Pressure Points for Nausea 止呕

The star: PC6 — Neiguan (内关)

Turn your palm up. Lay three fingers of the other hand across the wrist crease; where the third finger lands, in the valley between the two central tendons, is Neiguan — "the inner pass." Press firmly with a thumb, a slow ache rather than a stab, for a minute or two, and repeat on the other wrist.

This is the best-evidenced patch of skin in the tradition: a Cochrane review spanning dozens of randomized trials found PC6 stimulation reduces postoperative nausea and vomiting compared with sham — cutting nausea by roughly a third — with effectiveness comparable to standard antiemetic drugs, and only minor, passing side effects^[2]. Motion- sickness wrist bands ("sea-bands") are simply this point wearing elastic; trials of those ride the same literature.

The backup: ST36 — Zusanli (足三里)

Four finger-widths below the kneecap's lower edge, one finger-width toward the outside of the shin: the tradition's great stomach-settler and all-purpose fortifier^[1]. Its nausea evidence is thinner than PC6's, but as a second station it costs nothing.

The pairing that helps

The cabinet's own answer rides along nicely: fresh ginger is the herb with real nausea evidence — a cup of ginger tea while the thumb works the wrist is the tradition's full protocol for a rough morning.

When to stop pressing and call someone

Nausea with chest pain, head injury, severe abdominal pain, signs of dehydration, or that simply won't quit is a clinic matter. Pregnant readers: PC6 is the point midwives actually recommend — it's LI4 on the hand that tradition avoids in pregnancy, not this one^[1].

Reviewed 2026-08-26