Those who feel queasy at the mere thought of a long car ride, an airplane trip in bad weather or a sail on a rolling sea may take small comfort in the fact that they are hardly alone. Fully 90 percent of people are susceptible to motion sickness to varying degrees, and, going back in history, they have had some illustrious company in their misery.
Lawrence of Arabia, for example, had difficulty keeping down lunch while riding on his camel in the campaign against the Turks. Charles Darwin is said to have “discovered” evolution after insisting that he be let off the Beagle to quell his seasickness.
About half the men and women who have traveled in space have suffered from zero-gravity motion sickness.
The close link of nausea to the sea can be seen from the root of the word, from the Greek word naus, meaning ship.
The affliction is believed to be caused by the brain’s getting confusing messages from the inner ear, which houses the mechanism for balance, and from the eyes and pressure receptors on other body parts.
The inner ear contains three fluid-filled tubes called the semicircular canals; as the fluid within them shifts, it lets the brain know how our bodies are moving in space: up, down, forward, backward, sideways or turning.
Let’s say you are trying to read while riding in the back seat of a car. Your inner ear tells the brain that your body is moving forward and perhaps also bouncing up and down a bit or swaying from side to side.
But your eyes, fixed on a printed page that is moving at the same rate you are, and your legs and buttocks, which are stationary, are not registering this movement. The conflicting messages delivered to the nausea center in the brain are considered the cause of carsickness.
Infants rarely become carsick, but as many a distressed parent knows, children between the ages of 2 and 12 often do, with girls being more susceptible than boys. Susceptibility gradually diminishes with advancing age; the problem is least common among people over 50.
The blood level of the hormone vasopressin skyrockets during motion sickness, Koch has found. It drops to normal when people feel better, which may one day lead to a new and better treatment.
The problem usually starts with the skin’s becoming pale, no doubt leading to the common description of “turning green.” Next comes yawning, restlessness and a cold sweat, perhaps followed by drowsiness, a feeling of malaise, a slightly upset stomach-or, as one expert put it politely, “gastric awareness”-and excess salivation.
Unless something occurs to squash the progression of symptoms, the final stage is nausea and vomiting. However, depending on the person and the circumstances, vomiting may never occur even if the other symptoms persist.
Motion sickness advice ranges from the anecdotal to the scientifically proven. Some people swear to the effectiveness of stuffing cotton in both ears. Two over-the-counter nonmedicinal remedies have won an increasing number of converts in recent years: powdered ginger root, sold as capsules and tablets, and acupressure wrist bands.
Ginger is a time-honored remedy for settling the stomach. Acupressure wrist bands apply pressure to the Nei-kuan point, which traditional Chinese medicine says controls nausea.
Various medications remain popular, from over-the-counter antihistamines, like Dramamine, Bonine and Marezine, to the prescription skin patch, Transderm Scop, which is worn behind the ear and releases scopolamine slowly.
Common sense is often the most helpful. Avoid reading while in or on a moving vehicle. Place yourself where there is the least motion: the front seat of a car, in the center of the deck of a ship, over the wing of an airplane.
Look ahead at distant objects or the horizon, or at the road ahead if you are driving, not out a side window at the passing scenery, or close your eyes. Lie down, if possible, and keep your head still.
Avoid overeating or drinking alcohol the night before a trip and eat lightly, preferably a high-carbohydrate, low-fat meal, before and during travel, or snack often on something like bread or crackers because an empty stomach can make things worse.
Dr. Christopher Linstrom of the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary recommends head exercises to alleviate nausea and dizziness. Pretend that your head is in a box and, with eyes open, move it forward and backward, first slowly, then quickly, 20 times, then do the same thing from side to side, repeating the exercise five to 10 times a day. As symptoms improve, do the exercise with eyes closed.
