Dealing with Motion Sickness on Land, Sea and Air
Preventing Motion Sickness
The effectiveness of preventive measures and cures of motion sickness varies from person to person. Here are some ideas worth trying:
- Get fresh air
- Don’t smoke or drink alcohol
- Close your eyes
- Don’t read while you’re in motion
- Take slow, deep breaths
- Stand or sit facing the direction you are moving
- Apply cold compresses to the eyes and neck
- Don’t eat spicy, salty or greasy foods before or during your trip
- Look at the horizon, focusing on a landmark in the distance
For those unable to find relief with these suggestions, commercial medication are available. Before taking can over-the-counter drug, read the label for side effects and other warnings. If you are bring treated for a medical condition, ask your doctor before taking a non-prescription drug.
July 2004 — The French call it "mal de mer." People who have it say it's "the worst feeling in the world." Most of us know it as motion sickness, a catchall term for an illness that is the bane of susceptible travelers everywhere — on land, sea or air.
"I dose myself up before I even step onboard a ship," says Deborah Brinkhurst, a longtime sufferer of motion sickness. "I have to make sure I take my medication beforehand, and when I get off at the other end. Otherwise, it feels like the earth is moving when I step off the ship. I can be right as rain and it'll just hit."
Misery in Motion
Motion sickness occurs when your central nervous system receives mixed signals from your ears, eyes, skin, muscles and joints. For example: Your ears and skin may tell you that you're in a moving car or train, but your eyes don't know it because you're reading a book. Or your sense of balance recognizes that the ship has sailed, but your eyes might not detect the movement when you're in the cabin. And for some, the cause may be as much in the mind as in the body.
"You see motion sickness less in cars than on ships, I think, due to the psychological factor," says Warren Feldman, MD, family practitioner on the medical staff at Memorial Regional Hospital. "A lot of people go on cruises and just assume they're going to get seasick, so they do."
Dr. Feldman has noticed that motion sickness is most common among young people and those with existing inner-ear problems. Brinkhurst also has vertigo, a condition that causes sudden and extreme dizziness. But motion sickness can affect anyone, even experienced travelers.
"There is nobody who has been on the water a lot who hasn't been seasick," says Dr. Feldman. He likes to quote a line from Gilbert Sullivan's operetta "H.M.S. Pinafore," when Captain Corcoran sings, "I'm never, never sick at sea . . . no, never . . . hardly ever!"
For Brinkhurst, help usually comes in the form of an antihistamine to clear her ears, an anti-dizziness medicine and a medicated patch behind one ear to reduce stomach secretions and counter dizziness.
"These measures keep me from having to lie down on the floor and hang onto the carpet," says Brinkhurst. "I never know when it's going to happen, so I always carry my medication with me. I think I've gotten accustomed to it. It's just something you learn to live with."
If you have problems with motion sickness, see your physician. For referral to a physician, call the Memorial Physician Referral Service at (800) 944-DOCS.