On this page
Dr. Chrysoula I. Liakou MD, PhD
- Treated online: Yes. A doctor can find the likely cause by video, check for dehydration and prescribe anti-sickness medicine when needed; warning signs need in-person care.
- Usual course: vomiting from a stomach bug usually stops in 1 or 2 days.
- Most important: keep drinking, in small sips if you feel sick, and use oral rehydration solution if you are losing a lot of fluid.
- See a doctor: if you feel sick for more than a few days, it keeps coming back, or you cannot keep fluids down.
- Emergency: call 112 for vomiting blood or coffee-ground vomit, green vomit, a sudden severe headache or tummy pain, or chest pain.
Do not book a video appointment if you are vomiting blood or vomit that looks like ground coffee, have green vomit, a stiff neck with pain when looking at bright lights, a sudden severe headache or tummy ache, or feel sick with chest pain that feels tight or heavy or spreads to your arms, back, neck or jaw. Call 112 or go to an emergency department.
Can an online doctor treat nausea and vomiting?
Yes. Nausea and vomiting are assessed from your symptoms, and the cause, such as a stomach bug, food poisoning, acid reflux, a migraine, motion sickness, a medicine or pregnancy, can usually be worked out by video. The doctor checks for dehydration and the warning signs, advises on fluids and food, and may prescribe an anti-sickness medicine. Severe dehydration, vomiting that will not stop, and emergency signs need in-person care, and the doctor tells you where to go.
How an online consultation helps with nausea and vomiting
- The cause found: What comes with the sickness, such as diarrhoea, a headache or dizziness, points to the cause.
- Dehydration checked: Thirst, dark pee, peeing less and dizziness show whether sips of fluid are enough.
- Medicine when it helps: An anti-sickness medicine chosen for the cause, your heart and your other medicines.
- Warning signs ruled out: Blood in the vomit, a stiff neck or chest pain are checked first.
What the doctor checks in an online nausea and vomiting consultation
The doctor checks for warning signs first. The doctor asks about:
- Warning signs: blood or coffee-ground material in the vomit, green vomit, a sudden severe headache, a stiff neck, severe tummy pain, or chest pain.
- Fluids: how often you are being sick, whether you can keep fluids down, and signs of dehydration such as dark pee, peeing less and dizziness.
- What comes with it: diarrhoea, a high temperature, a headache, dizziness, heartburn or bloating.
- Triggers: food that made others ill, travel, alcohol, a new medicine, or a recent operation.
- Your health: pregnancy or a chance of it, diabetes, heart problems, migraines, and the medicines you take.
Before the call, keep a drink to hand, and note how often you have been sick and when you last passed urine.
What causes nausea and vomiting?
Nausea is the feeling that you need to be sick. With diarrhoea or vomiting, the usual cause is a stomach bug or food poisoning, which passes in a day or two. What comes with it is the best clue to the cause:
Swipe sideways to compare →
| What comes with it | Likely cause | More information |
|---|---|---|
| Diarrhoea or vomiting | A stomach bug such as norovirus, or food poisoning | Gastroenteritis, norovirus, food poisoning |
| A headache and a high temperature | An infection such as flu | Flu |
| Heartburn or bloating after eating | Acid reflux | GORD |
| A headache with sensitivity to light or sound | Migraine | Migraines |
| Dizziness | Labyrinthitis or vertigo | Dizziness |
| Travel by car, boat or plane | Motion sickness | Travel sickness |
| Early pregnancy | Morning sickness | Morning sickness |
| Worry or stress | Anxiety | Anxiety |
| Hard poo, or not going for days | Constipation | Constipation |
Alcohol, medicines, including chemotherapy, and recent surgery can also make you feel sick, and so can urine infections, gallstones, pancreatitis and heart problems.
Why do I feel sick but not vomit?
Feeling sick without being sick is common. Whether you vomit depends on how strong the nausea is and what is causing it. Common causes of nausea include acid reflux, anxiety, pregnancy, migraine and medicines.
Why do I keep feeling sick?
Nausea that keeps coming back often has a cause that can be treated, such as acid reflux, migraine, anxiety, a medicine, constipation or pregnancy. See a doctor if it keeps returning or lasts more than a few days: frequent or long-lasting nausea can lead to dehydration, poor nutrition and weight loss.
How long does vomiting last, and when is it dehydration?
In adults, vomiting from a stomach bug usually stops in 1 or 2 days, and any diarrhoea within 5 to 7 days. Stay off work until you have not been sick or had diarrhoea for at least 2 days.
Being sick makes it hard to drink, so dehydration is the main risk. Watch for these signs:
- feeling thirsty, with a dry mouth, lips and tongue
- dark yellow, strong-smelling pee, or peeing less often than usual
- feeling dizzy or lightheaded, tired, or having a headache
- sunken eyes
Get medical advice if you keep being sick and cannot keep fluids down, if vomiting lasts more than 2 days, or if signs of dehydration continue after oral rehydration solution. The dehydration page covers more.
How to stop feeling sick
There is no instant fix, but these steps help most people:
- Get plenty of fresh air, and distract yourself, for example with music or a film.
- Take regular sips of a cold drink.
- Drink ginger or peppermint tea, or eat foods containing ginger, such as ginger biscuits.
- Eat smaller, more frequent meals, slowly.
- Avoid strong-smelling, hot, fried, greasy, spicy or very sweet food.
- Do not have a large drink with meals, and do not lie down soon after eating.
- Avoid clothes that are tight around your waist or tummy.
What to eat after vomiting
Start with sips of water or clear fluids. After being sick, wait about 6 hours before eating, then try small amounts of plain, bland food when you feel able, such as dry crackers, clear soup or noodles. Bland diets are for a day or two, not longer, and dairy is best avoided at first.
How to settle an upset stomach
Rest, sip fluids, eat small amounts of bland food, and avoid alcohol, caffeine and fatty food until you feel better. If the upset stomach comes with diarrhoea, use oral rehydration solution if you are losing a lot of fluid.
Which nausea and vomiting treatment might the doctor recommend?
Treatment follows the cause and how much fluid you are losing. This is the framework the doctors use, in line with NHS guidance:
Swipe sideways to compare →
| What you have | Likely first step | Suitable for online care? | When in-person care is needed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sickness with a stomach bug, keeping fluids down | Sips of fluid, rest, and food when you feel able | Yes | Not usually needed |
| Vomiting for more than 2 days, or unable to keep fluids down | An assessment for dehydration, and anti-sickness medicine | Yes, to assess | If you are dehydrated and cannot drink |
| Nausea with heartburn or bloating after meals | Treatment for acid reflux | Yes | With difficulty swallowing or weight loss |
| Nausea with dizziness | Assessment for labyrinthitis or vertigo | Yes | With a sudden severe headache |
| Nausea when travelling | Advice, and medicine before the journey | Yes | Not usually needed |
| Sickness in early pregnancy | Diet advice, and medicine if it is severe | Yes | If you cannot keep fluids down |
| Nausea after starting a new medicine | A review of the medicine | Yes | Not usually needed |
| Blood or green vomit, or a sudden severe headache or tummy pain | Emergency care | No | Call 112 now |
Can’t stop feeling sick? A doctor can find the cause and plan treatment in one consultation.
See available times →Treatment options for nausea and vomiting
What you can do yourself
- Drink lots of fluids, such as water or squash, in small sips if you feel sick.
- Ask a pharmacist about oral rehydration solution, which you mix with water, if you are losing a lot of fluid.
- Rest, and eat when you feel able.
- Try ginger, peppermint tea and fresh air for nausea.
Prescription treatment
A prescription is never issued without a consultation. If you need more than fluids and rest, the doctor may prescribe an anti-sickness medicine chosen for the cause, your heart and your other medicines. Some are only used for short periods: in the EU, metoclopramide is limited to up to 5 days, because of the risk of movement side effects with longer use, and domperidone is used for nausea and vomiting only, usually for no longer than a week, because of the risk of heart rhythm problems. If the doctor prescribes, use the prescription at a pharmacy near you.
What does not help
Large drinks all at once, which are harder to keep down than small sips. Lying down soon after eating. Anti-sickness medicines taken for weeks without a review: the cause needs finding.
Special situations
Pregnancy
Feeling sick is common in early pregnancy. Tell the doctor if you are or could be pregnant, because it changes which medicines are suitable; the morning sickness page covers what helps.
Diabetes
Vomiting with tummy pain in someone with diabetes needs urgent help. If you have diabetes, check your blood sugar closely while you are being sick.
While travelling in Europe
Sickness on a trip is often motion sickness or a stomach bug from food or water. The travel sickness and travellers’ diarrhoea pages cover both.
Cancer treatment or a recent operation
Chemotherapy and recent surgery are common causes of nausea. Contact the team treating you, who can adjust your medicines.
Children
Mobi Doctor consultations are for adults aged 18 and over. A child who is unwell needs a paediatrician or a local doctor in person, and emergency signs in a child mean 112.
When nausea and vomiting are treated online, and when you need in-person care
Treated online: stomach bugs and food poisoning, nausea from reflux, migraine, travel, pregnancy or medicines, mild dehydration, and anti-sickness medicine when it is needed.
In-person care: severe dehydration or being unable to keep fluids down, vomiting that will not stop, and any emergency sign.
When to get in-person care
Call 112 or go to an emergency department now for:
- vomiting blood, or vomit that looks like ground coffee
- green vomit
- a stiff neck and pain when looking at bright lights
- a sudden, severe headache or tummy ache
- feeling sick with chest pain that feels tight or heavy, or spreads to your arms, back, neck or jaw, or with shortness of breath
- confusion, or being sleepier than normal or difficult to wake
- vomiting with tummy pain if you have diabetes
Get medical advice the same day for:
- being sick again and again and unable to keep fluids down
- vomiting for more than 2 days
- signs of dehydration that continue after oral rehydration solution
- dizziness when you stand up that does not go away
See a doctor if you feel sick and do not feel better in a few days, or if nausea keeps coming back.
How Mobi Doctor works
- Book a time that suits you: daily 7am–11pm CEST. You can see a doctor over video, usually within 15 minutes. No subscription, and the exact price is shown before you pay.
- Speak to a licensed doctor about the sickness: say how often you have been sick, whether you can keep fluids down, what came with it, and which medicines you take.
- Leave with a plan: what to do, what to take and for how long, and which signs mean you should be seen in person. If the doctor prescribes, use the prescription at a pharmacy near you.
No sign-up needed
Nausea and vomiting can have more than one cause. Tick every symptom you have to see each condition page that mentions it. It finds the right page, not a diagnosis: a doctor gives you that on a video call.
Tap the body — an area or a point — to browse symptoms anywhere
Similar symptoms, different condition? Gastroenteritis can start the same way. Compare them, or look up any other symptom in the full symptom checker.
Frequently asked questions about nausea and vomiting
How do I stop feeling sick at home?
To stop feeling sick, get fresh air, take regular sips of a cold drink, try ginger or peppermint tea, and eat small, plain meals slowly. Avoid strong smells, greasy food, large drinks with meals and lying down soon after eating.
What is the most common cause of nausea?
With diarrhoea or vomiting, the usual cause is a stomach bug such as norovirus, or food poisoning. Acid reflux, migraine, motion sickness, pregnancy, anxiety, alcohol and medicines are other common causes.
What symptoms come with nausea and vomiting that point to the cause?
Nausea and vomiting with diarrhoea and cramps point to a stomach bug or food poisoning; with a one-sided headache and light sensitivity, migraine; with burning behind the breastbone, reflux; with a missed period, pregnancy; with spinning dizziness, an inner-ear problem; with constant pain in one part of the tummy, appendicitis, gallstones or pancreatitis; and with a severe headache, stiff neck or confusion, a cause that needs 112. Green vomit or blood means urgent care whatever else is present.
What is the best thing to take for nausea?
For mild nausea, sips of a cold drink, ginger and peppermint tea help many people. If you need more, a doctor can prescribe an anti-sickness medicine chosen for the cause and your other medicines.
Why do I feel sick but not vomit?
Feeling sick without being sick is common. Whether you vomit depends on how strong the nausea is and what is causing it. Reflux, anxiety, pregnancy and medicines are common causes of nausea.
What should I eat after vomiting?
After vomiting, start with sips of water or clear fluids. Wait about 6 hours, then try small amounts of bland food, such as dry crackers, clear soup or noodles, when you feel able.
How long does vomiting last?
In adults with a stomach bug, vomiting usually stops in 1 or 2 days. Get medical advice if it lasts more than 2 days or you cannot keep fluids down.
Why do I keep feeling sick?
Nausea that keeps coming back often has a treatable cause, such as acid reflux, migraine, anxiety, a medicine, constipation or pregnancy. See a doctor if it keeps returning or lasts more than a few days.
Can constipation cause nausea?
Yes. Constipation can cause nausea, because a backed-up bowel slows the whole gut and stretches it, which brings a stomach ache, bloating, a poor appetite and feeling sick, sometimes with vomiting in severe cases; the nausea eases once the bowels move, so fibre, fluids and a laxative often treat both. Vomiting with a swollen tummy and no wind or poo for a day is a blocked bowel and needs 112.
Can dehydration cause nausea?
Feeling sick is not one of the main signs of dehydration, which are thirst, dark pee, peeing less and dizziness. But being sick makes it hard to drink, so vomiting easily leads to dehydration.
How can I prevent nausea and vomiting?
Wash hands before eating and after the toilet, cook meat through and keep raw and cooked food apart, which prevents most stomach bugs and food poisoning; eat small regular meals and do not lie down straight after eating; limit alcohol; take medicines that cause nausea with food, or ask about alternatives; use travel sickness tablets before a journey; and for migraine or pregnancy nausea, treat early at the first sign. During a household bug, separate towels and hot washes stop nausea and vomiting spreading.
When should I worry about vomiting?
Call 112 for blood or coffee-ground vomit, green vomit, a stiff neck, a sudden severe headache or tummy ache, or chest pain. Get advice if you cannot keep fluids down or vomiting lasts more than 2 days.
Can an online doctor treat nausea and vomiting?
Yes. A doctor can find the likely cause of nausea and vomiting by video, check for dehydration, and prescribe anti-sickness medicine when it is needed. Emergency signs and severe dehydration need in-person care.
- Feeling sick (nausea), NHS, National Health Service (UK), reviewed 17 November 2023.
- Diarrhoea and vomiting, NHS, National Health Service (UK), reviewed 21 December 2023.
- Dehydration, NHS, National Health Service (UK), reviewed 1 May 2026.
- Constipation, NHS, National Health Service (UK), reviewed 26 October 2023.
- Nausea, Cleveland Clinic, updated 17 September 2025.
- Nausea, healthdirect, Australian Government, reviewed June 2025.
- Abdominal pain, MedlinePlus, US National Library of Medicine, reviewed 13 January 2026.
- Metoclopramide-containing medicines, European Medicines Agency, European Commission decision 20 December 2013.
- Domperidone-containing medicines, European Medicines Agency, European Commission decision 1 September 2014.
- Stomach ache, NHS, National Health Service (UK), reviewed 26 May 2023.
This page is for information only and is not a substitute for a medical consultation. Guideline links are provided for transparency; treatment decisions are made with your doctor.
Related conditions
Related reading from the Mobi Doctor blog
What to Eat After Stomach Flu Or Food Poisoning
What to Eat After Stomach Flu Or Food Poisoning After stomach flu or food poisoning, focus on hydration first with smal...
Read article → Traveler’s Health GuidesWhy Do I Feel Sick While Travelling?
Feeling sick while travelling is usually caused by motion sickness, dehydration, heat, food poisoning, or a viral i...
Read article →Speak to a doctor about nausea and vomiting over video, usually within 15 minutes
Licensed doctors · open daily 7am–11pm CEST · exact price before payment
See available times →