Download Nausea and vomiting - Guy`s and St Thomas` NHS Foundation Trust

 Nausea and vomiting
This information has been given to you to help answer some of the questions you may
have if you are experiencing nausea and/or vomiting. If you have any further questions
or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact the nutrition and dietetics department
(contact details given at the end of this leaflet).
What is nausea and what might be causing it?
Surgery or certain medications and treatments such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy may
cause some patients to experience nausea (feeling sick) which may lead to vomiting. If you are
feeling or being sick, your doctor may be able to prescribe medication to help with your
symptoms.
What can be done to ease/prevent it?
You may find the following tips helpful:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Aim for small, frequent meals during the day as tolerated. Plain foods, such as toast,
bread and biscuits may be preferable.
Avoid cooking and strong smelling foods as this can worsen your symptoms. Try cold
foods as these have less smell than hot foods.
Where possible, ask someone else to prepare meals for you. Alternatively, use frozen or
convenience foods.
Sipping cold fizzy drinks between meals may help, but you may find these easier to drink
if left to go flat.
Avoid drinks with meals. Try having them before or after meals instead.
Avoid fried, greasy or very sweet foods, as these can make you feel even more sick.
Avoid eating in warm rooms. Where possible, keep rooms cool and well ventilated.
Salty foods may help. Try salted nuts, crisps or savoury biscuits.
Foods or drinks containing ginger may help, such as ginger biscuits, ginger cakes,
crystallised ginger, ginger tea or ginger beer.
Remember that even if you are being sick, it is important to take fluids to prevent you
from becoming dehydrated.
If you have been prescribed anti-sickness medication, you may find it helps to take it half
an hour before you eat.
If nausea or vomiting persists, it is recommended that you contact your hospital doctor or
GP for advice.
It is important to remember there are many different anti-sickness medications. It may
take a while to find which one works best for you.
1 of 2
Useful sources of information
Contact us
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the nutrition and dietetics department
on 020 7188 2010 or 020 7188 4128 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm). If we are unable to
take your call, please leave us a message and we will call you back.
Pharmacy medicines helpline
For information about any medicines that you have been prescribed at Guy's and St Thomas'
hospitals, you can speak to the staff caring for you or call our helpline.
t: 020 7188 8748 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday.
Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) – To make comments or raise concerns about the
Trust’s services, please contact PALS. Ask a member of staff to direct you to the PALS office or:
t: 020 7188 8801 at St Thomas’ t: 020 7188 8803 at Guy’s e: [email protected]
Knowledge & Information Centre (KIC) – For more information about health conditions,
support groups and local services, or to search the internet and send emails, please visit the
KIC on the Ground Floor, North Wing, St Thomas’ Hospital.
t: 020 7188 3416
Language support services – If you need an interpreter or information about your care in a
different language or format, please get in touch using the following contact details.
t: 020 7188 8815 fax: 020 7188 5953
NHS Direct - Offers health information and advice from specially trained nurses over the
phone 24 hours a day.
t: 0845 4647 w: www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk
NHS Choices – Provides online information and guidance on all aspects of health and
healthcare, to help you make choices about your health.
w: www.nhs.uk
Become a member of your local hospitals, and help shape our future
Membership is free and it is completely up to you how much you get involved. To become a
member of our Foundation Trust, you need to be 18 years of age or over, live in Lambeth,
Southwark, Lewisham, Wandsworth or Westminster or have been a patient at either hospital in
the last five years.
To join, please call 0848 143 4017, email [email protected] or visit
www.guysandstthomas.nhs.uk
Leaflet number: 3572/VER1
2 of 2
Date published: November 2012
Review date: November 2015
© 2012 Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust