Discovering that you have cancer can be frightening. For many patients, dealing with the side effects of chemotherapy can be equally as frightening. Since chemotherapy treatments require you to subject your body to a significant amount of medication, you may want to avoid taking additional medications to manage the side effects associated with chemotherapy.

Here are three things you can try if you want to reduce your chemotherapy side effects without prescription medication in the future.

1. Relieve nausea through acupressure.

Feelings of nausea are common for people going through chemotherapy. Although these feelings are a normal part of the treatment process, they can contribute to your discomfort and make it difficult to eat properly. Instead of asking your doctor for a prescription to help you battle your nausea, try using acupressure to manage your symptoms instead.

Acupressure takes advantage of pressure points within the body that are associated with various bodily functions. The P6 pressure point, which is located about two inches above your wrist crease on the palm side of your arm, can be stimulated to help ease an upset stomach. Since acupressure uses only massage techniques, there is no risk of the treatment interacting badly with your chemotherapy medications.

2. Relieve metallic tastes with plastic utensils.

The medications used during chemotherapy treatment can have a dramatic effect on the way you experience tastes. If you find that your foods are starting to taste more like metal than consumable items, you may want to switch out your silverware before your ask your doctor for a prescription to help ease this side effect.

Using plastic cutlery instead of metal silverware could help you eliminate the metallic taste you experience when eating certain foods as you go through chemotherapy treatments in the future.

3. Manage fatigue through exercise.

While it may sound strange to think that getting out and moving more could help you reduce the amount of fatigue you feel when going through chemotherapy, exercise can be extremely beneficial in managing fatigue.

Rather than asking your doctor for a prescription to help increase your energy levels, try going for several short walks instead. Regular exercise can help cancer patients retain muscle tone and maintain a more positive attitude, benefits that you can use to help you  manage your fatigue during chemotherapy treatments.

There may not be a way to avoid the side effects associated with chemotherapy treatments as you battle cancer, but you can turn to complementary treatment resources for help in managing your side effects in the future. Talk to your cancer treatment clinic for more ideas.