You or someone around you must have experienced motion sickness, i.e., uneasiness caused during travel by car, train, airplane, and so on in ships and boats. It can ruin your experience and create a lot of anxiety before/ during every trip.
It occurs when the body’s balance is disturbed by contradictory signals to the brain from the eyes and ears. Motion sickness can start suddenly, with a groggy feeling and cold sweats, often leading to dizziness, nausea, and vomiting. Statistics suggest one in every three people suffer from travel sickness of varying grades from mild to serious.
It is also termed travel sickness, car sickness, or sea sickness.
What Are the Causes of Motion Sickness?
Motion sickness is the feeling of discomfort when the motion you sense with your inner ear is different from the motion you visualize. If you cannot see the movement that is felt by the body, or the other way round when you cannot feel the movement, your eyes can see, there are chances of the brain getting confused, and the person will feel some symptoms of motion sickness.
Motion sickness and nausea are commonly felt when people read a book or use a mobile phone during travel. Many people experience it during a roller coaster ride. Some people are prone to it even during everyday journeys.
Who is at Risk for Motion Sickness?
This disorder frequently impacts children, pregnant women, and people taking certain medications. However, almost anyone who is traveling is at risk for motion sickness. Commonly affected people are those who have fear or anxiety about traveling, mode of travel, poor ventilation in the vehicle, or the inability to see out of a window.
Common Symptoms of Motion Sickness
Motion sickness begins with a feeling of restlessness and dizziness. Some people may feel headaches, while others feel disturbing movement within and fatigue. These symptoms are then followed by nausea and vomiting.
The person feels better when the motion is stopped. The symptoms slowly decrease and then disappear.
Remedies for Motion Sickness
Motion sickness can happen to anyone, however, it is more common in children than adults. Regardless of whether you know for sure if you will become car sick or not, you can take steps to prevent this motion sickness.
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Look up and out
If you know you are more susceptible to motion sickness, consider sitting in the middle of the back seat. This allows you to have a clear view through the front windshield whenever required.
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Travel during sleep times
If your road trip is only about reaching the destination rather than enjoying the scenery en route, consider starting your journey late at night or your child’s regular sleep hours. You can ensure that you are asleep for a good portion of your trip.
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Choose ordinary food over spicy food
You should consume mild and easily digestible food that won’t cause stomach discomfort. You can choose non-spicy crackers, dry cereal, or simple snack bars, which are generally gentle on the stomach.
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Open the windows
A quick fix for motion sickness is often in fresh air. When you begin to feel unwell, simply open the windows and let them inhale fresh air. Removing strong smells from the car is also advisable, as it can trigger sensitivity.
All the tips mentioned above will also work as remedies for motion sickness in toddlers, children and adults as well.
If you want to know how to cure motion sickness permanently, we want to inform you that it can be relieved and prevented with home remedies or medicines but cannot be cured.
Ayurvedic Analysis
According to Ayurveda, motion sickness is caused due to Vata dosha. It gets disturbed by continuous sitting and movement in the body during travel. If you have an imbalance of one of these doshas, you are at a greater risk of motion sickness. Ayurveda recommends avoiding foods and lifestyle habits that aggravate that dosha. The imbalanced doshas are required to be balanced in order to heal.
Following doshas aggravate and cause motion sickness -
- Apana Vata controls the purification and elimination of waste from the body.
- Prana Vata, which controls mental and emotional balance, gets aggravated by fast movement and unpredictable routines.
- Pachaka Pitta, responsible for digestion, can also get disrupted by an irregular schedule of meals and sleep.
- Easy tips to avoid travel sickness
- Eat light before the journey, and keep some gap between meal and travel.
- Avoid hillside travel. Prefer a more stable horizon.
- Avoid reading during travel.
- Be seated in a more central location while traveling on a boat or plane.
- Sit toward the front of the motor vehicle for a smoother ride.
- Take more stops and fresh air breaks during travel.
- Close your eyes during twists and turns.
- Listening to music or having a pleasant aroma helps.
- Don’t talk about being sick - anticipation makes sickness more probable.
Ayurvedic Home Remedies to Beat Motion Sickness
Some homemade remedies can help ease nausea and vomiting sensations. People find herbs such as ginger, peppermint, and tea effective at varied levels. These herbs help release certain chemicals in the body that prevent stimulation of the vomiting zone in the brain.
- Ginger – Very effective home remedy for motion sickness. Preferably take ginger as early as possible, as it acts like a kind of ‘aversion therapy.’
- Cardamom – Works well, especially if the seeds are fried and given with honey.
- Sandalwood – Sandalwood paste and amla juice also effectively control motion sickness.
- Amla and Clove – Make a powder with amla, cumin (jeera), clove (lavang), black pepper, and crystal sugar to be consumed with honey.
- Tulsi – Prepare a paste of tulsi seeds with milk to control nausea and vomiting.
Can Motion Sickness Be Prevented?
In most cases, symptoms of motion sickness can be prevented by :
- Taking OTC medications or wearing wrist bands, which work on principles of acupressure. When some pressure points are pressed, the transmission of nausea is blocked before its message is sent to the brain.
- Smoking, short and shallow breathing may contribute to motion sickness symptoms. Breathe deep.
- Try ELADI CHURNA sachet mixed with honey or water before consuming food or before travel. It is recommended to take one sachet for adults, preferably an empty stomach.
Eladi Churna
It is a great ayurvedic remedy for motion sickness that prevents vomiting and eases throat discomfort. This spice-based Ayurvedic formulation is a herbal powder mix containing Elaichi as the main ingredient and is used in the treatment of digestive complaints of Kapha imbalance.
Key ingredients of Eladi Churna:
- Elaichi
- Lavanga
- Nagakesara
- Kola majja
- Laja
- Priyangu
- Sarkara
- Excipients
Some of Its Benefits Include:
- Helps prevent motion sickness and vomiting sensation
- Avoids excessive salivation, anorexia, vomiting
- Reduces abdomen pain
- Effective in throat discomfort
- Improves digestion and increases appetite
- Fights against bronchial asthma or bronchitis
Don’t let motion sickness get in the way of your travel plans, with this awesome weather around. Happy journey!
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What's the best home remedy for motion sickness?
A: Motion sickness can be comforted with several remedies. The best home remedy is the use of ginger. You can either chew some ginger or sip ginger-infused tea. Also, you can try ginger as candy, powder, or dried capsules.
Q: What is a natural alternative to Dramamine?
A: You can try scents like mint and lavender that are shown to soothe headaches, and ingesting ginger in any form has been a natural nausea remedy for centuries. Also, you can try rubbing a couple of drops of peppermint or lavender oil onto your temples.
Q: What is the best thing to drink for motion sickness?
A: A carbonated beverage is the best thing to drink to soothe nausea and motion sickness. Other than that, you can also drink some water.
Q: Where is the pressure point for motion sickness?
A: Pressure or massage at the P6 acupressure point might help you relieve motion sickness. You can find this point three finger-widths away from the wrist, roughly in the middle of the forearm.
Q: Which home remedy is good for motion sickness during pregnancy?
A: Ayurvedic Vitamin B6 supplements are a good remedy to reduce motion sickness caused by pregnancy. Although it is safe, you must consult a doctor or gynecologist.
