Motion sickness, while not life-threatening, can put a serious damper on your travels. There’s nothing more frustrating than boarding your bus or plane and suddenly being debilitated by an intense wave of nausea and dizziness. It takes away from the excitement of your trip and makes the next few hours of your life miserable!
Fortunately, there is some relief to be found for motion sickness and plenty of prevention strategies for you to use—all of which we’ve gathered for you here. Remember this helpful information and these tips when you embark on your next bus trip, car ride, or flight, and use them to keep your motion sickness at bay!
What causes motion sickness?
Although you feel the effects of motion sickness primarily in your stomach, it’s actually caused by your inner ear. Your balance-sensory system is mostly controlled by your inner ear, vision, and sensory nerves. When there is a conflict in these senses it disrupts your body’s sense of equilibrium, resulting in the familiar symptoms of motion sickness—nausea, vomiting, dizziness, sweating, etc.
When you’re riding in a bus, car, or plane, your eyes tell you your body is moving while your inner ear is saying you’re still. As far as your brain is concerned, this strange detection of movement is being caused by some sort of poison in your body, and it reacts accordingly to purge your system.
How can you treat motion sickness?
Not all hope is lost when you begin your travels and your stomach starts to turn! There are a few solutions you can prepare yourself with to combat motion sickness that has already hit when you’re on the road.
Natural Remedies
There are a number of homeopathic treatments that can ease or eliminate nausea and are effective for motion sickness. Ginger and peppermint are two of the most well-known cures. Have a pack of mint gum, a few ginger capsules, or even a little ginger ale on hand.
Liquids
Along with that ginger ale, club soda and Gatorade are two of the best drinks for curing the discomforts of motion sickness. If you do vomit, you’ll want to keep some water with you and replenish your electrolytes with the Gatorade. Try to drink at least 8 ounces of liquid for every time you throw up to prevent dehydration.
Change in Position
Motion sickness can sometimes be alleviated with a simple change in the way you’re sitting. If you’re on a bus or plane, try to stretch out, stand up, and move every so often, but keep facing forward in the direction you’re traveling.
Focused Gaze
A good way to recalibrate your balance system is to keep your eyes on a fixed point in the distance. This will help realign what your inner ear and vision are telling your brain by blocking out a lot of visual movement.
How can you prevent motion sickness?
The most efficient cure for motion sickness is ultimately just preventing it. Take these measures to counter its effects before they set in!
Medication
Over the counter motion sickness medications are probably your best bet for preventing the onset of symptoms. Dramamine, Antivert, and other antihistamines can be purchased at any drug store and are most effective when taken before you begin traveling. If your symptoms are usually severe, your doctor may also be able to prescribe something stronger.
Choose a Good Seat
If you’re taking the bus, towards the front in a seat with access to fresh air or ventilation is the most ideal location for preventing motion sickness. On a plane, you’ll want to position yourself over the wing, where you’ll feel the least amount of movement.
Eat Strategically
It’s usually better to have something in your stomach before you head out for a long trip, to keep it settled. Stick with something light, like crackers and granola bars or something high in protein.
Distract Yourself
Drawing your attention away from the motion around you can be a good way to prevent motion sickness symptoms from setting in. Talk to the people around you, listen to music, or try to grab some shut eye to keep your surroundings from messing with your sense of balance!
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