Non-prescription Nausea Medication

Does anyone know of any non-prescription nausea medication that works?

[halbashes]

I know there are are a couple of non-prescription medications for nausea, but unfortunately I don't know of many that work very well.  The one I use occasionally is called Nauzene.  I will generally take it with Zofran when I'm having trouble keeping it down.

Unfortunately, I'm not aware of anything that works any better than that.  Hopefully someone else will have a better suggestion.

[Heiferly]

Antihistamines are used for nausea/vomiting.  Benadryl (diphenhydramine) is actually in the same class of drugs as some prescription medications used to treat nausea/vomiting, so if you haven't tried that it may be worth a shot.  Talk to your doctor or pharmacist about the best dose to use for this purpose, since I think the box label only discusses its use for allergies and leaves wiggle room on dosing (1 or 2 pills, and a range of how frequently to take it, up to so many pills per day); a doctor or pharmacist can probably give you a much better idea of how it is typically dosed for anti-emetic purposes.  Dramamine is also an antihistamine I believe, but is marketed for nausea (specific to motion-sickness, I believe).  At any rate, it might also be worth a shot if you haven't tried that.  

Nauzene is an antacid along with sugars for their anti-nausea effects--as it is marketed for nausea due to "overindulging in food," I imagine it might also be particularly helpful for nausea due to fullness from delayed stomach emptying (gastroparesis) and the antacid might help with GERD issues.  If you are diabetic, you might try another antacid that doesn't have the sugar in it.

Ginger is calming to the stomach, which is the origin of the home remedy of drinking ginger ale when you are sick to your stomach.  However, in "olde timey" days (as my friends put it), ginger ale was brewed from actual ginger and had the active compounds in it that would help your belly; the mainstream commercial ginger ale sold by Coke and Pepsi today is not the same stuff and is no more helpful than any other soda.  You can probably find "real" ginger ale at a health food store if you have one near you.  Here's an example of what you're looking for:
http://www.reedsgingerbrew.com/index.php
Ginger teas and ginger in other forms also work well (although ginger is strong so eating it may be more difficult than drinking it in soda or tea form, especially if you're already feeling ill).

Peppermint (again, the real thing, not the artificial flavoring) has soothing tummy properties as well, and does great as a tea.  Sometimes you can find peppermint-ginger combination teas.  I've had some success with these:
http://www.traditionalmedicinals.com/digestive_products/product/51
http://www.traditionalmedicinals.com/digestive_products/product/54
http://www.traditionalmedicinals.com/digestive_products/product/56

But if all else fails, do talk to your doctor.  Many of us rely on over the counter remedies when we can, but use prescription medication when our symptoms are severe.  I hope you find something that works well for you!  

[somemonkey]

I've used Nauzene in the past, but it didn't last long. I like the idea of using it with stronger nausea medication though. Thanks! I didn't realize antihistamines were used for nausea. I can't really tolerate Benadryl, would any antihistamine work? Thank you so much!

[halbashes]

Fantastic information as always!  Thank you so much Heiferly!  :)

[Heiferly]

Sorry, the word antihistamine is often used to specify H1 antihistamines:

H1 histamine receptor antagonists:
___________________OTC____________
Cyclizine (Marzine, Emoquil)
Diphenhydramine (Benadryl)
Dimenhydrinate (Dramamine, Gravol, Gravamin, Vertirosan)
Meclizine (Bonine, Bonamine, Antivert, Postafen) *also "Dramamine (Less Drowsy Formulation)"
____________________Rx____________
Promethazine (Phenergan)


H2 antihistamines are stomach medicines that control acid like Tagamet and Pepcid.  Other allergy medicines are not "antihistamines" as such.

I hope that helps clarify!!

[somemonkey]

Thank you for explaning that to me. I didn't know there was a difference.

[Heiferly]

Sorry, one correction, allergy medicines like Allegra and Claritin are second/third-generation antihistimines, rather than classic "antihistimines."  I believe they work on H1 receptors as well, but I don't think they are antiemetics.