In series and movies, or directly in real life, it is common to see how before a boat trip many people get seasick and end up throwing up overboard.

It’s also not uncommon to think of someone who gets carsick and needs to take some kind of anti-seizure medication or gum. In both cases, we are dealing with an annoying problem called motion sickness .

What is motion sickness?

Motion sickness, kinetic dizziness or motion sickness is a state of discomfort in the presence of accelerating or decelerating movements .

This is a very frequent phenomenon and under certain conditions it can appear in most of the population, not being something worrying or indicative of a serious problem. However, it tends to be more frequent in women than in men, as well as in the population from two to twenty years of age.

Symptoms of motion sickness

Motion sickness is characterized by the presence of gastric alterations such as nausea and vomiting along with sweating, hyperventilation, low tension, headache and a feeling of dizziness and distress. A great deal of fatigue often follows.

The discomfort of motion sickness often occurs in situations where we are moving around in a vehicle. Even though our body remains still inside it, it is in constant movement that causes a contradiction between our balance and our vision . It usually appears when we take a trip by car or boat (it also appears in planes and trains).

Interestingly does not usually appear in transport methods such as the metro , probably because the perception of external objects is much more limited as they are confined to the tunnel in question. The presence of motion sickness has also been observed in virtual reality environments, because what we see and our position and balance are not coordinated.

Why does it happen?

Motion sickness is produced mainly by the presence of a mismatch between vestibular information from the inner ear and visual information. While the former (which informs us of the position of the body in relation to the ground and allows us to maintain our balance) detects that our organism is immobile, our visual system reflects the opposite by observing that the environment moves at great speed. This is especially visible when we try to read or fix our eyes on something immobile in a vehicle whose movement is perceptible, at which time discomfort may appear or be accentuated.

Likewise, aspects such as the subject’s emotional state and the absence of good ventilation (anyone who suffers from motion sickness or knows someone who does so often finds it necessary to open the windows to let the air circulate) may influence the presence or intensity of the symptoms.

And how do we prevent it?

Motion sickness is a problem that can be annoying when we have to travel or transport ourselves from one place to another in some kind of vehicle. The specific symptoms are difficult to treat once they have started, but they can be tried to prevent by following different strategies.

1. Position

Firstly, the position we occupy in the vehicle actively influences the suffering of the symptoms. The person who drives or those who take up positions that allow them to focus their attention on a fixed point where they do not perceive movement usually do not suffer from the effects of motion sickness. The same is true when travelling facing the direction of travel (seeing objects moving away more than the opposite), and when the subject is in the areas with the least amount of vehicle movement.

2. Ventilation

Ventilation is, as we have said, a relevant aspect. The perception of unpleasant odours adds to the contradiction between vision and balance, generating greater gastrointestinal discomfort and movement. Therefore, one way to prevent this is to place ourselves in an area with constant ventilation. Smoking can also be harmful, so it is recommended not to smoke before or during the trip.

3. Alcohol intake and consumption

Another aspect to prevent is excessive intake. It is recommended to eat and drink in small quantities if we are going to take a trip afterwards. However, both eating too much and not eating at all can be harmful and lead to a higher level of discomfort for the subject. Alcohol consumption also aggravates the discomfort

4. Medication

Chewing gum or consuming antikinetic drugs such as the well-known Biodramine prior to the trip is usually effective, although in the case of drugs, special caution should be taken since they usually cause hypnotic-sedative effects that may alter perception and reflexes, so they should not be taken if you are going to drive.

5. Rest

Sleeping during the trip can be a strategy to avoid noticing the effects of motion sickness. And even if we don’t sleep it is advisable to close our eyes . It is also recommended to have rested properly before starting the journey.

6. Vehicle control

The type of movement the vehicle makes is also important. Curves and sudden changes in direction or speed may generate a higher level of discomfort or initiate symptoms, so they could be avoided if possible.

7. Activities

Activities that focus on a particular element while noticing the movement of objects outside are contraindicated. For example, reading, sending text messages or watching TV or videos from a mobile phone can generate kinetic dizziness.

8. Habitation

In some cases in which people must by their profession undergo great accelerations that can cause dizziness it is very useful to carry out tasks that allow the habituation to those conditions.