Motion Sickness - Topic Overview

What is motion sickness?

If you've ever been sick
to your stomach on a rocking boat or a bumpy airplane ride, you know the
discomfort of
motion sickness. It doesn't cause long-term
problems, but it can make your life miserable, especially if you
travel a lot.

Children from 5 to 12 years old, women, and older adults get motion sickness more than others do. It's rare in children younger than 2.

Motion sickness
is sometimes called airsickness, seasickness, or carsickness.

What are the symptoms?

Motion
sickness can cause:

A general feeling that you're ill.

Nausea.

Vomiting.

Headache.

Sweating.

Symptoms will usually go away soon after the motion stops.

What causes motion sickness?

You get motion sickness
when one part of your balance-sensing system (your inner ear, eyes, and sensory nerves)
senses that your body is moving, but the other
parts don't. For example, if you are in the cabin of a moving
ship, your inner ear may sense the motion of waves, but your eyes don't see
any movement. This conflict between the senses causes motion
sickness.

You may feel sick from the motion of cars,
airplanes, trains, amusement park rides, or boats or ships. You could also get sick from video games, flight simulators,
or looking through a microscope. In these
cases, your eyes see motion, but your body doesn't sense it.

How is it treated?

You can take medicine to prevent or reduce nausea and vomiting. These include:

Scopolamine, which comes as a patch you put behind your ear.

Medicines called antiemetics, which reduce nausea.

Certain antihistamines, which may make you drowsy.

Some of these medicines require a prescription. Most work best if you take them before you
travel.

These tips may help you feel better when you have motion sickness:

Eat a few dry soda crackers.

Sip on clear, fizzy drinks such as ginger ale.

Get some fresh air.

Lie down, or at least keep your head still.

How can you avoid motion sickness?

It's
best to try to prevent motion sickness, because symptoms are hard to stop after
they start. After symptoms start, you may feel better only after the
motion stops.