Can a Wristband Really Get Rid of Nausea and Motion Sickness?
Everyone feels pukey from time to time. Common triggers include travel, pregnancy hormones, and chemotherapy. But nausea can be tricky to treat: What makes one person feel better may not work for someone else, says Lawrence Szarka, M.D., a gastroenterologist at the Mayo Clinic.
Complicating matters is the fact that the placebo effect is common with nausea-people often feel better simply because they believe a treatment is working, not because a reliable mechanism is involved.
For those who want to avoid over-the-counter medications like Dramamine, there are a dozen or so anti-nausea wearables on the market. Here’s what we learned about three types. (One caveat: If you’re newly feeling ill, talk to your doctor first to make sure nothing serious is going on.)
Wristbands
What they are: Wristbands use acupressure (pressure is applied to specific points along meridians on the body to keep energy owing evenly) to provide relief. A band maintains steady pressure on your P6 point, located on your inner arm just below your wrist; this stimulates the median nerve, interrupting “I’m sick” messages sent between the brain and the belly.
What we know: A 2018 study in the journal Cancer found that these types of bands did not significantly reduce nausea in pediatric cancer patients receiving chemo. But older studies showed that they reduced migraine-induced nausea as well as the frequency and severity of nausea in pregnant women.
Should you try it? Sure-the bands are safe and inexpensive. Dr. Szarka says that stimulating the P6 point can work as well as anti-nausea medications for some patients whose nausea is due to motion sickness or anesthesia.
Brands to check out: Sea-Bands are washable elastic bands. Psi Bands are plastic bands with adjustable pressure. Both can be purchased in stores or online ($10 to $15).
Acustimulation Bracelets
What they are: Battery-powered wristbands that use electrical pulses to stimulate the median nerve, disrupting nausea signals (you apply a conductivity gel on your wrist’s P6 point before slipping one on). You can adjust pulse strength depending on how sick you feel.
What we know: Acustimulation looks promising, but research is slim. One small study in the journal Military Medicine found that it prevented nausea among test subjects in a driving simulation. A review of 29 studies turned up mixed results on its ability to ease pregnancy-related nausea.
Should you try it? The fact that it’s drug- and side effect–free makes it an attractive option. “There’s little medical risk, and some people do find the bracelets helpful,” says David Odell, M.D., an assistant professor of thoracic surgery at Northwestern Medicine. But they aren’t cheap.
Brands to check out: Reliefband ($100 to $175, plus the cost of gel refills).
Neck Brace
What it is: A battery-powered wrap resembling a travel pillow, marketed to treat nausea caused by “sensory mismatch”-that is, when your eyes and inner ear detect movement while you’re still. Electrical pulses and frequencies are sent to the inner ear as well as the median and vagus nerves in the back of the neck; this is meant to break up nausea signals between the brain and the gastric system.
What we know: There’s no conclusion on whether targeting these areas alleviates nausea from motion sickness.
Should you try it? It is meant only for nausea caused by motion sickness, so it probably won’t help with nausea due to other causes. It does, however, come with a money-back guarantee.
Brands to check out: MotionCure has cornered the market on this one (about $150 online).
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