Motion Sickness
The brain gets an instant report from your ears, eyes, skin and muscles and tries to put together a total picture about what you are doing just at that moment. But if any of the pieces of this picture don't match, you can get motion sickness. Motion sickness is often attributed to lack of synchronicity between what the eyes see and what the ears hear. For e.g.: During driving your eyes and ears are working cooperatively, or sitting in the front seat where you can watch the road. Motion sickness occurs when the body is subjected to accelerations of movement in different directions. In motion sickness the sense of balance and equilibrium is affected.
Causes:
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Conflicting Messages: when we walk, the input from all three pathways is coordinated by our brain. When there is unintentional movement of the body, as occurs during motion when driving in a car, the brain is not coordinating the input, and there is thought to be discoordination or conflict among the input from the three pathways. It is hypothesized that the conflict among the inputs is responsible for motion sickness.
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Age: Children suffer more from motion sickness than adults and usually adults over 50 rarely suffer from motion sickness.
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Racial and Genetic Differences: As you may have observed some families suffer from motion sickness more than others, there is also a racial difference which was shown in a medical trial. The Asian-American children suffered the most motion sickness, 100% of them and it was so bad for some of them they asked to leave the trial early.
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Pre Trip: Many times the previous 24 hours are the reason for motion sickness not the journey itself. Hangovers, over tiredness, anxiety, minor illnesses all contribute to motion sickness. A heavy meal, full of fat and possibly over spiced does not help either. Too many carbonated and or alcoholic drinks can unsettle your stomach which will make you more sensitive to motion sickness during the journey. Therefore if you are not fit, rested and healthy you will probably suffer more motion sickness than you usually do.
Symptoms of motion sickness can include:
- Generally feeling unwell
- Excessive production of saliva
- Headache
- Nausea
- Dizziness
- Hyperventilating
- Heavy sweating
- Weakness
- Losing color in the face or turning red
- Vomiting.
How to avoid motion sickness:
- While travelling always sit facing forward. Don't face backward in your seat or sit in a seat that faces backward.
- When you are inside the car try to see and enjoy the stuff far away. And if you are in sea go to the top deck and look far out into the horizon - where the sea and sky meet. On an airplane, try to look out the window. This way, you can pass on a message to your brain that you are moving.
- Whatever you're travelling, try sitting closer to the center of the vehicle (plane, boat) rather than at the sides or the front.
- The larger the vehicle, the less susceptible it is to motion.
- Some people find that closing their eyes is the best way to eliminate sensory confusion.
- Cut back on, or eliminate alcoholic drinks and don't have any alcohol for 24 hours before travelling.
- On long journeys, eat and drink sparingly and often, while on brief journeys, try not to eat or drink anything.
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Anxiety worsens symptoms. Try to relax.
Treatment:
Antihistamine medications are commonly used
in the prevention and treatment of motion sickness
- These medicines seem to prevent and treat the nausea, vomiting, and dizziness caused by motion sickness
- Use of popular acupressure bands, worn around the wrist to apply pressure to the P6 point, also showed no benefit for combating motion sickness
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Another class of medications (belladonna) used to prevent motion sickness; this is applied behind the ear at least four hours in advance of the motion activity.
Motion sickness is just a minor annoyance however it may not feel so minor sometime. Some travelers, however, can be incapacitated by motion sickness.
(Sources: medicinenet.com, kidshealth.org, tripease.org, betterhealth.vic.gov.au)
(Image sources: travel-eat-sleep.com/do-you-suffer-from-travel-sickness/, motionsickness.net/aboutms.html, ehow.com/how_4480043_car-sickness-motion-sickness-naturally.html)
