Motion Sickness
Motion Sickness
Whatever the mode of transportation--car, boat, plane or even roller coaster--if you suffer from motion sickness, all roads lead to misery. Nausea. Headache. Dizziness. Cold sweats. Sometimes your lunch is moving faster than the vehicle you're traveling in. You feel like you just want to crawl under a rock and die--but you sure as heck don't want to be driven there.
"Motion sickness is caused by a conflict between what your eyes tell your brain and what your other senses tell your brain," says Robert M. Stern, Ph.D., professor of psychology at Pennsylvania State University in University Park and a researcher on motion sickness and nausea for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). For instance, if you're sitting in the back seat of a car and your eyes are focused on the front seat, your eyes are telling your brain that you're not moving. But there is a part of your inner ear that tells your brain differently. And you feel the bumps on the road; you hear the sounds of passing traffic; you may even smell the fumes. In other words, your senses signal your brain that you are moving. It's this mixed message that mixes up your insides. But here's how to remedy the problem.
Don't worry. "Nobody ever died from motion sickness, even though they've felt like they wanted to," says Dr. Stern. "That's important to mention: Anxiety is just going to make you feel worse, because it provokes some of the same undesirable body changes as motion sickness. If you relax and realize this is just a passing thing, you'll fare much better."
Face it on a full stomach. "The biggest mistake people make is not eating, mostly out of fear that if they eat, they will vomit," adds Dr. Stem. "But avoiding food is the worst thing you can do. When you don't eat, the electrical activity of the stomach becomes very unstable, and it's very easy for anything--a bad smell, the sight of another passenger getting sick, whatever--to push you over the boundary and make you vomit. You should eat a small, low-fat meal before traveling, because the stomach is slower to empty fatty foods into the intestines, and you want a meal that will pass through the stomach quickly. And then, while you're traveling, I recommend going no more than two hours without eating something, even if it's just crackers."
Look where you're going. "Being able to look out the window and follow the movement helps a great deal," adds Dr. Stern. "One reason that kids get sick in the back seat of cars so often is that they can't follow the movement of travel. They see only the back of the front seat. Of course, it's easier to watch things go by when you're in a car or boat than in an airplane. But wherever you are, if you're feeling sick, it usually helps just to 'see' where you're going."
Hold your head still. "Minimizing head movements as much as possible can prevent or lessen the effects of motion sickness," suggests Millard Reschke, Ph.D., senior scientist for sensory function and director of the Neurosensory Lab at NASA in Houston.
Cruise Control They warned you about sailing. All that movement--churning, bobbing and tossing about. But, silly you, you thought they were talking about the waves, not your insides. And now, you're as green as the ocean ... and feeling lower than Davy Jones's locker. To keep yourself shipshape during your next cruise, here are some exercises that may relieve dizziness and other symptoms of seasickness. "If you practice them before a cruise, you may help train your body and your brain not to become dizzy," says Christopher Linstrom, M.D., chief of otology and neurotology and director of residency training at the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary in New York City. "If you do these exercises during or after the cruise, they may help reestablish your sense of balance." And according to the doctor, since the nausea of seasickness oftentimes is closely related to dizziness, preventing the dizziness may help prevent the churning stomach for many people. You can do these exercises anytime, except when you're actually dizzy or seasick. (But they are not a replacement for any medication your doctor has prescribed). Nod your head. slowly, then quickly, bend your head forward, then backward, with your eyes open, 20 times. Turn your head from one side to the other slowly, then quickly, 20 times. As dizziness subsides, repeat with your eyes closed. Shrug it off. While sitting, shrug your shoulders 20 times. Turn both shoulders to the right, then to the left, 20 times. Now bend forward and pick up an object from the ground; then sit back. Again, repeat this exercise up to 20 times. Stand up, sit down. Change position from sitting to standing and back to sitting again 20 times. First do this routine with your eyes open, then repeat with your eyes closed. (It's okay to open your eyes if you feel yourself losing balance.) Now throw a small ball from hand to hand above eye level. Keep on moving. Walk across the room with your eyes open, then closed, 10 times. Walk up and down a slope with your eyes open, then closed, 20 times. Repeat on a flight of stairs. (Hold on to a railing for the portion of this exercise that's done with your eyes closed.) |
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Don't read. "Reading is one of the worst things you can do if you suffer from motion sickness--in any mode of transportation, including an airplane," says Dr. Reschke, an expert on motion sickness. (Gee, maybe it's more than coincidence that airlines place those cute little air sickness bags right next to magazines in the seat pocket in front of you.)
The reason? Focusing your eyes on the page, rather than the movement, is one way to worsen your condition.
But keep your mind busy. Listening to music, doing problems in your head or other diversionary tactics take the punch out of motion sickness. "That includes doing the driving yourself," says Dr. Stern. "People who usually get motion sickness rarely get it when they drive."
Consider nonprescription medications. Two popular over-the-counter drugs, Dramamine and Bonine, are both effective at preventing motion sickness, but they can cause drowsiness. They're most effective when taken an hour or two before traveling. They can, however, have side effects, so check with your doctor first.
Try ginger for a queasy stomach. For generations, travelers on sailing ships and in bumpy carriages took gingerroot as a cure for nausea. Today, the same motion sickness cure comes in capsules containing the powdered root, and some modern-day travelers find it effective. How much should you take? That depends on how nauseated you are, but "you will know you've had enough when you burp and taste ginger," says Daniel B. Mowrey, Ph.D., a psychologist and psychopharmacologist in Lehi, Utah.
Take the interstate instead. When traveling by car, many people avoid or minimize motion sickness by taking a route without a lot of stop-and-go movement.
