Feeling sick (nausea) and vomiting (being sick)
Feeling sick (nausea) and being sick (vomiting) can be problems if you're living with a terminal illness. They can be caused by the illness, or they may be a side effect of treatments or medication. Feeling sick and vomiting can affect your quality of life. And if you're struggling to eat or drink, they could affect your health and wellbeing also.
There are medicines and practical things you can do that can help. So, it's important to speak to your healthcare team to get the support you need. You can also find information about managing these symptoms on this page.
On this page:
What causes nausea and vomiting?
Nausea and vomiting can be caused by many different things. You might have both nausea and vomiting – or you might have one without the other.
Causes of nausea and vomiting include:
- medicines, for example opioids (strong painkillers)
- chemotherapy
- anticipatory nausea and vomiting (which some people may have before chemotherapy treatments)
- constipation
- infection
- a change in blood levels
- your liver or kidneys not working properly
- illnesses that affect how the stomach work
- cancers of the digestive system, such as bowel cancer
- illnesses that affect the brain
- anxiety.
What helps with nausea and vomiting?
If you're feeling nauseous or you're vomiting often, speak to your nurse or doctor. They can look for a specific cause and decide on the best way to support you. If you are being sick often, then your nurse or doctor can also advise on drink and liquids to avoid any risk of dehydration.
Medicines
There are anti-sickness (antiemetic) medicines that can help with nausea and vomiting. There are lots of different types. Your doctor or nurse will help decide which ones are best for you. It may take a couple of tries to get the right medication, dose or combination of anti-sickness medications for you.
You can take anti-sickness medicines as tablets or liquids. If you find it hard to take tablets or you're vomiting a lot, you can have them as injections, or through a syringe driver (also called syringe pump). A syringe driver delivers medicine on a continuous basis through a tube under the skin.
Read information about syringe drivers.
Taking anti-sickness medicines regularly, often works better than just taking them when you feel sick.
Other treatments
Some people find complementary therapies like acupuncture can help with nausea and vomiting. Pressure bands that you wear around your wrists can help too. You can buy these from most pharmacies.
Read more about complementary therapies.
Feeling worried, stressed or anxious can make nausea and vomiting worse. Talking to someone you trust about how you're feeling may help with your worries and could improve your symptoms.
Read more about support for depression and anxiety.
It might also help if you can find ways to feel more relaxed. This could be listening to music, doing breathing exercises or spending time with someone you feel comfortable with.
See information on breathing exercises that can help with relaxation.
For some people, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) can help with anticipatory nausea or vomiting. Anticipatory nausea or vomiting is feeling sick or vomiting before having a treatment like chemotherapy. Speak to your doctor if you are experiencing this to find out if this kind of support might be suitable.
Practical tips
Here are some practical tips on how to manage nausea and vomiting:
- Avoid foods that trigger your nausea or vomiting. These might be strong smelling, spicy or greasy foods.
- Stick to cold food because the taste of something is less intense if it's cold.
- Choose things that taste OK now rather than what you used to like to eat or drink. This is because things may taste different to you now.
- Eat small portions more often, instead of having large meals.
- If possible, try to get someone else to prepare your food so you can avoid cooking smells.
- If you find strong smells trigger your nausea, you could ask the people around you not to wear perfumes or use air fresheners near you.
- Keep a record of when you feel sick or vomit. This can help the doctor or nurse spot a pattern.
- Keep a large bowl, tissues and water nearby in case you vomit.
Food and drink
Certain types of food may be easier for you to eat. Things that some people find are less likely to make them feel sick include:
- cool fizzy drinks (people often prefer orange, lemon or lime flavours)
- dry plain biscuits, crackers or toast
- food and drink containing ginger, like ginger ale or ginger biscuits
- boiled sweets and mints
- cold foods and sandwiches
- salty foods like crisps or salted nuts.
If you are finding it difficult to swallow food, talk to your doctor or dietician about the best foods for you.
Getting support
If you would like to speak to someone about how you're feeling or for practical information you can contact the Marie Curie Support Line for free on 0800 090 2309*. Or you can email us at support@mariecurie.org.uk.
Read more about the Marie Curie Support Line.
If you think it would help to speak to one of our Information and Support Nurses, please let the Support Line know and they can arrange a call back for you.
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About this information
This information is not intended to replace any advice from health or social care professionals. We suggest that you consult with a qualified professional about your individual circumstances. Read more about how our information is created and how it's used.
