An earlier entry noted that updated guidelines for managing nausea and vomiting following surgery include acupuncture.
Five minutes of manual or electrical stimulation at the P6 acupuncture point (as shown in the illustration) is the primary point of treatment. Some supportive studies are listed here.
What issues remain to be address in clinical trials?
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A surgical procedure called a colonectomy removes part or all of the large intestine. A common side effect of this surgery is known as postoperative ileus (POI) in which bowel movement is impaired following surgery and can take 48 to 72 hours to recover.
Common symptoms experienced by patients with POI include bloating, pain, nausea and vomiting, an inability to pass stools, and an inability to eat solid food. There is also a greater risk for other complications that can prolong the time they must stay in the hospital. This, of course, results in higher health care costs.
A recently published study of 66 patients was designed to determine the usefulness of gum chewing to shortening the time to recovery from POI.
Motion sickness (or seasickness) is a common response to real and perceived movement through the environment.
On a recent cruise with my wife, the ocean got choppy one night, so she walked me to the shipboard sundry shop to buy seasickness medicine that she was convinced we would need. I disagreed, but went anyway to supervise the purchase. The choices were Dramamine (diphenhydramine) to treat existing nausea, vomiting, and dizziness from motion sickness, or ginger to prevent it.
We went with the ginger and voila, I didn’t get sick. Other anecdotal reports support our experience but clinical studies are less definitive.
What to do?
Adriane Fugh-Berman, associate professor in the complementary medicine program at Georgetown University has chronicled the lack of good treatment alternatives for hot flashes.
In February, the Danish Ministry for Family and Consumer Affairs withdrew food supplements containing saw palmetto because of concerns about its effect on the hormone system coupled with a lack of data about its safety in long-term use.
Dr. Kirsten Pilegaard, PhD, senior advisor for the Danish Institute for Food and Veterinary Research stated, “On the basis of the information available, it is not possible to establish a dose that does not give rise to concern.”
Lot?s of talk about stem cell research from Michael J. Fox, and Rush Limbaugh.
This informed perspective from Dr. Mary Davenport, an obstetrician and gynecologist, and a Fellow of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology is worth reading and considering.
Photo: High School Bioethics Project
10/25/06 21:18 JR
I noticed there are lots of 
Now that new UVA blockers are being marketed, it’s not surprising to see more research in this area. The UVA sunscreen issue has been discussed