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Home > Tips & Information on Motion Sickness Relief > Chemotherapy Nausea Relief
What to wear when the nausea of chemotherapy is wearing on you.
Chemotherapy - the targeted use of chemicals in the treatment of cancer - is extraordinarily effective in retarding the growth and spread of cancer cells. But anyone who’s ever been through "chemo," or knows someone who’s had the treatment, can attest to the fact that this rather powerful cancer fighter produces a constellation of distressing side effects, the most common of which are nausea and vomiting. Chemotherapy-Induced Nausea and Vomiting (CINV) is usually caused by either irritation to cells in the digestive tract or an over-release of neurotransmitters by the stomach in response to the presence of what the body regards as a toxic substance. Whichever the cause, the chemotherapy drugs most likely to cause the queasiness and vomiting associated with CINV include:
- Cisplatin (Platinol)
- Carmustine (BiCNU)
- Cyclophosphamide (Cytoxan)
- Dacarbazine (DTIC-Dome)
- Streptozocin (Zanosar)
- Mechlorethamine (Mustargen)
The good news in all of this? Chemotherapy nausea relief can be achieved easily and inexpensively with pressure to a certain acupressure point on the wrist known as P-6. Doctors aren’t sure why acupressure works but clinical controlled studies demonstrate that pressure applied continually to the P-6 acupressure point at the wrist alleviates both the nausea and vomiting associated with chemotherapy.
That’s where BioBands come in. A BioBand is an adjustable wristband with a bead sewn in that is designed to exert constant pressure on the P-6 acupressure point. Doctors theorize that the attendant chemotherapy nausea relief associated with BioBands is possibly due to the release of endorphins caused by pressure from the snug fitting bead in the wristband. Other theories for why BioBand works attribute the relief to interruptions in the nervous system signals that cause nausea. Whatever the reason, millions of chemotherapy patients around the world are satisfied just to know it works.
A BioBand creates a pressure signal that travels through large-diameter nerve fibers in the median nerve to the brain. The bead in the BioBand, carefully positioned over the P-6 acupressure point, activates sensory receptors called “proprioceptors” that "short-circuit" the brain’s signals for nausea and vomiting. Chemotherapy nausea relief is usually felt within 10 minutes. There are no drugs involved and no side effects.
Want someone to thank for the invention? That would be Dr. Robert Giarrantano, M.D. who developed the device to alleviate morning sickness in his ObGyn patients. The fact that it also turns out to be a safe, simple, effective and inexpensive way to get chemotherapy nausea relief is a pleasant bonus to the millions of people treating their cancers with chemo’s potent chemical cocktails. For more information about chemotherapy nausea relief contact us today!
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