In addition to medication, there are other ways to avoid or reduce nausea. Even little changes can make a big difference. Try these:
Serve small meals. Prepare food in small, easy-to-serve portions, and suggest that the person you're caring for eat many small meals throughout the day rather than three large ones.
Keep lots of snacks available. High-carbohydrate foods like crackers and toast help settle the stomach and move through the digestive system quickly. Keep snacks next to the bed so he can have a few bites before getting up. Keep jars of nuts, dried fruit, small crackers, and other snacks around the house, and encourage him to eat a handful whenever he can manage it.
Protect the patient from unpleasant smells. Scents can be powerful nausea triggers for someone undergoing chemotherapy. Take steps to avoid strong odors -- move the garbage can to the garage, put the cat litter downstairs, park the car at the curb, so he doesn't have to smell exhaust in the garage.
Take particular care to avoid food-related smells before meals, which can set off a wave of nausea that will keep him from eating. Have him stay out of the kitchen while food is being prepared, and if possible, have him sit outside in the fresh air. Avoid food with a strong smell, such as fish, and serve meals cool or at room temperature when possible, since hot food tends to have a stronger odor.
Try enhancing the taste of food -- without odors -- by seasoning with salt, lemon juice, and condiments like catsup, pickles, and olives.
Encourage rest after meals. Activity slows digestion, which tends to increase nausea. It can help to take a rest after eating, either sitting up or with his back and shoulders raised on pillows. He shouldn't lie flat on his back, as this can cause heartburn and nausea. Loosen his clothing and keep the room cool, with plenty of fresh air.
Offer plenty of liquids. Drinking lots of water helps prevent nausea, but other liquids are good too. Flat ginger ale is popular with cancer patients, as is cold ginger and peppermint tea or other types of herbal teas. Ice chips are popular, but if they get boring, offer frozen fruit ice pops.
Prevent sour mouth. A dry, sour taste in the mouth is a common side effect of cancer treatment, and it can also trigger nausea. Encourage the person in your care to rinse his mouth out with water as often as possible, particularly before meals. Chewing on peppermint candy, lemon drops, or ginger candy also helps.
Distract him after meals. Thinking about something else can help prevent nausea from occurring after meals. Get out a board game or watch a movie together. Relaxation techniques such as guided meditation help reduce nausea as well.
The main thing to keep in mind about cancer-related nausea is that it's an ever-evolving process that you have to take day by day. Some days will be bad days, when your main focus will be keeping the patient as comfortable as possible. Other days will be good days, when you can take advantage of his feeling better to help him eat well and build up his strength. He'll probably appreciate anything you can do to help him weather the ups and downs.
costipation. i will make sure ..... i try not to get constipation. if i have to take laxativies if necessary. t y
Dear anon, my dad had horrible nausea during his cancer treatment as well. What worked well for us when he was really having difficulty was smoothies; we'd make them super nutritious with protein powder, yogurt, etc and eventually when we were trying to help him keep weight on we'd use ice cream too. Good luck, I'll be thinking about you!
p.s. my dad is also went through cancer treatments (prior to the vertigo) and was only able to eat crackers and boost during that time.
Still looking for things my dad can eat... He has been suffering from BPPV (vertigo) for almost 6 weeks and has been so nauseaus he hadn't been able to keep much food down. After 10 days in the hospital and IV's, we finally brought him home. The ONLY thing he has been able to eat is oatmeal - we have been fortifying it with quinoa and hemp seeds and organic maple syrup. Maybe more nutritious than crackers. I will try the distraction techniques as well. Thanks!
Dear Destanme, thanks for your information, I do agree that Chinese medicine can be enormously helpful to people going through chemo. When my father was being treated with chemo and radiation for esophageal cancer, we used Chinese medicine, and it did strengthen his digestive system, improve his appetite, and help him tolerate the harsh treatments.
Hugs Destanme
I treat patients who are under going Chemo treatments with Chinese Medicine. Emotions often cause upset stomach as often seen in children who vomit when emotionally upset or people who eat (or don't eat) when stressed out. In Chinese Medicine this is known as Liver invading Spleen/Stomach. By calming the emotions you can calm the stomach. Another reason for nausea is that the patient is intentionally being poisoned to kill off cancer. The body naturally wants to expel these toxins; vomiting is a way in which the body can void itself of toxins (food poisoning, etc). We know that they cannot vomit away the chemo but the body is trying what it knows. Before chemo begins you can strengthen the digestive system so that it is less easily offended. After chemo you can assist the body in voiding the toxins, which are no longer needed therapeutically. I highly recommend combined Chinese Medical treatments WITH chemotherapy to offset side effects and allow patients to continue their treatments.
It helped me identify triggers that I didn't recognize that have been affecting me.
thanks very much very helpful for my sister in law with cancer of the bowel. You answered some great questions so far a great site for me to copy for my sister inlaw with no computer at age 64 Ron
Great articles for chemo. and stomah pain
My mother has stage 3 breast cancer and she has gone through chemo and radiation and I have to say, she did not once have any nausea. I can't, right this minute, say what treatment was used, but thank goodness she did not experience that! The appetite was not real good, but no matter what she ate she kept it down. Her oncologist, Dr. Soniwalla, was a God send and he told us the breakthroughs made it possible to have the chemo and not the nausea and he was right.
Really helped me understand what my father could be going through.