Nausea and acupressure

Acupressure and nausea

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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 when you press firmly down on pressure point P-6 (also called point PC6 or Neiguan). This is the groove between the two large tendons on the inside of your wrist that start at the base of your palm.

To find the pressure point on your left wrist:

Place the first three fingers on your right hand flat across your left wrist, positioned just below the crease in your wrist.
Then place the thumb from your right hand below your fingers. Find the space between the two large tendons that run down the wrist.
Apply firm pressure using your thumb. It should not hurt.

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 pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/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. Editorial update 11/15/2024.

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