Which may help reduce your patient's nausea?

• A. Cricoid pressure
• B. Oral glucose
• C. Positive-pressure ventilation
• D. Low-flow oxygen

Answer: (D)

Improving oxygenation can directly reduce nausea when the cause is low blood oxygen. If a patient is hypoxemic, tissue oxygen delivery drops, which can trigger or worsen feelings of nausea. Providing supplemental oxygen at a low flow rate raises arterial oxygen levels, helps restore normal brain and organ function, and often relieves nausea as the body’s stress response eases.

Cricoid pressure is an airway technique aimed at preventing aspiration during airway management, not at treating nausea. Oral glucose is useful if nausea is due to low blood sugar, but it won’t help if hypoxia is the culprit, and giving glucose without checking blood sugar isn’t always appropriate. Positive-pressure ventilation can introduce more air into the stomach and may worsen discomfort or nausea in some patients. Low-flow oxygen, by addressing a common underlying cause, is the most straightforward way to alleviate nausea in the scenario described.