Other causes of sickness

There are things other than cancer or cancer treatment that can make you feel sick. This can happen due to a number of different reasons.

Smell

Both pleasant and unpleasant smells can trigger sickness. You might find that it helps to remove strong smelling flowers from around you. Or, you could ask friends and relatives not to wear perfume.

Try eating cold foods if the smell of food makes you feel sick. Or get someone else to cook for you if you can.

Taste

The taste of some foods and drinks may make you feel or be sick. Strong tastes may be troublesome. You might find it helps to stick to bland foods. Your taste could be affected if sickness is related to your treatment. This usually gets better after treatment has finished.

Some people avoid their favourite foods and drinks during treatment periods in case they are put off them for good. Other people find that they start to like foods they have always disliked.

Anxiety, fear and depression

These feelings are very common in people with cancer. Up to 25 in 100 people (up to 25%) with cancer become depressed.

Feeling very frightened, anxious or depressed can affect the way your body works and may make you feel or be sick. Discuss your feelings with your doctor or specialist nurse as they can help you with your anxiety or depression.

Pain

Being in a lot of pain can also make you feel or be sick. The sickness will go away when you treat the pain. 

Movement or travel

Motion sickness (travel sickness) happens when the messages your brain receives from your eyes do not match those from the balance centre in your ear.

This confusion can trigger the vomiting centre in your brain and make you feel or be sick. It often helps to face forward in the vehicle and look out of the window at a fixed point on the horizon.

You can get drugs to prevent motion sickness on prescription from your GP and over the counter from the chemist. Some of these drugs can cause drowsiness, so check this with your doctor first.

Some people find that travel sickness wrist bands also help. They are also called acupressure bracelets or Seabands.

Infections and food poisoning

An infection can make you feel or be sick. The sickness will usually stop when the infection is treated.

Infections picked up from food (food poisoning) usually last between 24 and 48 hours (1 to 2 full days). It is important to see your doctor if your sickness lasts for longer.

Hunger

Many of us have had that feeling of being so hungry you feel sick. Try to avoid this by eating small meals at regular times and by drinking 6 to 8 glasses of water each day.

Bowel problems

Both constipation and diarrhoea can make you feel or be sick. Treating the cause will reduce the sickness. 

Sickness before treatment

Sickness, before you have treatment, is called anticipatory nausea and vomiting. It happens because you have bad memories of chemotherapy sickness in the past. You could be so worried about this that just thinking about treatment makes you sick. Some people are sick as they get to the hospital or when the nurse starts to set up the drip. 

Your doctor or nurse can give you anti sickness tablets or anti anxiety medicines such as lorazepam. You take them before you go to the hospital on treatment days if this is a problem for you.