Coping With Travel Sickness

Like many others, you may have experienced this debilitating condition this first hand. You start out in tip top condition, but twenty minutes into the journey a sense of queasiness gradually takes hold and finally grips you.

It’s worthwhile taking time to understand why travel sickness occurs. The brain is able to receive all sorts of information, but is not particularly well equipped to handle conflicting messages such as the sensations of movement throw up.

We know we are moving or stationary just by using our eyes, our nerves and muscles in the legs and the vestibular system which exists inside the inner ear – our main organ of balance.

Everything works well as long as all three send the same message, so walking is no problem. However on a ship the messages can get confused. Our eyes see that the walls and decks are fixed yet our vestibular system reports that we are swaying. The moment we start to walk we are again aware of movement. It is this conflict that makes us queasy. Some even say that watching a film recorded with an unsteady hand has the same effect.

Though ship travel is the main culprit for motion sickness, some also suffer during coach, car, train or air journeys.

In the air, anxiety can contribute a great deal to whether or not the airplane journey will be agreeable. Pregnancy and menstruation can also trigger motion sickness and so do greasy or heavy meals, chocolate, oranges and even dehydration due to the consumption of alcohol.

There are ways to alleviate the travel sickness. Drinking water helps. Some suggest relief can be had by avoiding looking at moving objects and focussing instead on a fixed point such as the horizon. Others recommend fresh air. On a ship, the least movement can be detected near the middle of the vessel so this may be a good place to stay. Lying down with your eyes closed seems to work or even simply stabilising your head against a wall.

In a car taking over the driving tends to be therapeutic but there is no scientific reason for this. Sitting in the front also helps, but avoid reading. Otherwise try and get some sleep.

You can get drugs to help such as antihistamines. These can be effective but can cause drowsiness. Hyoscine is considered more effective and the benefits last for four hours. However it does act as sedative and can cause blurred vision.

Unfortunately, these can only work if you do not vomit for obvious reasons. However, hyoscine is also available as a skin patch, so before you go ask your doctor to prescribe this.

Bon Voyage.


What’s the Alternative?

Thirty minutes before travel, eat a small piece of fresh ginger together with its. skin. True ginger is not to everyone’s taste so try a strong ginger cordial or a ginger soft drink.

Carry a radish to chew in the event you become suddenly sick. Sip some tonic water as the quinine can help reduce symptoms


Massage your ear lobes clockwise with small circular motions. Use your thumb and forefinger and continue for a count of 20. Stop for a few seconds and repeat twice more.

Push gently against the crown of your head using gentle pressure from the flat of your and count to 20.

Push the centre of your palms with your thumb with steady pressure and count to 50.

Take one capsule of Vitamin C and B when the symptoms begin.

1 October 2006