Can acupuncture stop the gag? new study investigates
NCT ID NCT07664826
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tests whether acupuncture at specific points on the chin, wrist, and foot can reduce the gag reflex in 30 healthy volunteers. Participants will receive acupuncture at different points in random order, and researchers will measure how far a saliva injector can be inserted before gagging starts. A second part will test if numbing cream blocks the effect.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Acupuncture (needling at acupoints CV24, PC6, and K3)
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could point toward a non-drug way to help people with a strong gag reflex during dental or medical procedures.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, early study in healthy volunteers, not patients. The effect may not apply to real-world medical settings or last long.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 30 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Jan 2026
- Expected to finish
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Aug 2026
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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20 to 40 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Accepted
You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: 1. Healthy volunteers aged between 20-40 years old with an American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status of I to II naïve to acupuncture 2. Participants without previous opioid and psychotropic medication 3. Without use of recreational drugs 3 days prior to study sessions 4. Without systemic disease or local skin lesions at the sites of acupuncture 5. Without drug allergy to local anesthetics, especially EMLA preparation 6. Participants who have given written informed consent Exclusion Criteria: 1. Local skin infection at the sites of acupuncture 2. Aged \< 20 or \> 35 years 3. History of drug allergy to local anesthetics 4. Participants who are unable to understand the consent form or to use numeric rating scale NRS-11 Discontinuation Criteria 1. Any adverse effects during study session 2. In case of local or systemic infection 3. In case if subject will withdraw from participation in this study at any time, for any reason, specified or non-specified, and without penalty or loss of benefits
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As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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University Medicine of Greifswald
RECRUITINGGreifswald, 17475, Germany