When you travel by car, boat, airplane or train and you feel that you are sick to your stomach, it is the discomfort of the motion sickness. Motion sickness is sometimes called seasickness, airsickness or carsickness.
You get motion sickness when your eyes and inner ear sends mix signals to your brain. Say for example when you are inside an airplane. Your inner ear may sense the motion of the airplane but your eyes don’t see any movement. This creates a conflict between the two senses causing motion sickness.
Anyone travelling is at risk for motion sickness. Motion sickness is common to children, women and older adults. Pregnant women are susceptible to motion sickness too. When travelling they feel uneasy. They begin to sweat and feel dizzy. Afterwards they become nauseated and start to vomit.
Motion sickness symptoms are:
Although motion sickness can make your life miserable, it doesn’t cause a long term effect. The symptoms usually disappear after the motion stops.
Motion sickness treatments consist of:
Antihistamines like Dimenhydrinate (Dramamine) can prevent or reduce the symptoms of motion sickness like nausea, vomiting and dizziness. It is available without prescription from your doctor. Dramamine works best if you take it before you travel.
Herbs like ginger, tea and peppermint reduces motion sickness as well as acupuncture.
Motion sickness can be prevented without the use of medication. The list below may help reduce or prevent motion sickness.
It’s best to prevent motion sickness. Once the symptoms start it’s hard to stop it.