Motion sickness is often caused by motion during travel. With more than 100 thousand cases per year (Nigeria).
Motion sickness, sometimes referred to as sea sickness or car sickness, is a very common disturbance of the inner ear that is caused by repeated motion. Anyone can develop motion sickness, but people vary in their sensitivity to motion. Motion sickness most commonly affects children from 2 to 12 years old, pregnant women, and people who are prone to migraines. In addition to sea travel, motion sickness can develop from the movement of a car or from turbulence in an airplane.
Motion sickness is a common problem in people traveling by car, train, airplanes, and especially boats. Anyone can get it, but it is more common in children, pregnant women, and people taking certain medicines. Motion sickness can start suddenly, with a queasy feeling and cold sweats. It can then lead to dizziness and nausea and vomiting.
Your brain senses movement by getting signals from your inner ears, eyes, muscles, and joints. When it gets signals that do not match, you can get motion sickness. For example, if you are reading on your phone while riding a bus, your eyes are focused on something that is not moving, but your inner ear senses motion.
Where you sit can make a difference. The front seat of a car, forward cars of a train, upper deck on a boat or wing seats in a plane may give you a smoother ride. Looking out into the distance – instead of trying to read or look at something in the vehicle – can also help.
These symptoms arise from the inner ear (labyrinth) due to changes in a person’s sense of balance and equilibrium.
1. Watch your consumption of foods, drinks, and alcohol before and during travel. Avoid excessive alcohol and foods or liquids that “do not agree with you” or make you feel unusually full. Heavy, spicy, or fat-rich foods may worsen motion sickness in some people.
2. Avoiding strong food odors may also help prevent nausea.
3. Try to choose a seat where you will experience the least motion. The middle of an airplane over the wing is the calmest area of an airplane. On a ship, those in lower level cabins near the center of a ship generally experience less motion than passengers in higher or outer cabins.
4. Do not sit facing backwards from your direction of travel.
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