Acupuncture for helping nausea during chemotherapy

I’d like to talk about acupuncture for the type of sickness and nausea that can sometimes be associated with chemotherapy.

In my experience nausea is one of the most difficult problems for people to deal with. I see this a lot when I am treating people who are undergoing chemotherapy.

Not everyone gets sick with chemotherapy, the symptoms vary according to the types of drug used and also depend on the individual.

Some people get terribly travel sick, or have severe morning sickness, while others barely experience any trouble at all. This tendency can sometimes be a predictor for the people who might have more of a problem with nausea and sickness during chemotherapy.

Nausea and sickness can be very complex to treat because the body reacts with these symptoms for so many reasons.

Anxiety can be a key culprit for worsening symptoms.

Tiredness can too, as can going without food or drink for too long.

Conventional medicine has a whole host of different drugs for helping reduce vomiting but can be less effective at treating nausea.

Unfortunately it is often the continual nausea which people find so debilitating, draining them of their ability to cope.

Acupuncture can be helpful here.

There are some key acupuncture points which help reduce the sensation of nausea, allowing space for people to feel themselves again and start to regain some sense of control.

Acupressure bands can be bought (or you can make your own with some elastic and a bead or button sewn in place).

If you do try these then take them along to an acupuncturist  who can show you the correct positioning as the instructions on the bands which are available to buy, don’t give the positioning in quite the right place.