Comparison of the Therapeutic Effect of Acupressure Therapy and Iberogast ® (STW-5) in Children With Functional Nausea
Comparison of the Therapeutic Effect of Acupressure Therapy and Iberogast ® (STW-5) in Children With Functional Nausea
Functional gastrointestinal disorders are common disorders that are characterized by
 persistent and recurring GI symptoms. These occur as a result of abnormal functioning of the
 GI tract and are not caused by structural or biochemical abnormalities. As a result, medical
 tests- such as blood tests and endoscopic exams- have essentially normal/negative
 (non-disease) results. More than 20 functional GI disorders have been identified. They can
 affect any part of the GI tract. One of the most common functional disorders is nausea and
 dyspepsia (pain or discomfort in the upper abdominal area, feeling of fullness, bloating).
 Any chronic illness, including functional nausea, will affect a person's health-related
 quality of life (general well-being, ability to carry out everyday activities), additional
 psychosocial disturbances and amplify the experienced illness.

 The majority of children suffering from functional nausea in Europe are treated with
 Iberogast®. a herbal mixture, whose effect was demonstrated in several studies. Since
 Iberogast® is not available in the United States of America, children there receive an
 acupressure therapy. The American gastroenterologists refer hereby to several studies, which
 have shown, that the positive effect of such therapies in patients with chemotherapy-induced
 nausea is even greater than a therapy with ondansetron. Since acupressure is able to reduce
 somatic nausea, it is also believed to decrease functional nausea, but it has never been
 investigated. Therefore, there are no data. That's why Investigators want to compare the
 efficacy of these two therapies, that is, Iberogast® and acupressure
Functional gastrointestinal disorders are common disorders that are characterized by
 persistent and recurring GI symptoms. These occur as a result of abnormal functioning of the
 GI tract and are not caused by structural or biochemical abnormalities. As a result, medical
 tests- such as blood tests and endoscopic exams- have essentially normal/negative
 (non-disease) results. More than 20 functional GI disorders have been identified. They can
 affect any part of the GI tract. One of the most common functional disorders is nausea and
 dyspepsia (pain or discomfort in the upper abdominal area, feeling of fullness, bloating).
 Any chronic illness, including functional nausea, will affect a person's health-related
 quality of life (general well-being, ability to carry out everyday activities), additional
 psychosocial disturbances and amplify the experienced illness.

 However, the majority of children suffering from functional Nausea in Europe get treated with
 Iberogast®: A herbal mixture, whose effect was demonstrated in several studies [10, 11].
 Since Iberogast® is not available in the United States of America, children receive there an
 acupressure therapy. The American gastroenterologists refer hereby to several studies, which
 have shown, that the effect of such therapies in patient with chemotherapy-induced nausea is
 even greater than the taking of ondansetron [12,13 ]. Since acupressure is capable to reduce
 somatic nausea, it is also believed to decrease functional nausea, but it has never been
 investigated, therefore no data are available. That's why Investigators plan to compare the
 efficiency of these two therapies.

 Furthermore Investigators want to measure the cognitive performance before and after the
 intervention to proof a possible effect on the 'gut-brain-axis'. For this purpose the
 participants have to do the 'Flanker Task', a standardised test on the computer.
Inclusion Criteria:

 -  Functional nausea (normal endoscopy findings)

 Exclusion Criteria:

 -  Gastrointestinal infection less than 2 weeks ago

 -  Known chronic gastrointestinal disease

 -  Use of drugs 2 weeks prior to starting the study