Travel Tips - Motion Sickness Prevention 

Motion sickness is something that each one of has experienced at least once in our lives. Be it on a plane, a rocking boat or even a car ride, the discomfort of motion sickness can make your journey miserable. The general symptoms are nausea, vomiting, headache and sweating. 

Motion sickness is caused when one part of body's balance sensing system (your inner eyes, ear and sensory nerves) senses that your body is moving the other parts don’t. For example if you are stationary in the cabin of a moving ship your inner ear may sense the motion of waves but your eyes don't see any movement. It is this disparity between the senses which cause motion sickness. 

When it comes to motion sickness, prevention is better than cure because the symptoms are difficult to stop after they start and you may only feel better after the motion stops.  To help you feel better when you have motion sickness try eating a few dry biscuits or sip on a fizzy drink like ginger beer. Getting as much fresh air helps but on a plane that might be an issue! If you can, lie down or at least keep your head still. 

If all else fails then you can take medicine to prevent or reduce nausea and vomitting.  Medicines called antiemetics help by reducing nausea and certain antihistamines which may make you drowsy. It's always best to take medications before you commence your journey. 

To avoid motion sickness if you're travelling in a car sit in the front seat and don't read or watch videos. If travelling by plane ask for a seat near the wings and eat small meals of food that are easy to digest before and during a long flight as that helps reduce nausea. If you are on a boat or a ship then look at a fixed point on the horizon, get fresh air and sit in the middle of the boat. 

As for me, I swear by the old wives’ tale of nibbling on some raw ginger as that works well for me! 

By Tina Edward Gunawardhana