Content

• To step
• Part 1 of 3: Using home remedies
• Part 2 of 3: Medical treatments
• Part 3 of 3: Preventing gagging in the future
• Tips

Gagging is the feeling of vomiting, but nothing comes out of your mouth. This is common in pregnant women, but it can happen to anyone. Gagging usually resolves on its own, but if it happens persistently, you should see a doctor as soon as possible. Fortunately, it is often easy to remedy with simple home remedies or medicines. To research your options, you can start at Step 1.

To step

Part 1 of 3: Using home remedies

1. Drink a lot. One of the main causes of gagging is not having enough fluid in your body, causing fluid imbalance. The best thing to do is drink a lot. Remember this rule: drink at least 8 - 12 glasses of water per day. Sports drinks with electrolytes are also good, because they restore the fluid balance.
   • If you can't tolerate liquids because you have such a bad taste in your mouth, do it very gradually - start with small sips of water, apple juice or mint tea.
   • Dehydration can cause many problems. Due to the loss of mucus, your body signals your heart to work harder, and your kidneys are working overtime. If vital organs become stressed, it can lead to total failure, which in the worst case can lead to death.
2. Chew small pieces of ginger or cardamom to relieve nausea. Aromatic herbs such as ginger and cardamom can reduce nausea and help control your dry dents. Chew on a little bit of fresh or dried ginger or a cardamom seed and see if your symptoms improve.
3. Eat something sweet to increase your blood sugar. Low blood sugar (or hypoglycemia) is a signal from your body that it is missing important nutrients to function properly. This can lead to gagging and can also serve as a warning. Fortunately, it can be quickly remedied by eating a piece of candy or an ice cream.
   • Keeping your blood sugar level will not only prevent hypoglycemia and gagging, but it will also help you concentrate. By eating something sweet, your brain gets more glucose and better oxygen can be transported to your blood so that it can reach all parts of your body.
4. Eat mild foods, such as toast or crackers. This dry, light and slightly bland food makes your taste buds less sensitive on the tongue, reducing gagging, getting rid of the bad taste in your mouth and preventing it from getting worse. It should be soft, not too spicy, and low in fiber. Good examples of mild foods are:
   • Soup or broth
   • Breakfast cereals (oatmeal, wheat porridge, or cornflakes)
   • Pudding
   • Eggs
   • Tofu
   • Toast
   • Crackers
   • Rusk
5. Keep your mouth closed while eating. When you chew with your mouth open, you release air into your upper gastrointestinal tract. This can increase the risk of retching. Chew with your mouth closed to minimize air intake.
   • You can also reduce your air intake while drinking by drinking from a cup instead of using a straw or drinking straight from a bottle or can.
6. Avoid foods and drinks with a high air content. Eating foods with a lot of air in them can make dry swell worse. Stay away from carbonated drinks and beer, as well as foods such as ice cream, whipped cream, and omelets.
7. Eat something small often. Eating large amounts at once can make you gag or vomit more. Instead of eating 3 large meals a day, you can split each meal and make 6 smaller ones; you eat the same, but more spread throughout the day.
   • Don't let your stomach empty. This is related to your blood sugar, but it also keeps you from putting too much stress on the sphincter of your stomach. An empty stomach is a cause of gagging, but hypoglycaemia should also be taken very seriously as it can cause a variety of problems, such as light-headedness and nausea.
8. Stop drinking caffeine. Caffeine is a powerful and addictive stimulant that our bodies can respond strongly to. Being such a powerful substance, it can cause the digestive system to become hyperactive, causing you to gag and vomit if you take too much of it. To avoid this, you should not consume more than 250 mg of caffeine per day.
   • Caffeine is not only found in coffee, tea and chocolate. Check the labels of drinks or food to see if they contain caffeine.
9. Have something cold. Cold drinks can stimulate the digestive system. If you take something with sugar, you immediately kill two birds with one stone. Just make sure it is something you can tolerate. Start with a little bit, and take more if it goes well. Good examples are:
   • Cold soda, without caffeine
   • Ice cubes (let them melt in your mouth)
   • Popsicles
   • Sorbet
   • Frozen Yoghurt

Part 2 of 3: Medical treatments

1. Take an antihistamine. These drugs can suppress a variety of allergic reactions, and vomiting can also be a symptom of an allergy. Antihistamines can also help with the pain histamine causes when you are dehydrated from gagging. One or two pills of histamine should stop the urge to vomit.
   • Histamine is essentially an essential substance for conveying messages in the brain. It also regulates the moisture balance in the body. However, if these chemicals flare up during an allergic reaction, anti-histamine can come in handy.
2. Consider taking medicines for vomiting or nausea. Medicines such as Meclozine can be taken to calm the stomach and stop vomiting. You can take them once a day or when symptoms occur. Consult with your doctor which medicine is suitable for you; the dosage depends on how serious your situation is.
   • Phenothiazine (eg Promethazine) blocks dopamine receptors that trigger neurotransmitters to induce involuntary vomiting. If these neurotransmitters are blocked, the gagging will likely stop.
3. Talk to your doctor about whether you can take anti-anxiety drugs. Anxiety naturally leads to stress. When you are stressed, all kinds of symptoms can occur, which can lead to gagging. Taking Xanax or Lorazepam when you need to, or when you're having a panic attack, can help a lot if you suspect that stress is causing the gagging.
   • Alprazolam (Xanax) is usually prescribed at a dosage of 0.25 mg, three times a day, for short-term panic attacks. However, the correct dose should be determined by a psychiatrist or your doctor. These sedatives should be taken with care as they slow down everything from the heartbeat to organ functioning, etc.
4. Also consider alternative measures such as acupuncture. Sometimes alternative therapies such as acupuncture and acupressure can be very effective for gagging, especially in pregnant women. It is based on the idea that the energy balance is disturbed, causing diseases. To restore balance, certain points on the body are stimulated to stop gagging and calm the digestive system. This is done through acupuncture.
   • If you're not into needles, you can also try acupressure or massage. Tell your masseur that you would like to have the pressure points stimulated to promote your health.

Part 3 of 3: Preventing gagging in the future

1. Hydrate your body before drinking alcohol. Before you go out for a night drink, you should drink at least 750 ml of water, or as much as you can tolerate. Drinking plenty of water beforehand will prevent you from becoming dehydrated. With enough water in your system, the alcohol is diluted and its absorption slowed, so you are less likely to suffer from the negative effects of overconsumption, such as retching and vomiting.
   • If you drank too much alcohol, the alcohol replaces the water in your body, causing you to become dehydrated. You are going to throw up until everything is gone. Then the gagging starts. By having enough water in your system you can prevent this.
2. Eat fatty foods. Fat decreases the absorption of alcohol by your body. This works just like drinking more water. It slows down absorption and therefore slows down the effects. However, there is a difference between healthy and unhealthy fat. Here are some sources of fat that will keep you feeling energized and healthy:
   • Fatty fish, such as salmon, mackerel and herring
   • Walnuts, almonds and other nuts
   • Olive, grape seed and linseed oil
   • Avocados
3. Relax. We all know fear and stress. People who find it difficult to deal with stress develop physical symptoms that should be physiological by nature. This kind of defense mechanism against stress and anxiety is called a "conversion". Nausea, vomiting and retching occur for no apparent reason. To avoid this you have to stay relaxed!
   • In addition to taking anti-anxiety drugs, you can practice yoga, meditation or deep breathing. If that's not really for you, take a vacation. Even if you only have half an hour to yourself, you can feel a little better.
4. Avoid stimuli that stink. A foul odor that makes your stomach turn can cause a tendency to gag. Smells that make you nauseous include smoke, perfume and certain foods. Try to avoid these if you are sensitive to smells, light or sound. If you can't avoid it, wear a mask over your nose and mouth, or just keep a tissue in front of it.
   • Scents can make you gag because they send chemical stimuli to your brain. Your olfactory system is closely linked to your digestive system, so you tend to vomit.
5. Sit still. Many people throw up when they suffer from motion sickness. This happens when what we see and what our body thinks our position is don't match. You can already get it if you ride a winding road for a long time, or if you are on a boat, on a roller coaster or anything else that shakes you up and down.
   • Don't listen to people talking about motion sickness. For an as yet unknown reason, people who hear others say they suffer from motion sickness become ill themselves. It's like yawning; it can be contagious.
   • To avoid motion sickness, look at a stationary point (such as the horizon) when in a moving vehicle. Fixed points do not stimulate the brain, which reduces the tendency to gag.

Tips

• If the gagging doesn't get better with home remedies, it is best to see your doctor, who can prescribe medication to help control the symptoms.
• Don't eat anything that is too fatty, spicy, or raw if you have digestive issues.