Motion Sickness or Kinetosis: How to manage?

What is “Motion sickness”? As the name itself indicates, the sickness chiefly associated with “Motion” that someone experiences, especially when travels by car, ship or airplane. The condition is also referred to as “carsickness”, “seasickness”, “airsickness”, or “space sickness”. The symptoms of motion sickness are nausea (the feeling of being about to vomit), vomiting, dizziness (a whirling sensation and a tendency to fall), mood changes, mental depression, fatigue, sweating, and a sense of feeling sick. Motion sickness may also trigger migraines (a severe recurring headache, usually affecting only one side of the head, that is characterized by sharp, throbbing pain and is often accompanied by nausea, vomiting, sensitivity to light, and visual disturbances.), even in people who do not ordinarily have them. About a third of the population is susceptible to motion sickness, with varying degrees of severity. While it may occur at any age and sex, this is fairly believed that women than men are more susceptible to the motion sickness.

How does “Motion sickness” occur? Although the exact cause of motion sickness is still unclear, but it is fairly believed that disagreement among messages (biochemical) that are relayed by human sensory organs (eyes, inner ear, skin receptors etc.) in response to the surrounding environments. For example, you are reading a book in the back seat of a moving car. Your inner ears sense the motion of the moving car and relay a message to the central nervous system (CNS) that you are moving. In contrast, the eyes record your movement as static as the book you are reading is static and thus the eyes relay an opposite message to the CNS that you are not moving. Due to this conflicting information, the CNS fails to detect the body’s correct state of movement and thereby motion sickness symptoms like nausea, vomiting, dizziness etc develop. Notably, the symptoms of motion sickness usually, but not always, stop when the motion that causes it ceases.

Treatments: There are both prescription and nonprescription medications for the motion sickness. Over-the-counter medications include dimenhydrinate (Dramamine), meclizine (Bonine), and cyclizin (Marezine). These drugs are antihistamines and relieve motion sickness symptoms by reducing input form the inner ear to the CNS. Side effects of these drugs range from mostly drowsiness to dry mouth. Alternative medicines are also known to be very effective in treating motion sickness. Consumption of ½ or 1 teaspoon of the fresh ground Ginger (Zingiber officinale) root per day, four hours prior to car or boat ride found to be very effective in treating motion sickness. Peppermint is another well known alternative medicine for motion sickness. Traveling related precautions listed bellow also helps managing motion sickness efficiently:

• Avoid alcohol and rich food with high fat content, both before and during a trip.
  
• If you are traveling by boat or ship, stay in the middle and on the upper deck.
  
• In a car or a Bus, don’t sit in a seat that faces backwards, avoid reading or activities that cause you put your head down.
  
• Look forward, not sideways from car or bus.
  
• Don’t move your head round to converse.
  
• Wear headphones and listen to soothing music.
  
• In airplane choose your sit at middle row.
  
• Calm your mind before you take a ride.
  
• Keep yourself busy thinking something funny.