Morning sickness happens to be among the initial signs of a pregnancy. Typically, the nausea symptoms and the vomiting symptoms associated with morning sickness will begin in the sixth week of a pregnancy and go for about six weeks. Severity of symptoms varies. Some women have mild morning sickness symptoms while some women have extremely severe morning sickness symptoms. If one wants to know how to cure morning sickness, fortunately there are a number of things one can do.
Dietary Changes to Cure Morning Sickness
Dietary changes can help greatly in the effort to cure morning sickness. Not skipping meals, consuming healthy foods such as vegetables or fruits, drinking sufficient water, and avoiding greasy, rich, fatty or spicy foods is important. Waiting for thirty minutes to one hour after meals and then brushing the teeth can help prevent morning sickness because moving the toothbrush over the tongue could cause nausea. Not moving too fast in the morning upon rising to eat breakfast and then not lying down immediately after meals can enable pregnant women to avoid nausea symptoms also.
Drinking fluids 30 minutes before and 30 minutes after meals and drinking fluid throughout the day in small amounts to avoid being dehydrated are both important measures to stop morning sickness symptoms. Consuming soda crackers about 15 minutes prior to rising out of the bed each morning, getting sufficient rest and naps during days, and doing exercise can be helpful in stopping morning sickness. Sniffing lemons or sniffing ginger, drinking lemonade, or eating watermelon can relieve the nausea associated with morning sickness too.
Nighttime taking of prenatal vitamins instead of taking prenatal vitamins during mornings helps reduce nausea and vomiting. Especially, taking a vitamin b6 supplement can be helpful for some women in controlling morning sickness symptoms. Of note, foods such as peas, seeds, beans, whole grains, and nuts are natural b6 sources if one is not taking b6 supplements. Also keep in mind that strong food smells can contribute to feelings of nausea. Avoiding food smells that can increase nausea can be important. Thus, taking a walk or opening the window in order to get some fresh air can help pregnant women to reduce nausea.
Medications and Alternative Medicine to Cure Morning Sickness
For those who need stronger measures, there are anti-nausea medicines which effectively treat morning sickness. These are traditional medications for morning sickness as opposed to lifestyle or vitamin measures. For example, antihistamine receptors blockers and benzamines are very effective treatments for morning sickness. In severe morning sickness cases, physicians might prescribe methylprednisolone, a steroid.
Alternative medicine treatments for morning sickness exist also such as acupuncture and acupressure. Acupuncture involves placement of thin needles into the skin at a variety of points on the body which enable the reduction of nausea symptoms. Acupressure involves gentle finger pressure at specific points on the body and also involves the wearing of acupressure wrist bands in order to stop nausea. Chiropractic treatments are another alternative medicine measure which has been done for some pregnant women.
Keep in mind that if one experiences excessive vomiting, if one vomits blood, vomits four or more times a day, or if one is unable to keep food down , see a physician immediately. Also, if there is fever or pain which accompanies the vomiting or if the vomiting continues after the 13th week of the pregnancy, see a physician immediately. Of note, severe morning sickness and the corresponding electrolyte disturbances can lead to a serious condition called hyperemesis gravidarum which may require a hospital stay if the physician believes this is warranted.
Sources
AmericanPregnancy.org (2007). Morning sickness. Retrieved Jan 1, 2011.
FamilyDoctor.org (2010). Morning sickness. Retrieved January 1, 2011.
TheLaborOfLove.org (2010). How can chiropractic care help me through pregnancy. Retrieved January 1, 2011.
Elva Keaton - Elva Keaton has written education, career, health, and fitness articles since 2005. She has a bachelor's degree in economics, several ...
