We have all experienced the grim reality of nausea, vomiting, or simple indigestion (particularly after celebrating). Whether you're at home or traveling, homeopathy can help relieve these symptoms and restore health.

Here is a great list of remedies to consider when a member of the family is down for the count with indigestion, nausea, and/or vomiting:

Arsenicum: Often restless and chilly, with an intense thirst for small amounts of water. Can have minor burning pains in abdomen relieved by heat. Can occasionally have vomiting and stool simultaneously as well as cramping—colicky pains. Vomiting as soon as one eats (and at times after drinking) is also common. Worried and wants company. Often a great remedy to consider for patients suffering from food poisoning.

Bryonia: After eating there is pressure in the stomach. Vomiting of bile or of what has been eaten. Thirst for large quantities at long intervals. Irritable. The nausea is often worse on waking, from motion, and worse sitting up in bed.

Carbo vegetabilis: Great distention of the stomach and abdomen with gas. Much belching and flatulence. Gets relief from belching. Chilly and craves fresh moving air and being fanned. Can complain of a sour stomach.

Chamomilla: Spiteful and irritable disposition. Very oversensitive to pain. Restlessness with a desire to be carried. Vomiting of bile. Can complain of obstructed gas. May have greenish stool.

Colocynthis: Nausea, with fruitless efforts to vomit, lasting until falling asleep and returning on waking. Minor abdominal pain causing the person to double up; pain and nausea is worse from anger or indignation; better with strong pressure and warmth.

Ipecac: The most characteristic symptom of a person needing the homeopathic remedy Ipecac is constant and continual nausea which nothing (including vomiting) relieves; profuse saliva; cramping intestinal pains; tongue clean; usually a great deal of vomiting, sometimes continuous; can also have diarrhea with nausea.

Nux vomica: Chilly and worse from cold. Bitter, sour belching; abdominal bloating a few hours after eating; inclination to vomit; no appetite, contractive squeezing stomachache, headache; irritable; easily offended or angered. Hard to vomit or pass stool, despite urging (“wants to but can’t”). This homeopathic remedy is also the preeminent homeopathic remedy to use after too much celebrating! Be sure to take it on waking the next morning and you will be amazed at how much better you quickly feel! Take 1-2 doses (an hour apart) for relief.

Phosphorus: Nausea, vomiting, burning in the stomach. Excessive thirst for ice cold water. May vomit as soon as water gets warm in the stomach.

Pulsatilla: Dry mouth with putrid taste. Thirstless. Heartburn with frequent belching; queasiness; sensation of sickness after eating. Worse in a warm room. Better in cool open air. Loves sympathy. Indigestion due to improper diet, especially rich, fatty foods and ice cream.

Veratrum album: Coldness is a hallmark of this remedy. The person feels very cold and is cold to the touch. Cold sweat, especially on the forehead during discharges. Person may feel exhausted and also may feel as if they will faint from the violent vomiting and diarrhea that often can be simultaneous.

Remember (particularly if you're new to homeopathy) the key to choosing the correct/helpful remedy is always the same. One must match the "characteristic symptoms" (i.e., unusual or peculiar) of the person you are caring for (not the common ones like a headache, sore throat, cough, fever, etc.) to a remedy capable of producing similar characteristic symptoms to have success. If you choose a remedy with characteristics most similar to the characteristic symptoms of your family member, you should have a happy outcome every time. If you don't, you or they will either feel no effect or one that is mildly positive at best. There is never a bad effect from choosing the "incorrect" remedy.

Once you have chosen a remedy that appears to match your symptoms, dose with a 30C or 200C to start by placing one pellet under the tongue or one pellet in water, stirring vigorously, and then giving a teaspoon dose as needed. Always cease dosing when relief begins and only redose if symptoms again worsen. It is always advisable to discuss the use of any medicine, including homeopathy, during pregnancy or when nursing, with your licensed practitioner. And as with any medical condition, consult with your physician if you have any concerns about the severity of the problem as it may first require medical diagnosis and/or intervention and monitoring.

About Dr. Samet:

Dr. Lisa Samet N.D. provides Washington Homeopathic Products with a regular column on using homeopathy for the family. She's a naturopathic physician who specializes in homeopathic medicine, and she's a partner with Dr. Andre Saine N.D. Dr. Samet graduated from the Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine in 1998 and has been practicing in Montreal since then. She was born and raised in New York.

Dr. Samet has chosen to focus on homeopathy because, in her experience, it is the deepest healing modality available in that it does not just soothe or palliate symptoms but can actually stimulate the body to start to heal itself. Dr. Samet sees patients in her Montreal office as well as remotely using Skype. Learn more here: Dr. Lisa Samet