Travelling With Motion Sickness

Love travelling but can’t get around without a couple of pills and a barf bag? This is indeed the case with several people out there which makes them choose between exploring the world and staying healthy which is definitely now fair. This condition is called “Motion Sickness”. Several researchers and experts have suggested that motion sickness is not a physical but, in fact, a psychological condition. Several people experience motion sickness in day to day life: in elevators, while playing video games, and amusement park rides, but studies suggest that most frequent and severe cases of motion sickness are reported while the person is traveling. The condition, sometimes, gets so worse that people have had to be given immediate medical aids, sometimes even multiple times during a single journey. So, what causes motion sickness?

This condition occurs when your different sensory organs send confusing and conflicting messages to your brain which causes your brain to cause a nauseating effect on the entire body. For example; imagine you’re traveling by air and, like many, you prefer the window seat. You sit in your seat ever so comfortably and the flight starts to move. You decide to look out the window for some snaps or just admiring the mid-air beauty when you suddenly feel unusual headaches, not as severe as migraines but more than enough to make your perfect flight uncomfortable. You decide to close your eyes for a bit and relax but now that your eyes have captured the moving view outside, you can’t unsee it and now, you feel nauseated, suffocated, and dizzy.

This is a small example of how motion sickness works. Your eyes saw the surroundings outside the plane window moving but your body was at rest inside the plane. This “confuses” the brain as different parts of your body, internal as well as external, are sending conflicting signals to your brain which leads to the above mentioned symptoms. Now, keeping in mind this analogy, one might think that as long as they don’t look out the window or observe any movement outside, they should be alright. However, that is not the case. Let’s take another example.

Let’s say this time you’re traveling by a car and to avoid the horrible experience you had in the plane, you bring along a book to distract yourself. But in this case, your eyes are, sure, fixated on the stationary book in your hands but your other senses are aware that you’re somehow in motion. This again creates a conflict for your brain to comprehend and end up getting sick again. For your body to function properly, all its parts need to be in sync which is not possible while traveling, whether it is by a car, a bus, a cab, or a plane. The only time motion sickness can be avoided completely is when traveling by foot but that wouldn’t take anyone much far, would it?

So, can it be avoided? Absolutely. Motion sickness, while cannot be entirely avoided, can be reduced while traveling by taking a few precautionary steps. 

1. The very first thing that must be done in order to avoid getting nauseous while traveling is choosing the ideal seat. While traveling by car, the front seat is the safest one as it would enable the person to look ahead and experience more stability than the backseats which experience more movement. If possible, avoid turning on the air conditioning in the car and open the window so you can breathe more freely. It is also advised to not use any strong car fragrance while traveling long distances. In planes, avoid sitting next to a window to avoid the direct outside view but in buses, sitting next to a window might actually help if you can open the window and allow air to pass by.
2. It is always advised to not travel on an empty stomach but eating a heavy meal can be equally harmful. Try eating light yet filling foods like cereals, fruits, salads, oats, sprouts, etc while avoiding heavy substances like foods that contain a lot of oil, butter, cheese, etc. Drinking anything but water while traveling, especially via road, is also discouraged, especially any form of caffeine while drinking small amounts of water after regular intervals may help your discomfort.
3. Make sure to get an appropriate amount of sleep before you start traveling. Being sleep deprived while traveling long distances increases the chances of getting motion sickness, even if you’re not the one who is driving. If possible, sleeping on the way is also an acceptable and, in fact, recommended way of reaching the destination in a good condition.
4. In case of a severe motion sickness problem, it is recommended to not travel to hilly areas by road as those have a lot of sharp turns along the way which nauseate even the ones not with motion sickness. If it is absolute that one has to, they need to take breaks along the way to regain their strength to sit through the travel. 

Are there any cures for it aside from medications? Prevention has always been better than cure but in case one still gets sick while traveling, there are a few tricks that have proved to be effective over the years in helping people get over their motion sickness in the moment, not forever.

1. Some chewables like peppermint, chewing gums, and sour candies help with the nausea and dizziness and might even help one go a long way without getting uncomfortable. 
2. It is advised to carry ginger tea or ginger ale while traveling as ginger extract has a soothing effect on one’s body.
3. Lemon has also proved to be an effective “cure” for motion sickness, whether sucked raw or mixed with water and then ingested.
4. Many have reported that they don’t feel motion sickness while traveling with friends or when they’re having fun. So, talking, playing car games, and simply having fun will help go a long way.

Overall, while motion sickness can be pretty inconvenient while traveling, there are ways to avoid it and not let it ruin your fun. preventive measures can be a lot to keep in mind but they have been helping people travel long distances over the years. Identifying the problem is always the first step towards progress and once it is identified, it can be taken care of. Apart from the above-mentioned symptoms, some less common but possible ones can be shortness of breath, vertigo, paleness of skin, and loss of appetite. If nothing works and the condition seems to worsen, it is always advised to carry medicine and first-aid kits along and also, professional medical help can also be seeked on the way.

By: Plakshi Kapoor

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