Whether you’re experiencing morning sickness or motion sickness, chemo-induced nausea or the flu bug, you want fast relief from the symptoms. Most of us prefer that relief comes without medicine, if possible.
There are many naturally therapeutic remedies for nausea. One of the best and most readily available is peppermint.
These days, the peppermint plant grows wild in most parts of the world. Originally native to Europe, the peppermint plant is a hybrid of spearmint and water mint. You can chew the leaves directly (don’t swallow), but one of the benefits of using peppermint for nausea is that it’s readily available in other forms, including:
- Peppermint gum
- Peppermint candy
- Peppermint essential oils (aromatherapy)
- Peppermint tea
Most of us have no trouble figuring out how to use peppermint gum or candies. If you’re prone to nausea, make sure to carry a pack of gum or some hard candies with you wherever you go. This is especially useful for those who suffer from motion sickness. When you’re on a bus or airplane, you probably can’t get the operator to pull over so you can get sick, but you can always pop in some gum or candy.
There are several ways you can use peppermint oils. The easiest way is to simply put a drop or two of peppermint essential oil on a handkerchief and place it over your nose and mouth when you are feeling nauseous. Other uses include massaging the oil on you abdomen (you’ll want to dilute it with a carrier oil first) and using peppermint essential oil in an aromatherapy diffuser.
Drinking peppermint tea is another way to soothe nausea. Ideally, you should sip the tea while it’s still hot. Both the aroma of the peppermint and the peppermint on your stomach can help quell nausea. Avoid giving peppermint tea to toddlers and very young children, however, because the menthol inside it can cause them to gag.
For many of us, the very fact that we’re so familiar with peppermint may lead to questioning its effectiveness as a medicinal treatment for nausea. Peppermint has been used medicinally in both Europe and Asia for thousands of years, dating back before recorded history.
However you take your peppermint, rest assured that it’s generally safe and non-toxic. The fact that you can get peppermint in one form or another almost anywhere makes it one of the most ideal natural treatments for nausea.