The Lighter Side of: Waiting to Vomit

Vomiting is just plain awful.
The best part about a retching fit is the blissful moment after finishing when the nausea has subsided and you know you have gotten everything out.
What happens, though, when you catch a bad flu bug or develop food poisoning, when you vomit several times in the day and don't really get to enjoy some time without nausea?

We all know the feeling - knowing you are going to vomit but unable to control the timing. The chills, the sweats, the excessive salivating, the sudden urge to run to a washroom: all telltale signs of an impending puking fit.
It is the worst kind of nausea.
Well, the worst I think I have experienced.
It's the nausea that remains at that 'just-about-to-puke' moment, without any relief, even after the vomiting. Nothing you do helps. It just remains at that cusp - trying to dry-heave just to get the vomiting going.
Unfortunately, your guts are in control.
You can try to get it started, of course, in those horribly desperate moments, but overall, your intestines and your stomach rules that domain.
Not only that, but sometimes this 'puking limbo' can last for hours. Hours!

There's some good news, though. (There is always good news, that's kinda the entire point).

The Lighter Side of waiting to vomit is that, during that limbo, you can prepare!
If you know you are going to vomit, if you know it may take a while but that it will happen, you can get things ready for yourself.
You can do things like:
• Drinking some flavoured water** or ginger ale.
• Putting your hair up and out of your face.
• Grabbing an easy-to-clean bucket instead of having to hunch over with your face by the toilet seat.
• Putting a pillow down on the ground so that when you are sitting or kneeling, it doesn't hurt your knees or bottom.
• Getting some Gatorade or electrolyte-boosting beverage ready for the loss of fluids.
• Making sure you have some carbs afterwards.
• Grabbing some mints or having your toothbrush ready.
• Having Kleenex ready.
• Preparing a cold compress to help with that hot flash that always arrives directly before retching.

Sometimes you can even prepare by making sure you are alone.

I deal with nausea every day. Not always every minute of every day, but the majority of each day I spend with nausea. I experience the 'puking limbo' on a regular basis, and although it is uncomfortable, there is definitely something to be said about being able to prepare.
One of my biggest pet peeves is having to vomit in front of other people - especially in public restrooms.
I prefer to Puke in Private.
That extra time spent nauseated, knowing I am going to vomit but not quite there yet, allows me to wait until a public washroom is vacated, or finding a more private time
at home so that I can have my privacy.

That time feeling so nauseated might be awful to experience, but preparation is not usually a negative thing. If I am going to have to handle it anyways, I may as well find something good about it, right?

**Flavoured water is a tried-and-true method of easing the brutal parts of vomiting. It can ease the acidity in your throat, tone down the disgusting taste, and can help so that your throat, mouth, and gums don't burn as much during the fit. While ginger ale works well, the carbonation does not help the abrasiveness. Down enough flavoured water, however, and it is a slightly more pleasant experience.
Okay, 'pleasant' is not the right word.
Less terrible? A little less disgusting? A little less painful?
Try it. It helps!