Top Secrets of Beating Morning Sickness

Make no mistake- morning sickness is a viscious beast, and it is out to get you. Don't bother with the wrist wraps, possibly dangerous herbs or any New Age stuff, and no, you can't take Dramamine. If the beast is stalking you now, or if you anticipate its arrival, there are a few effective ways to lessen it or even to keep it at bay.

Hard candy This is one of the best, and often underrated, preventatives, and also works when morning sickness is already at hand. Lemon heads, jawbreakers, any of these can be effective. The best hard candy, however, is the plain red and white peppermint candies. Peppermint oil is a nausea combatant, and will fight hard for you. Some people also swear by taking raw peppermint oil and putting over a cloth that you lay over your face. I have not tried this, but it stands to reason that it would work, as the peppermint scent is almost as effective as ingesting the oil.

Crackers It's corny, but it works. Plain saltine crackers are a very effective preventive measure in combating 'the sickness.' But don't just carry them around in a bag- they should be put next to the bed in a position that would make it possible to grab a cracker even before you open your eyes. You should be able to reach them without sitting up, or all is probably lost.

Peppermint Tums This is another peppermint product, but the most effective of all the peppermint edibles. It doesn't taste very good- kind of like peppermint chalk, but it does have a high concentration of peppermint oil in it, is highly effective, is easily portable, and is quite inexpensive. And, you have the added bonus of having it all to yourself. The family will eat your candies, they will take your crackers and your cereal, but they aren't going to touch those chalky-white Tums.

Ginger, ginger, ginger Get used to the taste of ginger, because it is the most effective means of slaying the beast. Dark colas are hard to take, or even to look at, in my experience, but ginger ale is safe to drink and is very effective. Thre are also several cereals that have ginger as a main ingredient- I highly recommend Nature Path's Ginger Zing. It not only has a high concentration of ginger, but is organic as well. For the purse, there are ginger snaps (make sure you choose snaps with real ginger in them-not ginger flavor). You can also buy ground ginger and put it in any food that you think you can get down.

These are the best of the best methods, tested and approved to give you an edge over the beast. If you go in fighting, you may just come out with a little lunch that you can to keep down. Good luck!