Tired of suffering from travel sickness? Check our tips to ease your suffering.
CAUSES
The medical reason behind motion sickness is quite complex. To keep it simple, motion sickness occurs when mixed signals are sent to the brain by the eyes and the inner ear. If you cannot feel the motion your eyes see or if you cannot see the motion the body feels then it is likely you will develop motion sickness.
The chance of motion sickness occurring is increased when you are tired or stressed and occurs mostly in pregnant women and young children. There are some things you can do to try and prevent motion sickness or to alleviate the symptoms once they occur.
BEFORE
- Do not consume fatty or spicy food and avoid fizzy or alcoholic drinks.
- See your pharmacist or a medical professional to see if a motion sickness medication will work for you-taking a ginger supplement an hour before a trip is a great herbal remedy.
- Plan for regular breaks in your trip, if possible, to stretch your legs and get some fresh air.
- Get a good night’s sleep before your trip.
- Eat a light meal.
- Have a bag packed with plastic bags (in case you are sick), ginger, cold water, back-up motion sickness medication and anything that helps you stay calm or prevents your symptoms.
- If in a car, sit in the front or back-middle seat.
- Select a plane seat over the wing.
- On a boat or ship, try keeping to the centre.
- Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth. Deep breaths!
DURING
- Nibble on ginger or sip clear ginger ale.
- Try acupressure. Use your thumb to press your inner arm about two inches down from your wrist. Hold for a few minutes or until symptoms subside.
- Stop and get some fresh air. If travelling in a car, open a window.
- Chew on peppermint flavoured gum to ease nausea.
- Focus on one object on the horizon.
Motion sickness symptoms normally pass once the trip is over, although you may still feel a little fatigued. Have a light meal, a cool drink and a nap and you should be right to carry on.
WHAT’S YOUR STORY?
Have you got a trick to handling travel sickness? Tell us in the comments below.
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