Nausea and acupressure

Alternative Names

Acupressure and nausea

Information

Acupressure is an ancient Chinese method that involves placing pressure on an area of your body, using fingers or another device, to make you feel better. It is similar to acupuncture. Acupressure and acupuncture work by changing the pain messages that nerves send to your brain.

Sometimes, mild nausea and even morning sickness may improve by using your middle and index fingers to press firmly down on the groove between the two large tendons on the inside of your wrist that start at the base of your palm.

Special wristbands to help relieve nausea are sold over the counter at many stores. When the band is worn around the wrist, it presses on these pressure points.

Acupuncture is often used for nausea or vomiting related to chemotherapy for cancer.

References

Deutsch JK, Hass DJ. Complementary, alternative, and integrative medicine. In: Feldman M, Friedman LS, Brandt LJ, eds. Sleisenger and Fordtran's Gastrointestinal and Liver Disease. 11th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2021:chap 131.

Lee A, Chan SKC, Fan LTY. Stimulation of the wrist acupuncture point PC6 for preventing postoperative nausea and vomiting. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2015,11:CD003281. PMID: 26522652 www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26522652.

Review Date: 7/8/2023
Reviewed By: Linda J. Vorvick, MD, Clinical Professor, Department of Family Medicine, UW Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA. Also reviewed by David C. Dugdale, MD, Medical Director, Brenda Conaway, Editorial Director, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team.

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