Medicine for nausea for children from a doctor, and how to treat it at home

Nausea is the sensation of wanting to vomit to get rid of your stomach contents. There are many different conditions that can cause children to feel this way. However, most often due to digestive disorders of children. So, how do you deal with nausea in children? What kind of nausea medicine is safe for children?

How doctors determine nausea medications that are safe for children

Parents are not advised to give nausea medications to children without first consulting a doctor.

The new doctor will give antiemetic drugs as a way to treat nausea in children when the cause is clear, and if absolutely necessary.

In some cases, nausea in children is caused by:

• Motion sickness
• Food allergies
• Infectious disease
• Restless
• Overeating (too much)
• Food poisoning
• Stomach ache
• Nerve problems

Doctors can determine what kind of nausea medication is good for your child based on the cause and condition of your little one's body.

If the complaints of nausea in children have been going on for more than a day, the cause may be food poisoning or other gastrointestinal infections.

If it lasts a long time, there may be a problem with the child's digestive system. Sometimes a child has nausea because there is a problem in the brain that controls the urge to vomit.

Before determining whether to give nausea medication to your little one, the doctor will carry out the following examinations and observations:

• Does nausea and vomiting last for 12 hours (for babies) and 24 hours (for children)?
• Is nausea accompanied by diarrhea, neurological disorders and respiratory problems?
• Does the nauseous child appear limp and show signs of dehydration?
• Is nausea accompanied by abdominal pain and if you vomit greenish discharge?

Medicine for nausea for your little one will also be given if the side effects and benefits have been clearly considered by the doctor.

Choice of medicine for nausea for children from a doctor

Based on the above considerations, then the doctor can provide medication as a way to treat nausea in children.

Apart from of course to relieve nausea, administration of drugs can prevent children from vomiting which can be at risk of causing dehydration.

Your doctor will likely give you one of the following drugs:

1. Ondansetron

Ondansetron was originally only approved to prevent nausea and vomiting for patients undergoing chemotherapy or surgery.

However, this drug can also be given for nausea and vomiting in children caused by acute vomiting.

Quoting from About Kids Health, ondansetron is a class of 5-HT3 serotonin receptor antagonist drugs.

This drug works to block the action of serotonin, a natural substance produced by the brain to trigger nausea and vomiting.

This medicine for nausea for children can only be obtained by redeeming a doctor's prescription. The dosage and timing of the drug can only be given in a hospital, under the supervision of a doctor.

For children, this nausea drug at the beginning of the dose can cause several side effects such as:

• Headache
• Dizzy
• Constipation
• Diarrhea
• Dry mouth
• The face is flushed and warm

Contact the nurse or doctor when your child experiences the above side effects.

2. Domperidone

Domperidone is a drug to facilitate the movement of food through the stomach and intestines.

When food flows faster, the risk of reflux (heartburn) that triggers nausea and wants to vomit can be prevented or relieved. This drug also simultaneously works to block vomiting signals in the brain.

This medicine can be a way of dealing with nausea in children caused by side effects of other drugs, or nausea due to overfeeding.

When taking this nausea medication, your child is likely to experience the following side effects:

• Diarrhea
• Headache
• Drowsiness
• Dry mouth
• Stomach cramps

Domperidone comes in tablet form, and a pyer liquid that can be made by certain pharmacies. Contact your doctor immediately if you experience the above side effects.

3. Metoclopramide

Metoclopramide is a prokinetic drug for nausea in children. While reducing reflex nausea and want to vomit, this drug also works to trigger the stomach to empty stomach contents faster.

This medicine for nausea is commonly used for children whose stomach acid often rises as a symptom of GERD.

The drug metoclopramide may cause the following side effects:

• Diarrhea
• Headache
• Drowsiness
• Dry mouth
• Stomach cramps

Metoclopramide also works to strengthen the work of the sphincter muscles that connect the esophagus and stomach to close more tightly. The effect is, the child's stomach acid that increases due to GERD will not be able to flow up into the esophagus.

4. Dimenhydrinate

Dimenhydrinate is an antihistamine drug that is usually used to treat or prevent nausea due to motion sickness.

The way dimenhydrinate treats nausea in children is by blocking the vomiting center in the brain.

Dimenhydrinate works to balance the signals sent to the brain by the eye and inner ear.

Meanwhile, if the flow between these two signals does not match, the child may feel nauseous, dizzy, and want to vomit during the trip.

This drug is actually classified as an over-the-counter drug that can be purchased without a prescription for motion sickness in adults.

However, as a way of dealing with nausea in children, this treatment must be obtained by prescription. Only children who are allowed to use this medicine are older than 2 years.

This nausea medicine can also cause your little one to experience the following side effects:

• Dizzy
• Sleepy
• Dry mouth, throat and nose
• Mucus appears in the nose or throat

Pay attention if the child experiences the above after taking the drug.

You cannot give all the nausea medications above, preferably according to the instructions and dosage from your doctor.

How to deal with nausea in children at home without medicine

If your little one's condition is not too severe, the Indonesian Pediatric Association (IDAI) recommends that you do some of these ways to treat nausea in children at home:

1. Give fluids to prevent dehydration

Within 6-24 hours after the child first complains of nausea, immediately give him or her drink water more often.

This aims to prevent the child from becoming dehydrated. In addition to plain water, you can give your little one drinking ORS solution purchased at a pharmacy.

2. Let it rest

If the child continues to feel nauseous, it's a good idea to get the child to rest a lot, for example by taking a nap.

Avoid children playing outside and running around until they feel better. the nausea subsided.

3. Provide foods that are easy to digest

When your child is nauseous and vomits, he or she may not have much of an appetite. However, don't let the child linger without food intake.

Continue to provide high-calorie children's food to increase stamina but is easily digested by digestion.

As an example cracker or saltine crackers, toast, or rice with warm chicken soup. Give this food gradually, starting small but often.

Do not immediately allow children to do strenuous activities, such as playing, even sleeping after eating.

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