Nonpharmacologic strategies are also used to manage nausea and vomiting. These include dietary alterations (see the Nausea ¹ subsection of the Nutritional Suggestions for Symptom Management ² section in the PDQ summary on Nutrition in Cancer Care ³ for more information), hypnosis, acupuncture (see the PDQ summary on Acupuncture ⁴), acupressure,[1] relaxation techniques, behavioral therapy, and guided imagery. Guided imagery, hypnosis, and systematic desensitization as means to progressive muscle relaxation have been the most frequently studied treatments for anticipatory nausea and vomiting (ANV) and are the recommended treatments for this classically conditioned response. (Refer to the Treatment of ANV ⁵ section of this summary for more information.)

Electroacupuncture has a demonstrated benefit for acute vomiting but not for acute nausea. Acupressure appears to reduce the severity of acute nausea but has not been tested in a placebo-controlled trial. A review of the literature suggests the need for further studies of electroacupuncture in patients also receiving state-of-the-art antiemetic pharmacologic treatment, to investigate clinical usefulness.[2]

References

1. Dibble SL, Luce J, Cooper BA, et al.: Acupressure for chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting: a randomized clinical trial. Oncol Nurs Forum 34 (4): 813-20, 2007.  [PUBMED Abstract]
   
   
2. Ezzo J, Vickers A, Richardson MA, et al.: Acupuncture-point stimulation for chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting. J Clin Oncol 23 (28): 7188-98, 2005.  [PUBMED Abstract]