Motion sickness – Kinetosis- Travel Sickness, is a condition affecting the vestibular system (inner ear) sense of movement.
Depending on the cause it can also be referred to as-
and seasickness,
and car sickness,
and airsickness,
and Space sickness.
Motion sickness cause nausea, disorientation and fatigue that can be induced by head motion. The first sign is usually pallor. As symptoms build, an upset stomach, fatigue or drowsiness may occur. Nausea and vomiting is the final stage. Nausea in Greek means seasickness (naus means ship)
Cause of Motion Sickness
In order for the body to determine where it is at all times, the brain combines visual information, touch information, inner ear information, and internal expectations. Under most circumstances, the senses and expectations agree. When they disagree, there is conflict and motion sickness can occur.
People with migraine are prone to get motion sick. Persons with rare, central nervous system disorders of the part of the brain that processes signals from the inner ear may also be unusually susceptible to motion sickness.
The inner ear transmits to the brain that it senses motion, but the eyes tell the brain that everything is still. The brain responds by inducing vomiting, to clear the supposed toxins.
In the case of car sickness, visual stimuli moving by outside the vehicle creates visual sensory conflict, as the rest of the body senses it is still. In these cases, motion is sensed by the vestibular system and hence the motion is felt, but no motion or little motion is detected by the visual system.
Car-sickness
A specific form of motion sickness, car sickness is quite common and often evidenced by the inability to read a map or book during travel. Car sickness results from the sensory conflict arising in the brain from differing sensory inputs. The eyes mostly see the interior of the car which is motionless while the vestibular system of the inner ear senses motion as the vehicle goes around corners or over hills and even small bumps. Therefore the effect is worst when looking down but may be significantly lessened by looking outside of the vehicle. Looking out of the windshield is particularly beneficial.
Air-sickness
Airsickness is a sensation which is induced by air travel. It is a specific form of motion sickness and is considered a normal response in healthy individuals. Airsickness occurs when the central nervous system receives conflicting messages from the body (including the inner ear, eyes and muscles) affecting balance and equilibrium. However, some significant differences are that an airplane may bank and tilt sharply and due to the small window sizes, a passenger is likely to see only the stationary interior of the plane. Another factor is that while in flight, there is little that can be seen outside of the windows that would indicate motion to the visual system.
Sea-sickness
Seasickness or boat sickness is a form of motion sickness characterized by a feeling of nausea and, in extreme cases, vertigo experienced after spending time on a craft on water. It is, again, essentially the same as carsickness, though the motion of a watercraft tends to be more constant. It is typically brought on by the rocking motion of the craft or movement while immersed in water
Treatment of Motion sickness
and One common suggestion is to simply look out of the window of the moving vehicle and to gaze toward the horizon in the direction of travel. This helps to re-orient the inner sense of balance by providing a visual reaffirmation of motion.
and In the night, or in a ship without windows, it is helpful to simply close one’s eyes, or if possible, take a nap. This resolves the input conflict between the eyes and the inner ear. Napping also helps prevent psychogenic effects (i.e. the effect of sickness being magnified by thinking about it).
and In the car try to sit in the front seat or drive.
and On the airplane, ask for a window seat. The front of the plane may be preferable, as it is usually less noisy.
and Face leeward (so if you vomit, it gets blown away from the ship, not into it).
and Eat bland foods — crackers and bread, or bananas, rice, applesauce and toast.
Medications
A variety of medications are available, but try to take it before starting travel, if you are a susceptible person.
and Dramamine
and Meclizine
and Sturgeon or Avomine or Betahistine
and Scopolamine -Transdermal patches (1.5 mg) or as a newer tablet form (0.4 mg).
and Promethazine
and Zofran
Alternative medications
There are numerous “alternative” remedies for motion sickness. The most popular are Ginger derivatives, such as ginger tea, powdered ginger capsules, and even raw ginger between the teeth.
Electronic
As astronauts frequently have motion sickness, NASA has done extensive research on the causes and treatments for motion sickness. One very promising looking treatment is for the person suffering from motion sickness to wear LCD shutter glasses that create a stroboscopic vision of 4 Hz with a dwell of 10 milliseconds.
