Nausea

Acupuncture can be a really effective treatment for relieving nausea whatever the cause.

Many people will have seen the travel bands which are sold often at airports to reduce travel sickness. These bands are designed to simulate the acupuncture point P6. This acupuncture point is located on the forearm between the tendons of palmaris longus and flexor carpi radialis. These are the tendons that you can feel (and sometimes see) if you make a claw with your hand. The point is one sixth of the distance from the wrist crease to the elbow crease (but it approximates to three finger widths) and if you feel carefully there is a slight hollow. You can apply pressure to this point manually without the need to buy a special band! The effect of massaging one point is obviously not as effective as having an actual acupuncture treatment however it is obviously more practical than taking an acupuncturist along on your holiday!

There are some cases situations were acupuncture can be a useful therapy for nausea. Morning sickness in the first trimester can be quite severe in some pregnancies and acupuncture can be extremely effective in eliminating this. Acupuncture can also be used to minimise the nausea caused by some drug regimes especially the nausea often caused by chemotherapy. A large scale trial is currently underway at Manchester’s Christies hospital studying the effect of acupuncture on nausea in chemotherapy patients.

Acupuncture can be used for treating nausea even when there is no obvious cause. It can also be useful for treating problems with appetite and eating disorders.

If you have any further questions about this subject please do not hesitate to ask. Email us at info@woodlandsacupuncture.co.uk and we will aim to respond within 24 hours. If you live in the Manchester area, you can make an appointment for a free 15 minute chat with the acupuncturist to find out how acupuncture could help you.