My testimony
I am not at all prone to nausea and vomiting. As far as I can remember, I have only vomited once, by vagal reflex following a blood pressure that was much too low. However, I have several people in my family who regularly have dietary “liver attacks”; Fortunately, I don't know that. On the other hand, if I read in the car I quickly feel nauseous, and not only on winding roads. Of course, I would just have to avoid this situation, which I do most of the time, but sometimes I still need to look at the map (or now the GPS...) and I don't escape it, I feel bad and my stomach is turning. Even if I go straight back to staring at the road, it doesn't happen by itself.
My tip
For nausea and motion sickness, my go-to is peppermint. I always leave a spray bottle with peppermint hydrosol in the car. Whenever I feel nauseous, I spray it on my face and in my mouth. And I drink water. I don't know why, but it seems to me that drinking helps me. I repeat the hydrosol sprays as often as necessary. The “ice” effect of peppermint on my face does me good, as does breathing it in, in addition to swallowing it.
If you don't have room to carry a bottle of hydrosol, you can use peppermint essential oil. For some people, putting a few drops on the car floor mat is enough to avoid nausea by breathing in the mint. Others will need to take a drop or two orally to get the effects.
What does herbal medicine say?
Mints occupy a privileged place in digestive herbal medicine, thanks to the molecules they contain. In peppermint we find menthol, which among its many properties is antispasmodic and digestive. Peppermint, used since Antiquity to treat indigestion, is a general, cutaneous, digestive and venous tonic.
The hydrosol, composed mainly of menthol and menthone, is very refreshing and also has multiple properties. It is used as a stimulant in cases of general fatigue or lack of appetite, for nausea, motion sickness, and as a digestive. Externally, its “cold effect” is indicated to relieve migraines, muscle pain, as well as for its circulatory properties, in cases of heavy legs or varicose veins. In cosmetics, it is recommended as an astringent tonic and as an aftershave.
Did you know ?
The best-known property of menthol is the sensation of freshness that it generates, by acting on a receptor reactive to cold (TRPM, TRP being a family of calcium receptors, M for menthol). However, we find this type of receptor on many cell types, explaining among other things the varied effects of menthol (anti-inflammatory, anesthetic, muscle stimulant, etc.)
I use hydrosols SAFELY
Peppermint, both in hydrosol and in essential oil, should be avoided by pregnant women. In this case, the peppermint hydrosol can be replaced by that of spearmint, and the essential oil by that of lemon.
MENTHA PIPERITA Peppermint
Peppermint is a perennial about 80 cm high, very widespread in Europe and Asia, especially at low altitudes and on humid lands. In Antiquity, the Chinese praised the calming and antispasmodic properties of mints, Hippocrates considered them aphrodisiacs and Pliny appreciated their analgesic action. All mints have more or less the same medicinal properties, antiseptic and analgesic, digestive, antispasmodic. Peppermint is also tonic, mucolytic, analgesic and anesthetic. Whether as a fresh plant, herbal tea, preparation or external use, peppermint is used and appreciated both in allopathy and in herbal medicine.
The Products
Hydrolat Pepper mint
The peppermint hydrosol of Esseciagua, a biological and artisanal product, is a refreshing essence, distilled in France from Mentha Piperita. This plant, very widespread in Europe and Asia, is famous for its refreshing qualities and its penetrating fragrance.
This hydrosol brings an immediate feeling of freshness and vitality. Used as a facial fogger, it tones the skin and provides a feeling of instant freshness, particularly appreciable during hot summer days or after...