Makes me feel fortunate I don't suffer nausea. For those that do, cool there is another solution.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Review: Reliefband Flex Attaches to Your Apple Watch to Quell Motion Sickness
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Median Nerve Stimulation
Stimulating the median nerve in your wrist sends a signal through your nerves to the gastric center in your brain, the part of the brain that controls nausea. The gastric center system then sends another signal through the vagus nerve to your stomach that helps reduce feelings of nausea.
P6 Accupoint stimulation is a thing.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3113464/
https://trialsjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1745-6215-14-153
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3113464/
https://trialsjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1745-6215-14-153
We use elastic bands for my kids as well , on the wrists and it worksYea I’ve been “suffering” from car sickness etc all my life, but I’d rather just throw up and be done with it for a while than deal with this contraption.
On the boat if the surfs are too big
it doesn't and it happens the other part LOL
What utter nonsense. Placebo effect works 100% for ~30% of people! 🤭
This makes no sense whatsoever. The feeling of nausea isn't somehow controlled in your stomach, it's controlled in the brain. You don't "send a signal down to your stomach" to reduce nausea. Nausea in motion sickness etc. comes from a disconnect between the balance perception in the inner ear and visual perception of movement of the head versus surroundings. It doesn't come from your stomach and neither does it have to "travel down" to your stomach.
If you have to vomit from being nauseous and this contraption were to work according to the mechanism laid out here, you'd still be nauseous as hell but just wouldn't vomit.
Lol, yeah you’re totally right, sorry for not using the /s in that post, thought it was obviously
Aww yeah, invent more junk to compensate for ill effects caused by other very expensive junk.
For $3k you’d think Vision Pro wouldn’t have any ill effects whatsoever. But ppl will still buy it and make themselves sick and blind just to consume content and be cool. No thx.
For $3k you’d think Vision Pro wouldn’t have any ill effects whatsoever. But ppl will still buy it and make themselves sick and blind just to consume content and be cool. No thx.
Last edited:
Lots of doubters on here, who I suspect never suffered from motion sickness, a couple of people that have and used it.
The $180 Reliefband Flex is an anti-nausea accessory that is designed to attach to an Apple Watch, allowing for a single wrist-worn device that is able to cut down on or eliminate motion sickness, migraine nausea, pregnancy nausea, and more.
You might be wondering what an anti-nausea device has to do with Apple, but many VR headsets cause motion sickness in people who are prone to feeling ill from motion, and Apple's own VR headset is set to launch in the not too distant future. The Apple Vision Pro won't be coming until 2024, so it's not yet clear if it will cause the same motion sickness in vulnerable people that other headsets cause, but if it does, the Reliefband might be a solution for some.
I am prone to motion sickness, so I thought I'd give the Reliefband a try. I get ill from car rides, 3D rides (and sometimes movies), VR headsets, boats, and first-person shooter video games - basically anything where my brain gets signals that I'm moving while my body is stationary. I've always had this problem, so I'm familiar with various treatments.
The Reliefband uses electrical pulses targeted at the underside of the wrist. It targets the median nerve in the wrist, and the pulses stimulate the nerve to interrupt nausea signals traveling to the brain. There are several similar products on the market, and there have been studies that suggest this kind of acustimulation is effective for nausea, but there have also been studies that suggest it is not, so keep that in mind here.
The Reliefband Flex that I tested looks like a medical device. It's not at all sleek, and in fact, it's bulky on my small wrist. It's made from a plastic material with a button and pulse level indicators on the front and two metal plates on the back. It has watch straps and can be worn alone with a nylon band, but it is also designed to attach to an Apple Watch.
Reliefband provides a special band that attaches to both the Apple Watch and the Reliefband hardware, so the Apple Watch goes on the top of the wrist and the Reliefband goes at the underside of the wrist. With this setup, you don't have to wear a device on both wrists if you need the benefits of the Reliefband.
I have small wrists so there's not a lot of space between the Apple Watch and the Reliefband, and it's not the most comfortable setup, but it can be better than having two separate devices. The band that Reliefband provides is reasonably comfortable, and it reminds me of Apple's woven bands, but again, there's a lot of bulk on a small wrist with the dual-band setup. The band is made of a soft velcro-like material with velcro fasteners to size it. The Flex version uses replaceable batteries, so it does not need to be charged. Batteries need to be swapped at around the year mark, though that varies based on usage.
To get the Reliefband to work properly, it needs to be precisely positioned. It has to go a half inch or so above the crease of the wrist, and it needs to be in the middle of the wrist. When it's turned on and in the proper spot, the pulses are felt in the palm and the middle finger. To use the Reliefband, conductivity gel is required, and a small tube comes with the device. The gel needs to be applied before use and also refreshed if it wears off because it makes the pulsing less uncomfortable and more effective.
There are five levels of power with the Reliefband Flex, and the idea is to set it on the lowest level that you need to address nausea. To me, it feels a little bit like getting a small shock. I did not find levels 1-3 to be too painful, but levels four and five really get my attention. With the lower levels, the pulsing can kind of fade into the background, and I think on someone with a larger wrist, the higher levels would too.
So does it work? For me, yes and no. I experimented with the Reliefband several times, in the car, when I had nausea from a migraine, playing a first-person video game, and using an Oculus, which always makes me ill. If I put the Reliefband on before I anticipated getting motion sick, it kept it at bay. Putting it on when I was already feeling nauseous did not work as well.
I think part of the reason fo... Click here to read rest of article
Article Link: Review: Reliefband Flex Attaches to Your Apple Watch to Quell Motion Sickness
I don't suffer from it, however my son does, with a 14 days returns policy, no real reason not to give it a try.
I have some snake oil to send you that helps with motion sickness as well.
And the Apple Watch without one is even more effective as an anti-nausea product.
It's a known pressure point on your wrist and putting pressure on it works for some people.
Acupressure for Nausea and Vomiting
This information explains how to use acupressure (AK-yoo-PREH-sher) to help with nausea and prevent vomiting. Nausea is feeling like you’re going to throw up. Vomiting is throwing up.
www.mskcc.org
Last edited by a moderator:
Yep, that's taken from the website of Sense Relief App. An Apple watch app that uses the Taptic engine to stimulator your median nerve and do the same job as this $180 'device'.
It's pure snake oil. The Median nerve supplies motor control and touch sensitivity to the arm and hand. There is no magic connection to the gastric center except that every thing eventually gets back to the brain.
And I love language in their site like it's "FDA cleared". I found the FDA letter, https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/cdrh_docs/pdf18/K182960.pdf They basically say it's the same as a device from before 1976 so they can sell it for now but that doesn't mean it meets FDA guidelines.
Edit: Here's an FDA link to a 1998 reliefband that does the exact same thing. I couldn't find the 1976 version yet. I guess every 20+ years they sell the same scam to the next generation. https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/cdrh_docs/pdf/K980333.pdf
And here's an 1997 LA Times article that refers to motion sickness cures including the 'new' reliefband. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-02-09-tr-26894-story.html
Last edited:
This is a scam... but buy what you wantIt's a known pressure point on your wrist and putting pressure on it works for some people.
Acupressure for Nausea and Vomiting
This information explains how to use acupressure (AK-yoo-PREH-sher) to help with nausea and prevent vomiting. Nausea is feeling like you’re going to throw up. Vomiting is throwing up.
Last edited by a moderator:
pressure points are not the valid scientific point you think you're making...It's a known pressure point on your wrist and putting pressure on it works for some people.
Acupressure for Nausea and Vomiting
This information explains how to use acupressure (AK-yoo-PREH-sher) to help with nausea and prevent vomiting. Nausea is feeling like you’re going to throw up. Vomiting is throwing up.
Last edited by a moderator:
Been a sailor my entire life for fun, a pilot my entire adult career. Have seen my fair share of motion sickness. SEABands and Ginger Ale are my go-to because they rarely fail.
Can an electrical pulse interrupt the signal that send to the brain itself regardless of where the source is? Isn't Meridian is interconnected acupuncture points?
We're talking about biology. acupuncture points and stuff like that are not biology but pseudoscientific belief.
Pure snake oil, electric snake oil.
The $180 Reliefband Flex is an anti-nausea accessory that is designed to attach to an Apple Watch, allowing for a single wrist-worn device that is able to cut down on or eliminate motion sickness, migraine nausea, pregnancy nausea, and more.
You might be wondering what an anti-nausea device has to do with Apple, but many VR headsets cause motion sickness in people who are prone to feeling ill from motion, and Apple's own VR headset is set to launch in the not too distant future. The Apple Vision Pro won't be coming until 2024, so it's not yet clear if it will cause the same motion sickness in vulnerable people that other headsets cause, but if it does, the Reliefband might be a solution for some.
I am prone to motion sickness, so I thought I'd give the Reliefband a try. I get ill from car rides, 3D rides (and sometimes movies), VR headsets, boats, and first-person shooter video games - basically anything where my brain gets signals that I'm moving while my body is stationary. I've always had this problem, so I'm familiar with various treatments.
The Reliefband uses electrical pulses targeted at the underside of the wrist. It targets the median nerve in the wrist, and the pulses stimulate the nerve to interrupt nausea signals traveling to the brain. There are several similar products on the market, and there have been studies that suggest this kind of acustimulation is effective for nausea, but there have also been studies that suggest it is not, so keep that in mind here.
The Reliefband Flex that I tested looks like a medical device. It's not at all sleek, and in fact, it's bulky on my small wrist. It's made from a plastic material with a button and pulse level indicators on the front and two metal plates on the back. It has watch straps and can be worn alone with a nylon band, but it is also designed to attach to an Apple Watch.
Reliefband provides a special band that attaches to both the Apple Watch and the Reliefband hardware, so the Apple Watch goes on the top of the wrist and the Reliefband goes at the underside of the wrist. With this setup, you don't have to wear a device on both wrists if you need the benefits of the Reliefband.
I have small wrists so there's not a lot of space between the Apple Watch and the Reliefband, and it's not the most comfortable setup, but it can be better than having two separate devices. The band that Reliefband provides is reasonably comfortable, and it reminds me of Apple's woven bands, but again, there's a lot of bulk on a small wrist with the dual-band setup. The band is made of a soft velcro-like material with velcro fasteners to size it. The Flex version uses replaceable batteries, so it does not need to be charged. Batteries need to be swapped at around the year mark, though that varies based on usage.
To get the Reliefband to work properly, it needs to be precisely positioned. It has to go a half inch or so above the crease of the wrist, and it needs to be in the middle of the wrist. When it's turned on and in the proper spot, the pulses are felt in the palm and the middle finger. To use the Reliefband, conductivity gel is required, and a small tube comes with the device. The gel needs to be applied before use and also refreshed if it wears off because it makes the pulsing less uncomfortable and more effective.
There are five levels of power with the Reliefband Flex, and the idea is to set it on the lowest level that you need to address nausea. To me, it feels a little bit like getting a small shock. I did not find levels 1-3 to be too painful, but levels four and five really get my attention. With the lower levels, the pulsing can kind of fade into the background, and I think on someone with a larger wrist, the higher levels would too.
So does it work? For me, yes and no. I experimented with the Reliefband several times, in the car, when I had nausea from a migraine, playing a first-person video game, and using an Oculus, which always makes me ill. If I put the Reliefband on before I anticipated getting motion sick, it kept it at bay. Putting it on when I was already feeling nauseous did not work as well.
I think part of the reason fo... Click here to read rest of article
Article Link: Review: Reliefband Flex Attaches to Your Apple Watch to Quell Motion Sickness
I got one of these to try on a long flight earlier this summer. I get really sick flying. It made a HUGE difference for me over the manual wrist bands that I’d had some luck with prior. I felt almost normal for the majority of the two flights. I understand the skepticism from people who don’t get motion sickness, but if you do I recommend trying it.
I was a little surprised that it feels like a strong electrical shock, but I got used to it pretty quickly. I sometimes took mine up to around a 6 (I think my model goes up to 8 or 9). My wife was so happy that she kept making sure I didn’t misplace it before the return flight, lol.
I was a little surprised that it feels like a strong electrical shock, but I got used to it pretty quickly. I sometimes took mine up to around a 6 (I think my model goes up to 8 or 9). My wife was so happy that she kept making sure I didn’t misplace it before the return flight, lol.
A comparable effect comes for free from a finger. Use your right index finger to press the inside of your left wrist (or vice versa) until you find a spot that causes your left fingertips to go numb. That is an accupunture point for alleviating nausea.