Senior Health Tips for Avoiding Nausea

There are many senior health tips for avoiding nausea. One possible reason is that there are also many different causes for nausea.

Nausea can be caused by body-centered reasons, medication-related reasons or environmental reasons.

Seniors would rather avoid nausea.  When the body lets someone know that it wants to throw up the contents of the stomach – they had better be prepared. It is a shock to digestive system, that should prefereably be avoided*.

 

Foods to help Avoid Nausea

There is quire a lot of advice about foods that can help calm a nauseous stomach. Katherine Marengo LDN, RD writing for Medical News Today points out that while a senior is settling their stomach, they also need to give the body a little fuel for strength.

She suggests trying the BRAT diet. That includes: Bananas, Rice, Applesauce and Toast.

Another alternative to this, is the traditional ‘diet’ for sore tums, that includes: Toasted bread and black tea, and nothing else.

 

Lifestyle Methods to Avoid Nausea

Here are a few suggestions to practically help avoid nausea, where possible:

  1. Avoid lights that flicker, strong sunlight or other things that you know might trigger a migraine attack.
  2. Stay out of hot and humid situations that could cause dehydration and discomfort.
  3. Prepare for travel sickness by stocking up on anti-nausea pills. Avoid journeys that are on the wild side (such as a ride on choppy waves).
  4. For those who are sensitive to smell, avoid powerful odors. Keep the area well ventilated. Some people like to apply a drop of lavender oil, mint oil or another pleasant-smelling essential oil to a handkerchief. That can freshen the air naturally.
  5. Eat small meals to avoid straining the stomach. But in that case, a person should eat more often, to make sure they are getting sufficient nutrition.
  6. Sit calmly and serenely during and after a meal, to allow the food to go down in the most relaxed way.
  7. Drink sufficiently. It is recommended to hydrate the body 2 hours before or after a meal.
  8. Note whether certain types of food make a person feel better or worse. If very greasy foods leave a person feeling queasy, they can substitute those foods for non-greasy alternatives.
  9. Some people find that rinsing the mouth after eating helps them feel fresher.
  10. Try breathing exercises or another method of relaxation to help the muscles relax. Have a friend or loved one read this this relaxation script in a calming voice.

 

A Reason for Concern?

If the feeling of nausea is unexplained, does not go away after a period of time or is causing a senior to feel dehydrated, they should speak to their healthcare provider.

Symptoms causing concern include:

  • Heart attack symptoms: chest pain, headache, pain in jaw, pain in left arm and sweating.
  • Infection or other cause: Nausea combined with a very bad headache, confusion, difficulty breathing, or a stiff neck.
  • In seniors, if nausea prevents eating or drinking for over twelve hours.
  • If 24 hours of nausea pass and OTC and other remedies don’t help.
  • *Never induce vomiting after swallowing dangerous substances or poison, except under medical instruction to do so.

 

These are some of the senior health tips for avoiding nausea that are available.

If a person has their favorite tricks that work for them, they should keep to those. However, in the battle against nausea, it doesn’t hurt to vary the arsenal a little.

Senior health tips for avoiding nausea go hand in hand with other senior health tips.

 

 

drinking a cup of tea is one of the first senior health tips for avoiding nausea

Drinking a cup of tea is one of the first senior health tips for avoiding nausea, and is great for calming the stomach.

 

Photo by Elizabeth Tsung on Unsplash

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