Managing Motion Sickness

Don't ever tell the parents of a child who vomits within 15 minutes of the start of a car trip that travel sickness is all in the mind. This malady is very real and about fifty percent of children under the age of 12 suffer. However the good news is, a number of children out-grow the disorder. But, motion sickness isn't just a problem for kids, many adults are also prone to it. Cold sweats, pallor, dizziness and vomiting are all symptoms of motion sickness.

Motion sickness is explained by the doctors as a mismatch between the message reaching the brain from the eyes and the contradictory information arriving from the ears, which register balance. When the inner ear is jostled, say while sailing on rough waters or flying through turbulent skies, it sends signals to the brain letting it know the body is off balance. This in turn triggers dizziness and nausea. Even if you're in a ship's cabin, for example, not looking at the waves, the body can still detect motion. Watching a fast-moving movie that mimics a roller-coaster ride can make some people sick, because the eyes tell the brain that they're being tossed around, even though they're sitting perfectly still.

The way to deal with it is to reconcile the two messages as much as possible. In the car, or on a boat, fix your eyes on the horizon and move with the vehicle. You can watch the rolling or swaying motion that the tiny hairs registering balance in your ears are perceiving. Or you can lie down and shut your eyes, in an attempt to block out one set of messages.

The greater the motion, the worse the feeling of nausea, so the best seat is the most stable one. The back seat of the bus is not a good idea. Sitting between the wings of a plane can help, and the middle of the boat is usually the best place to be.

Eating heavily is to be avoided as large quantities of food or drink sloshing around in the stomach tends to increase the feeling of motion. Several studies have shown the type of meal you consume before you fly or sail may influence whether or not you'll get motion sick. In one study the dietary intakes of professional pilots, both men and women, were compared to the incidence of airsickness. The results found eating high-sodium foods such as luncheon meat, potato chips, or corn chips and eating high-protein foods such as meats and cheese, correlated highly with motion sickness, as did high-calorie intake in general. Pilots who ate fewer calories and included carbohydrate-rich foods like breads and cereals in their meals just prior to flight had a much lower incidence of sickness.

There are several varieties of over-the-counter medications for motion sickness, however many have side-effects. Dry mouth, drowsiness and blurred vision are three common complaints. Drugs like Dramamine work by blocking nerve signals between the inner ear and the part of the brain that triggers vomiting. Those who dislike the idea of drugs can try elastic wristbands, which are supposed to exert pressure on acupuncture points.

Many physicians believe the best cure is scopolamine. Available in prescription only, this is a patch you wear behind the ear. The medication is absorbed directly into the skin and blocks the nerve signals from the inner ear. The most recent version, called the Transderm-V was released last year with reportedly less side-effects than past patches. The new patch keeps a constant level of the drug in your blood. Two patches cost around ten dollars.

For those who put their faith in herbal cures, ginger is popular. Ginger, in the form of ginger ale, ginger pills, or ginger candy, has long been regarded as an antidote for nausea and vomiting, resulting from motion sickness. In fact, health officials in Germany recommend ginger as a treatment for both motion sickness and indigestion.

Back in the science lab, however, researchers have yet to show unequivocally that ginger works as a remedy for people who turn green when the going gets bumpy. A small study of college students in 1982 suggested a powdered ginger preparation could significantly quell symptoms of motion sickness, but later studies have come up with mixed results. Overall, the studies indicate that at most, ginger might affect the gastrointestinal tract in some way that helps ease nausea.

Some other suggestions to combat motion sickness are:

- Don't drink alcohol before or during a trip.

- Don't try to read while in motion.

- If riding in a car, stick to the front seat.

- Focus your eyes on the horizon.

- Relax, take deep breaths and get some fresh air if possible.