Motion Sickness

What is Motion Sickness?

Motion sickness is a condition that occurs when a person is in motion via a vehicle or other means, but their body is still and they experience nausea and disorientation because of it. The symptoms stem from conflicting signals sent between the ears, eyes, and the brain. The eyes and ears will be telling the brain that the body is in motion, but nerves in muscles and joints elsewhere in the body will counter that by saying that the body is in a stationary position.

Motion sickness will usually become worse if the visual and aural stimuli continue over longer periods of time. The condition is manageable, but the only way to completely relieve it is to no longer be in motion via the means that is causing you to experience motion sickness.

What Causes Motion Sickness?

Motion sickness is caused by signals sent to the brain from different sensory systems in the body being misinterpreted, and the sickness occurs because the brain cannot understand if the body is moving or not and the contrasting signals for that cause the person to be ill. People get motion sickness most often when they are travelling in a moving vehicle, or are on a train, ship, or other type of powered transportation.

There can also be triggers for motion sickness. Ones that are known to be problems for people include playing video games or virtual reality games, being on amusement park rides, or riding as a passenger on a bike that is being pedaled by someone else. The severity of motion sickness can be worse for women who are menstruating or pregnant, and the same may apply for people with Parkinson’s disease or BPPV (benign paroxysmal positional vertigo).

Motion Sickness Symptoms

Nausea, disorientation, headaches, dizziness, and sweating are the motion sickness symptoms people are going to have most of the time. Other symptoms may include fatigue, irritability, excessive salivation, gulping for air while breathing, or being very restless during the travel. Low blood pressure and dehydration are potential complications that may develop if motion sickness continues for a prolonged period of time.

Motion Sickness Treatment

How you treat motion sickness will depend on the severity of the condition at the time and whether or not the stimuli (means of transport) will be continuing for a longer period of time. Getting enough fresh air, redirecting gaze so that eyes are not exposed to the same visual stimuli, lying down or being in a more prone position may provide relief from motion sickness. Drinking ginger ale or ginger tea or having something sweet to eat may be helpful too.

The most conventional approach for milder cases of motion sickness is to take an OTC medication like Gravol, and quite often this is sufficient for relief. For more severe and recurring cases, the person may be put on an Rx medication like Antivert that is stronger for motion sickness treatment.