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11-19-2003
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Contributing Authors
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Join Date: Jan 2000
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Winning the Battle of Motion Sickness
By Rebecca Mortenson It is your long awaited vacation. You are finally on your dream cruise. The weather is great but as the wind picks up, so do the seas. In the brochure, the boat looks big enough that ocean swells should not bother you. It starts with a headache, then a queasy stomach and soon you are looking for a rest room. Some dream vacation... ruined by motion sickness.
As a long term victim of motion sickness, I have experienced that queasy feeling on boats, planes, cars, amusement park rides, and even elevators. My husband claims if he stands in front of me and sways he can see me turning green. I have taken plenty of grief from friends and family members who do not seem to be overcome by this affliction. “There she blows.” “She’s tossing her cookies.” “Come on Mom, let’s see you puke.” These are just some of the phrases I have heard until I am “green” in the face. It was not until we purchased our first sailboat with cabin facilities that it became a serious issue requiring attention. I could not spend any length of time on the boat, even while it was tied to a dock, without the onset of a headache, taking a nap, and being so over-medicated, it was no longer fun. I had to have help or we had to sell the boat. I wanted to keep the boat.
| | What causes motion sickness? Some say it is a figment of one’s imagination, but it actually occurs when the body, eyes, and ears send simultaneous but different signals to the brain. When body movements are accelerated in different directions, like on amusement park rides or when the visual contact with the actual horizon is lost as might happen on a cruise ship or airplane, motion sickness may ensue. The physiological explanation is the nerve fibers in the inner ear (which are responsible for balance) send messages to the brain that conflict with the visual messages from the eyes. This conflicting sensory information may cause dizziness, nausea, vomiting, or other similar effects. While not everyone suffers from motion sickness, it is estimated that 33 to 50 percent of airline passengers feel some symptom of motion sickness during heavy turbulence.
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Fear and anxiety can increase symptoms, however some people have experienced motion sickness symptoms since early childhood. Most people have similar symptoms including dizziness, headache, nausea, and in some cases it can progress to vomiting. Fatigue is often one of the first symptoms causing drowsiness, yawning and the desire to nap. Nausea is the most common symptom making the sufferer feel miserable, but does not always lead to vomiting. In illness, vomiting occurs to rid the stomach of bad food, but with motion sickness there is no bad food. So even after the victim vomits, there is no relief and they still feel miserable and sick. There are many ways to try to prevent motion sickness. There are home remedies as well as over-the-counter medications, prescriptions, and even acupressure. Often times, motion sickness should be addressed prior to leaving on a trip while some options can be administered after symptoms begin. There are patches worn behind the ear, pills and liquids to swallow, and bands placed at pressure points on the wrists. Whether internal or external, not all preventions work for everyone.
There are several home remedies that people swear by. These include taking B-complex vitamins twice a day, chewing five whole cloves, or placing an ice pack on your forehead. You can place a drop of peppermint essential oil under your nose, but I find that sucking on a peppermint candy is very helpful to still a churning stomach at the onset of queasiness. The most unusual “old folk’s remedy” is to tape a pickled umeboshi plum to your navel. An umeboshi plum is a salty and sour plum from Japan. I personally have never tried this. The most common ingredient in home remedies is ginger. It is recommended to nibble on ginger cookies, take two to four ginger-root capsules (500 mg. each), add 1/2 to one teaspoonful of powdered ginger to your juice or sip on ginger/honey tea. To make the tea, mix one teaspoon of fresh ginger and 1 teaspoon of honey in a cup of boiling water.
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Over-the-counter medications include products like Bonine or Dramamine. Bonine is a once a day tablet, lasting up to 24 hours, with Meclezine Hydrochloride 25 mg. being the active ingredient. It comes in liquid and chewable or swallow tablets. Dramamine is ingested 30 minutes before departure where motion sickness is possible. The active ingredient is Dimenhydrinate 50 mg. Both of these medications have possible side effects of sedation, dizziness, low blood pressure, and/or muscular weakness.
If you discuss this condition with your doctor, you might receive a prescription for scopolamine. It comes in two forms - patches or tablets. The patch, worn directly behind the ear, releases scopolamine through the skin and into the bloodstream. A single patch can last up to three days. I found this to be an effective treatment, especially for extended dive trips, but suffered the side effect of blurred vision. Other side effects may include dryness of mouth, drowsiness, or dilation of pupils. Discontinuing the scopolamine patch can cause temporary return of the motion sickness symptoms. To reduce the effects of this, I found it helpful to take the patch off prior to going to bed and sleep off any unwanted symptoms. Patches are not recommended for children as they release amounts of the drug that could produce harmful effects. | 
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Scopolamine also comes in tablet form. The advantage of tablets over the patch is that the patient can modify the dosage due to their weight and individual needs. While researching this article, I found several places scopolamine patches can be purchased over the Internet. An on-line physician’s consult was required (answering about 15 to 20 questions), but it was a costly endeavor. The consult was $49.95 and four patches cost $24.95 bringing the total (without shipping) to a whopping $75.00.
My favorite option for treatment is a set of wrist bands called SeaBands. By using acupressure points on the underside of my wrists, I get relief without medication. The bands are elastic with a hard plastic ball. It is worn three finger widths from the bend of your wrists. The ball is placed in the middle of the two tendons. The only bad effects I have had from the SeaBands are the stripes on my wrists where the sun did not tan. After a summer on the boat, my friends noticed the stripes and thought my husband had handcuffed me to the boat all summer. SeaBands are recommended for children because of the medication-free treatment. They come in bright yellow, orange and green color combinations.
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The newest product on the market is an electronic wristband style device, ReliefBand, that sends electronic currents through the wrist and into the middle finger to interfere with the nerve sensations that cause nausea. To use this roduct, you apply a thin layer of conductivity gel to the underside of your wrist and place the sports watch style band between the two tendons. It has five settings to assure the correct amount of stimulation. ReliefBand is a drug-free, easy to use band that has received FDA approval for the treatment of nausea and vomiting due to motion sickness, pregnancy, chemotherapy, and Post-operative nausea. The $130 ReliefBand comes with band, 2 lithium batteries, a leather strap and extender strap, a carrying case and one tube of conductivity gel.
Since I have to overcome motion sickness on a continuous basis, I am always on the lookout for the perfect remedy. I am equipped with the facts so I know that it is no longer a figment of my imagination. I am empowered to win this war by conquering each individual battle. Tips to Avoid Motion Sickness Avoid heavy, fried or spicy meals for 12 hours prior to trip. A carbohydrate based meal helps to settle the stomach and reduce the effects of motion sickness. Eat soda crackers or snacks in small doses often during the trip. Have a few peppermint candies for quick relief. Position yourself where there is the least motion. Avoid reading or concentrating inside the vehicle. Face forward and focus on a distant horizon. Keep the temperature cool and have air flow across your face. |
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