LONDON (Reuters) - Acupuncture to the wrist can help to relieve nausea and vomiting in patients following surgery, a science magazine said on Wednesday.

A review of 26 trials involving more than 3,000 patients showed stimulating the pericardium, or P6, acupuncture point on the wrist reduces the nausea that affects about four out of five patients who have had anesthetics.

"Acupuncture is a cheap and safe way of preventing people who have just had an operation from being sick or feeling nauseous," New Scientist magazine said.

The review, which appears in The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2004, showed that patients who received P6 acupuncture were about 28 percent less likely to feel nauseous or be sick than those who received a placebo or sham treatment.

Acupuncture, which involves inserting very fine needles into the skin at specific points in the body, was also shown to be just as good as routine anti-nausea drugs in head-to-head trials.

It is one of the most popular forms of complementary medicine and has been shown to relieve headaches and migraine.

The researchers who conducted the review -- Anna Lee, of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and Mary Done, of New Children's Hospital in Sydney, Australia -- said the treatment is safe and effective and side effects are minimal.