Nausea is a feeling of being sick to the stomach. Children of any age can have nausea. It often happens before throwing up. It's rarely serious and usually goes away in a few days.

• Only give medicine if your health care provider recommended it.
• Try to give your child a balanced diet if possible, but don't force your child to eat.
• If your child's regular food makes the nausea worse, encourage your child to:
  • Eat plain foods, such as toast, crackers, rice, and mashed potatoes.
  • Avoid greasy, fried, or sugary foods.
  • Eat and drink small amounts slowly.
  • Avoid activity right after meals.
• Encourage your child to get plenty of liquids:
  • Offer things like water, diluted juice, soup, ice pops, or gelatin.
  • Avoid carbonated drinks (like soda) and drinks with caffeine (like coffee and caffeinated teas).
• Follow your health care provider's advice about when your child can return to school or childcare.

Your child:

• starts vomiting
• has nausea that lasts for more than a week or comes back again after getting better
• has belly pain or watery diarrhea
• has a fever
• has headaches that are severe or frequent or happen in the morning when they wake up
• refuses to eat or drink

Why does nausea happen? Common reasons for nausea include infections, stress, anxiety, some medicines, motion sickness, food sensitivities, allergic reactions, pregnancy, and dehydration.