Soothing doesn't help a nauseous person. A nauseous person needs to be refreshed. A fan, sprinkling cool water on your face, a rush of cold air - these are more therapeutic for nausea. A cold infusion (cold tea) with aromatic herbs like mint may be helpful as well. Light pleasant smells such as mint leaves can also help. Introducing lightness helps a person with nausea.

Conversely, rich, oily foods make nausea worse. A nauseous person may recoil from overly saccharine foods like candy. Gooey foods like oatmeal or soggy french toast are especially nauseating.

By studying the vagus nerve, you discover these and other surprising remedies to nausea. Like coughing. When you cough, it reduces nausea. A nauseous person needs to distract themselves from the nausea. If they sit around thinking about it, they will throw up. Don't relax when you are nauseous - keep moving.

Don't forget to look for other underlying causes as well when treating nausea. Bloating and constipation can make you feel nauseous. Hormonal imbalances may trigger nausea, such as during pregnancy. Nausea may be caused by irritation of the stomach from foods with acrid taste (such as accidentally swallowing a bit of chewing tobacco), or even food poisoning or toxicity exposure (such as chemotherapy).

In many cases, nausea is a sign of too much mucus (Kapha) in the body. Mucus in the stomach develops when you have eaten too many cold, heavy foods like dairy and sugar. Mucus also develops when you eat foods that don't digest well together - like yogurt with fruit. Overeating can lead to excess mucus. That was the case with my sister, she ate too much before going to bed. Anytime food sits too long in the stomach it makes you nauseous. Sometimes, people have upper respiratory congestion that drips down into the stomach.

Often nausea is an important sign that something is wrong. For example, if you have eaten rancid food, or ingested a poison. Never suppress this kind of nausea because vomiting may be the perfect remedy for you. But, if you have chronic nausea without an underlying treatable cause, these tips might help.

Pitta nausea is often associated with sensitivity to toxic exposure and this relates to an overworked liver. Pitta folks can also be nauseated by strong smells and because of irritation or inflammation in the stomach, as in the case of an ulcer. A high fever or extended exposure to heat - like on a hot summer's day - can be nauseating. Migraines and headaches often relate to a Pitta imbalance and are also associated with nausea.

Vata types of nausea are characterized by stress and anxiety or digestive weakness. Stress moves energy away from digestion toward the extremities to prepare for fight or flight. This can leave food hanging out in the gut for too long resulting in nausea. Any time the digestive fire is weak and we add food to it, there is a risk of nausea. It's best to wait until you experience true hunger and then promptly eat.

The content for this article was taken from the Master's in Ayurveda Digestion & Nutrition 500 hour certification program on Joyful Belly.