Research shows that there are two effective methods of managing anticipatory nausea: Progressive muscle relaxation, and ‘systematic desensitisation’. This means gradually breaking the association between going to hospital (which is the ‘trigger’) and vomiting (which is the ‘response’), by pairing triggers with neutral or pleasant events.

Basically this involves developing a list of triggers that make you feel unwell (e.g. imagine getting in the car to drive to hospital, imagine certain smells). In the table below, you might want to jot down your triggers, and then try and rank them from least to most nausea producing.

Once you have your ‘trigger’ list you can then gradually work through it, starting with the triggers that produce the least nausea, and pair these with breathing exercise and progressive muscle relaxation. It’s important to remain in that situation until you no longer are experiencing the nausea/vomiting response. Do each step frequently and repeatedly in close succession before moving onto the next step – this could be 3 to 4 times.