Motion sickness is a disorder that affects individuals who are traveling by land, water and air. The inner part of the ear sends mixed signals to the brain that will cause increased sensory confusion. The affected person experiences vomiting, dizziness and nausea. Motion sickness is difficult to treat when there are symptoms of nausea. Motion sickness can be uncomfortable but it is not considered as a serious problem, but if there is prolonged vomiting, it can cause dehydration or electrolyte abnormalities.
Motion sickness can happen during any type of movement that is unintentional such as complex types of movement especially slow movement or moving in two different directions such as up and down and back and forth at the same time which are common movements while riding a boat on rough water.
Symptoms of motion sickness
- Nausea and vomiting
- Dizziness
- Increased salivation and sweating
- General feeling of discomfort and malaise
Treatment and home remedies of motion sickness
- Get plenty of rest before any trip since fatigue increases the symptoms of motion sickness.
- Once the symptoms of nausea and motion sickness happen during the trip, the individual should lie down, relax and close eyes.
- Eat smaller amounts of bland, carbohydrate rich food and drink plenty of liquids while traveling such as crackers, toast and rice together with ginger in order to help stabilize the stomach.
- Avoid eating spicy and greasy foods since these can cause nausea due to motion sickness.
- Take two capsules of ginger root, drink with water. The ginger helps in absorbing acids in the stomach and prevents feeling of nausea from happening. Ginger ale, gingersnaps and sugar-coated ginger candies as well as drinking ginger tea helps with the condition.
- Minimize excessive production of saliva during the early stage of motion sickness. It is best to include plenty of olives in order to make the mouth dry since olives have tannins which minimize the saliva produced.
- Eating lemons also helps in minimizing motion sickness. Slice the lemons into small wedges and place in a plastic bag. During the trip, suck on lemon occasionally since it provides relief from motion sickness
- It is recommended to travel at night where the movement is less noticeable. If traveling during the day, the individual should sit in the front seat of the vehicle and let the eyes focus on the horizons and sit still in order to minimize motion sickness.
- Wear an acupuncture wrist band by pressing the button found inside the wrist. This adds pressure to the nei-guan pressure point. Nei guan is found 3 finger breaths below the wrist on the forearm between the two tendons. Nausea is minimized when the pressure is applied.
Seek medical help if the motion sickness becomes severe or there is vomiting often during travel and if using ginger does not treat the symptoms anymore.