Vertigo and Feeling Sick: What to Log on Nausea Days

Updated 29 Oct 2026

On a vertigo day, feeling sick can be the part that wears you down most, and it is easy to lose track of when it started, what you kept down, and what you took.

This guide explains what to log on nausea days: timing beside the spinning, fluids and vomiting, other symptoms, medicines, and when the NHS says to get help quickly.

Why log nausea on vertigo days

The NHS describes vertigo as feeling like you or everything around you is spinning, enough to affect your balance, and says an attack can last from a few seconds to hours (NHS). Its page on feeling sick lists dizziness among the other symptoms that may point to labyrinthitis or vertigo as the cause (NHS). For labyrinthitis, it lists feeling sick (nausea) or being sick (vomiting) among the most common symptoms (NHS).

The NHS also lists feeling or being sick among the symptoms that are a reason to see a GP with dizziness (NHS), so a clear record of nausea is useful at the appointment.

A log helps separate a short wave of nausea during a spin from sickness that lasts all day. It also shows whether nausea comes with each attack or only some, which is hard to recall later.

In Vertigo Journey, the Daily check-in keeps spin intensity and nausea on the same date.

How to log nausea beside the spinning

The NHS notes labyrinthitis symptoms can start suddenly, may be there when you wake up, and get worse as the day goes on, and often ease after a few days (NHS). That makes timing worth writing down.

For each episode, note when the spinning started, when nausea started, and when each eased. Rate both from 0 to 10. Add what you were doing: getting up, turning your head, eating, or resting.

If nausea starts before the spinning, after it, or only when you move, write that as it happens. Your doctor may ask, and the order is easy to forget once the day is over.

The NHS advises lying still in a quiet, dark room to reduce the spinning feeling (NHS). If you do, note how long you lay down and whether the nausea eased.

In Vertigo Journey, the Daily check-in holds intensity and duration, and the Flare Tracker marks a day clearly worse than usual.

How to log fluids, food, and vomiting

The NHS warns that if you're also being sick, you could become dehydrated (NHS). For labyrinthitis, it advises drinking plenty of water if you're being sick, and says it's best to drink little and often (NHS). Its feeling-sick page suggests taking regular sips of a cold drink and eating smaller, more frequent meals, and advises against hot, fried or greasy food and lying down soon after eating (NHS).

Log each drink with a rough amount and whether it stayed down. Count vomiting episodes with the time. Note what you ate, how much, and how you felt afterward.

Use the same measure every time, such as cups or a marked bottle, so one day can be compared with the next. A short line is enough on a bad day.

In Vertigo Journey, the Food Tracker keeps meals, and the Daily Journal holds fluid and vomiting notes.

How to log other symptoms that come with the nausea

The NHS lists hearing loss and ringing in your ears (tinnitus) among the common symptoms of labyrinthitis, and notes vestibular neuritis does not cause hearing loss or tinnitus (NHS). It adds that if your hearing is affected, labyrinthitis is the cause (NHS). It also lists a headache with sensitivity to light or sound as a symptom that may point to migraine as a cause of feeling sick (NHS).

So beside each nausea entry, note any hearing change, ringing, ear fullness, headache, light or sound sensitivity, and temperature. Mark which ear, if it is one side.

The NHS advises an urgent GP appointment or NHS 111 if you have sudden hearing loss in one ear (NHS), and if you have vertigo with a severe headache, are being sick or feel very sick, or have a very high temperature (NHS).

In Vertigo Journey, the Daily check-in keeps ear symptoms on the same date as the spinning.

How to log anti-sickness medicines

For labyrinthitis or vestibular neuritis, the NHS says a GP may prescribe antihistamines, motion sickness tablets or anti-sickness medicines for up to 3 days, and advises not taking them for any longer, as they can slow down your recovery (NHS). It also notes antihistamines can sometimes help with vertigo symptoms (NHS).

Log each dose with the date and time, and rate nausea and dizziness before and a while after. Write the first and last day you took it, so the length of the course is clear.

The NHS lists medicines among other reasons for feeling sick (NHS), and side effects of new prescription medicine among possible causes of dizziness (NHS). Note the start date of any new medicine, and let your doctor decide what to change.

In Vertigo Journey, My Meds keeps doses and timing.

When to get help, and what to bring

The NHS advises calling 999 or going to A&E if you have vertigo and double vision or loss of vision, hearing loss, trouble speaking, or leg or arm weakness, numbness or tingling (NHS). It also advises calling 999 if you suddenly feel sick and have chest pain that feels tight or heavy, pain that spreads to your arms, back, neck or jaw, or shortness of breath (NHS). In the US, call 911 or go to the ER for these signs, and use urgent care or your primary care doctor where the NHS mentions a GP.

For non-urgent care, it advises seeing a GP if you feel sick and do not feel better in a few days, or often feel sick (NHS), and if labyrinthitis symptoms do not get better after a few days or are getting worse (NHS). Bring a short summary: days with nausea, vomiting counts, fluids kept down, and any medicines with dates.

For more, see how to get through a flare day without losing notes, what to log in the hours after head movement, and vertigo vs lightheadedness.

In Vertigo Journey, the Doctor Report builds a dated summary for a saved doctor.

How Vertigo Journey can help

A notebook can hold dates. The harder part is keeping symptoms, ears, sleep, medicines, and daily limits in the same record, so the pattern is visible when you need it.

Vertigo Journey is a personal vertigo tracker from Health Journey Labs on the App Store and Google Play. It records attacks, steadiness, ear symptoms, sleep, stress, medicines, and test dates in one dated history, and its insights show which habits and treatments come before calmer or harder weeks. Learn explains the condition in plain words, and the AI companions, such as Clara, answer questions when a new symptom is hard to read. Below is what you can use and how each part helps:

• Daily check-in — A short guided pass across symptoms, mood, nutrition, sleep, exercise, meds, and external factors, including spin intensity, duration, triggers, nausea, and balance limits, so links you would not remember on your own show up side by side.
• Daily Journal — Freer notes, including voice when screens feel unsteady, that add detail a score alone cannot show.
• Flare Tracker — Mark an episode clearly worse than usual, so you can tell a one-off spike from a repeating pattern.
• My Meds — Medicine names and timing, so you can line up a start date or dose change with episode frequency and duration.
• My Labs — Result dates for hearing tests, imaging, and other workups, compared with how you felt in the weeks before and after.
• Weekly Goals — Set one small aim, such as balance exercises, and see whether it held and whether episodes changed.
• Learn — Short education topics on vertigo themes such as positional triggers, balance, sleep, and visit preparation.
• AI companions — Clara and specialist companions already see your logged history, which helps with visit wording or questions after a new diagnosis.
• My Care Team — A profile for each clinician, plus upcoming appointments and notes for each visit, used before, during, and after appointments.
• Doctor Report — Two views: the Appointment Planning Report helps you prepare what to ask, and Generate Report, opened from a saved doctor, builds a dated summary of your recent progress for that doctor.
• My Assessments — Structured check-ins that add context about you across weeks.
• Food Tracker — Meal and drink lines when salt, alcohol, or caffeine is something you and your clinician are watching.
• Period Tracker — Cycle dates, so you can see whether episodes or headaches cluster at a certain point in the cycle.
• Weight Tracker — Weight entries when weight is part of what you and your clinician are watching.

Everything you log builds one history. Guided forms include the key questions, and you can add custom symptoms when you need your own labels. Vertigo Journey is free to download.

Sources

• NHS — Vertigo
• NHS — Feeling sick (nausea)
• NHS — Labyrinthitis and vestibular neuritis
• NHS — Dizziness

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