We learned this trick from a nurse who took care of my husband after his thyroidectomy surgery. Being that his throat was the surgical site, we were very anxious that he not wretch and disrupt his stitches. When he felt a wave of nausea, the nurse would have him put an alcohol wipe (the kind they wipe your skin with when you get a shot) next to his nose and have him inhale. I don't know why it works, but I can tell you it really helps. We found it also helped prevent vomiting after his gall bladder surgery. He just kept the alcohol wipe near his nose until the nausea passed. I have used this little trick several times and it always seems to work. You can buy alcohol wipes most any where, but we found that cotton balls soaked in alcohol were cheaper and worked just as well. There is also a drug brand name Zofran (nor sure of the generic name) that greatly reduces nausea. When it first came out they restricted usage to chemotherapy patients, but now that it is available in generic form, it is routinely given to control nausea from any cause.
