea. These items can be treated with prescription medication, but these don’t always work, don’t fully eliminate the issue, or some of the medicines come with side effects that we may want to avoid.
Even if we use prescription medications to treat nausea, we may need a little boost between doses. This is often the case with cancer patients trying to reduce the side effects of treatments, as well as women in the first trimester.
You may find relief with prescriptions, but the effects don’t last fully until it’s time for the next dose. This is where essential oils come in really handy.
Can Essential Oils Help With Feelings of Nausea?
Essential oils can help soothe nausea, either alone in standard cases or as part of a care plan in more severe occurrences.
These are the top essential oils to keep on hand when dealing with nausea:
Ginger Oil
Ginger is what is known as a digestif. This is a drink or food item that is consumed after a meal to settle the stomach. This settling quality also works on nausea.
In fact, the most common use of ginger oil is to help alleviate symptoms of nausea and vomiting. Many also enjoy ginger candies, teas, and other ginger-forward food items that can work similarly.
Peppermint Oil
Peppermint oil and peppermint work much in the same manner as ginger. Inhaling peppermint oil can help reduce nausea (or the intensity of nausea if it is severe).
For pregnant women suffering from morning sickness, peppermint teas and peppermint oils are some of the most popular remedies advised.
Lavender Oil
Lavender oil is great in a blend of oils made for nausea. Why? It has calming abilities, which can be useful to the person suffering from nausea.
Anxiety and stress can often accompany nausea and subsequent vomiting. Being able to calm the mind and body could go a long way in fighting off the feeling of being nauseous.
Bergamot Oil
Bergamot oil has a lot of benefits when added to an anti-nausea regimen. For one, it has antibacterial and antimicrobial benefits, so it can aid in relieving any issues with digestion associated with food poisoning or illness.
Bergamot can also help calm the nerves and works to relieve symptoms of anxiety. Lastly, bergamot can also help aid digestion.
Lemon Oil
Lemon oil also has the benefits of antibacterial or antiviral relief and also aids with digestion.
Lemon oil is also a great additive to an anti-nausea blend of oils as it can help stimulate cognitive functioning, which can help boost your mood and energy when nausea leaves you feeling lethargic or heavy.
Grapefruit Oil
When you mix grapefruit oil into a blend with lemon and bergamot oil, your digestive issues won’t stand a chance. Grapefruit oil aids in digestion and could also help reduce blood pressure and anxiety. Both of these can be issues associated with nausea and vomiting and will be helped by adding grapefruit oil to your daily routine.
You can also get an added mental boost from grapefruit oil, which helps eliminate some fog and depression that often accompanies nausea.
Using Essential Oils
Now that you know what you’ll need to fight nausea naturally, how on earth do you use them??
There are a few ways that you can add essential oils to your daily routine to help with nausea.
Some of our favorites include:
- Rubbing them into the neck or behind the ears
- Rubbing them on the chest
- Using a diffuser
- Spraying them in the air before settling into a room to rest
- Carrying around a bottle and inhaling when nausea becomes too much to handle
Each of these efforts could help soothe nausea, but the effects will only last an hour or two maximum. While these efforts can provide quick and instant relief, you won’t be able to get a long-lasting effect without reapplying or constantly spraying.
Essential Oils That Promote Emotional Wellness
One common culprit behind nausea is anxiety. Essential oils are fantastic at encouraging a sense of calm and a zen-like atmosphere. However, carrying around a bottle of oil constantly or having to dilute the oils and rub them on your squirming kids isn’t anyone’s idea of a zen time.
That’s why we created the ZenPatch.
Each ZenPatch has a soothing blend of Mandarin, Sweet Orange, Atlas Cedarwood, and Lavender. Some of these oils are also effective in reducing nausea, two birds with one stone… or patch.
The best part about our patches? They’re safe for kids and adults and go on clothes — not on skin. When our kids need relief from nausea, convincing them to wear sticky essential oils or stay still to inhale them can be challenging.
With natural patches, they’ll get relief for up to eight hours at a time (perfect for a night of sleep or a day of activities) with each patch, and they won’t even notice they’re using anything.
Relief Is Possible
Nausea is no joke, and when you’re dealing with it, you want relief fast.
In addition to investigating the root cause and seeking professional medical treatment when necessary, essential oils can prove a fantastic item to have in your toolbelt.
Thankfully, with unique natural remedies, that relief is possible, and only a click and stick away.
Sources:
Nausea & Vomiting: Treatment & Care | Cleveland Clinic
5 best essential oils for nausea and how to use them | Medical News Today
Nausea and vomiting | Mayo Clinic
Nausea: Causes, Prevention, and When to Seek Help | Healthline
