Essential Oils for Nausea

Nausea is an unpleasant, inescapable feeling that sometimes feels like it will never end. What is nausea? Nausea can be defined as a feeling of discomfort with a tendency to vomit. Nausea can also sometimes serve a protective purpose. For example, when you feel nauseous and vomit after eating food that is contaminated with bacteria such as E. coli. Other times, nausea is caused by pregnancy and is often referred to as "morning sickness," even though it can occur at any time during the day or even all day and all night. Nausea is also a common symptom of motion sickness, which unfortunately many people experience frequently.

Thankfully, there are many natural ways to relieve nausea, and one of the best is essential oils. Which essential oils can help with nausea? In fact, several essential oils are considered natural "remedies" for nausea.

6 Essential Oils for Nausea

Ginger Oil

Ginger essential oil is one of the top natural remedies for nausea, indigestion, diarrhea, stomach pain, and even vomiting. Nausea and vomiting after surgery are common side effects of general anesthesia. A scientific review published in the journal Evidence-Based and Alternative Medicine in 2014 explored how essential oils can effectively reduce stress and nausea after surgery. When ginger essential oil was inhaled, it was effective in reducing postoperative nausea and the need for nausea-relieving medications. In addition, ginger essential oil has impressive analgesic activity for a limited time, which means that ginger essential oil can help relieve pain in non-surgery related situations.

Ginger essential oil is also one of the best essential oils for treating nausea and vertigo. A study published in 2013 evaluated the effects of aromatherapy abdominal massage using ginger and peppermint essential oils on women with menstrual cramps. Both essential oils had impressive effects, but ginger essential oil was particularly helpful in relieving nausea, vomiting, dizziness, fatigue, and headaches.

Peppermint Oil

Multiple studies have also shown that peppermint essential oil can help prevent nausea and vomiting after surgery. Peppermint is known to have antiemetic and antispasmodic effects on the gastric mucosa and colon. A study published in 2013 investigated the effectiveness of peppermint essential oil in preventing chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting. The researchers found that patients experienced significantly less vomiting intensity and frequency within the first 24 hours of treatment compared to the control group, and no adverse side effects were reported. Treatment costs were also reduced by using peppermint essential oil.

Peppermint is also one of the best essential oils for treating nausea and diarrhea. Studies have shown that peppermint essential oil can help improve some of the diarrhea symptoms caused by irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), one of the most common functional gastrointestinal disorders today.

Lavender Oil

If you are looking for essential oils to relieve nausea and anxiety, lavender is a great choice. Sometimes, stress and anxiety can lead to nausea, and lavender essential oil is known for its calming effects, which can help relieve anxiety and nausea. It is also known for its antidepressant effects, as depression is another mental state that can cause nausea.

Studies have shown that lavender essential oil has a calming effect on both the mind and body. In several human studies, lavender essential oil has shown significant effects when applied through aromatherapy or massage. In addition to the positive psychological effects, aromatherapy with lavender essential oil is considered therapeutic due to the physiological effects of inhaling volatile compounds. When lavender essential oil is inhaled, it directly affects the limbic system, especially the amygdala and hippocampus of the brain.

When lavender essential oil is applied topically, its two active ingredients, linalool and linalyl acetate, are quickly absorbed through the skin, calming the central nervous system. Due to its sedative and antispasmodic effects, some people choose lavender as one of the essential oils to relieve stomach problems.

Lemon oil

Lemon essential oil is one of the most commonly used essential oils for treating morning sickness, a common nausea symptom in pregnant women. Diffusing just one or two drops of lemon essential oil can help relieve nausea and vomiting caused by pregnancy. According to one study, 40% of women have used lemon scents to relieve nausea and vomiting, and 26.5% of women reported that it was an effective way to control symptoms.

A study published in 2014 investigated whether sniffing lemon essential oil during pregnancy can help relieve nausea and vomiting. The randomized clinical trial involved 100 pregnant women with nausea and vomiting who sniffed lemon essential oil as soon as they felt sick. The researchers then recorded the intensity of nausea, vomiting, and retching 24 hours before treatment and over a four-day period, finding that scores decreased over the four days using the aromatherapy method of inhaled lemon essential oil, with statistically significant decreases on the second and fourth days.

Overall, the researchers concluded that the scent of lemon essential oil can effectively reduce nausea and vomiting due to pregnancy.

Roman Chamomile Oil

What essential oils to use when your stomach hurts? There are several essential oils to choose from for stomach pain or upset stomach, and chamomile is definitely one of them. In fact, chamomile has been used to treat indigestion since ancient times, and to this day, it is used to treat upset stomach, bloating, diarrhea, anxiety, and insomnia.

Chamomile essential oil has incredible soothing properties for the stomach and mind, making it an ideal choice for treating nausea.

Sweet Fennel Oil

When you feel nauseous, your stomach is definitely upset. So what essential oils to use for a stomach ache? Fennel is another one of my favorite essential oils for an upset stomach. Sweet fennel essential oil is often used for heartburn, intestinal gas, bloating, and loss of appetite, which are all digestive symptoms that can accompany nausea.

Fennel essential oil and botanical fennel can really help relieve digestive complaints when taken internally or applied topically.

How to use it?

Incense

Incense is an alternative medicine practice that utilizes aromatic essential oils from a variety of healing plants. When the scent of an essential oil is inhaled, the molecules enter the nasal cavity and stimulate a response in the brain's limbic system, resulting in a physiological or psychological effect.

Incense can be applied in a few different ways:

Breathing the essential oil directly by holding your nose to the bottle

Diffusing one or more essential oil blends into the air

Applying directly to the skin, using body heat to diffuse and inhale

Topical application

Nausea can be relieved by applying essential oils to the stomach, the back of the neck, or the soles of the feet. Only one or two drops of essential oil are needed, and when the essential oil contacts the skin, it penetrates quickly.

Because essential oils are so potent, it’s best to dilute them in a carrier oil, such as sweet almond, olive, jojoba, avocado, or coconut oil. You can also put a few drops of a pure essential oil, such as lavender or peppermint, on a compress and apply it to your forehead or the back of your neck to help relieve nausea.