Information About Nausea and Vomiting Treatment

Nausea and vomiting are among the most distressing and feared side effects of cancer and cancer treatment. Beyond being unpleasant, the nausea and vomiting associated with cancer and its treatment can lead to serious and life-threatening complications, such as nutritional depletion, metabolic imbalance, esophageal damage, expulsion of oral chemotherapy agents, and withdrawal from potentially curative treatment. Thus, effective treatment for nausea and vomiting is critical to the care of cancer patients.

Nausea and vomiting are common side effects for people undergoing cancer treatment. Nausea is when you feel sick to your stomach and vomiting or emisis is when you empty the contents of your stomach. Both are frequently associated with chemotherapy and radiation therapy.

Place the tip of your right index finger on the underside of your left wrist, about 1.5 in. (4 cm) from your hand. Acupressure points are very small, so you may need to try this method more than one time.

After vomiting has stopped for one hour, drink 1 fl oz (30 mL) of a clear liquid every 20 minutes for one hour. Clear liquids include apple or grape juice mixed to half strength with water, rehydration drinks, and weak tea with sugar, clear broth, and gelatin dessert. Avoid orange juice, grapefruit juice, tomato juice, or lemonade. Avoid apple or grape juice if you also have diarrhea. Do not drink milk products, alcohol, or carbonated drinks such as sodas.

Nutritional Support. Initially, patients should not eat solid food or may need to stop consuming food and drink altogether. When feeding resumes, clear liquids are given first and the diet advanced as tolerated. When obstruction or chronic symptoms makes feeding by mouth impossible, alternate access for nutrition and fluid support are used. A nasoenteric tube can be placed through the nose into the small intestine, and feeding solutions administered directly into the intestines (known as enteral feeding or tube feeding). A second option is to place a venous catheter into an arm vein or some other vein and infuse a prepared solution containing all the essential nutrients and vitamins directly into the blood stream. This is called total potential nutrition or hyperalimentation.

If you are taking care of a child, call for medical advice if the child does not urinate in 6-8 hours (nor has dry diapers for that period of time). Signs and symptoms of dehydration in children and dehydration in adults (severe loss of body fluids) include weakness, dizziness, lightheadedness—these symptoms are worse when standing—dry mouth and lips, less urine than normal, dark-yellow and smelly urine, and severe thirst.

Fluids are given by mouth if you can keep them down, or through a vein into the bloodstream. The IV route is a common way to give fluids back to the body in moderate to severe dehydration.

Cola, tea, fruit juice, and sports drinks will not correctly replace fluid or electrolytes lost from vomiting. Nor will plain water. In addition, plain water will not replace electrolytes and may dilute electrolytes to the point of seizures.

A fresh and healthy diet of fruits and vegetables is always good. You should completely stop having junk, spicy and oily food in your diet.