Aviat Space Environ Med. 1990 Apr; 61(4): 361-5.

Acupressure and motion sickness.

Bruce DG, Golding JF, Hockenhull N, Pethybridge RJ.

Institute of Naval Medicine, Gosport, Hants, England.

The effectiveness of the "Sea Band" acupressure band compared with placebo and hyoscine (0.6 mg), also known as scopolamine, to increase tolerance to a laboratory nauseogenic cross-coupled motion challenge was assessed using 18 subjects. The results showed that the subjects had a significant increase in tolerance with hyoscine but had no increase in tolerance with the "Sea Band" or placebo. Possible reasons for the failure to show any significant protection from the use of these acupressure bands are insufficient movement of the wrist to provide continuous stimulation, and/or the likelihood that only a minority of the population would show non-negligible benefit as experience with medical acupressure would suggest. The application of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation may be worthy of study.