When traveling, you may occasionally feel nauseous. This is called motion sickness, but we also get sick during a boat trip and plane trip. That is why it is widely called motion sickness. Yet there are also people in whom it occurs chronically. Because people have regularly suffered from this during a trip, the body already creates the expectation that this will happen again. In addition to a degree of travel sickness, there may also be a degree of travel anxiety, which is actually not necessary. What causes motion sickness or carsickness and what can you do about it?

Tips for travel sickness and carsickness

• How is motion sickness caused?
• How does the balance organ work?
• Who happens to motion sickness?
• What to do if you feel nauseous?
• What else can you do?

How is motion sickness caused?

It happens to everyone sometimes. You’re sitting in the back of the car or on a boat. The vehicle moves back and forth, but also up and down. You are busy with something else and so you don’t pay attention. The signals that the brain receives from the vestibular organ do not correspond to what is registered by the eyes. That means we feel nauseous like we’re spinning. Why does this actually make us dizzy and nauseous and what does the balance organ do?

How does the balance organ work?

The vestibular organ is located in both ears and consists of three semi-circular tubes. These tubes are arranged horizontally and vertically and are filled with a liquid. If our body moves back and forth, the fluid will move more slowly in both the vertical and horizontal tubes. If you move a lot horizontally, the liquid in the horizontal tubes will flow faster. A series of hairs are placed at the end of each tube to record the speed of the flow. That information is sent to the brain for processing. The information obtained from the vestibular system must correspond to what the eyes perceive. If the car goes back and forth while one is reading a book, that image is no longer correct. That difference can make one feel nauseous.

Who happens to motion sickness?

It happens to those who are busy with other things. People don’t pay attention to the road and they don’t look outside. Motion sickness often occurs in children. However, if one is on a boat in rough weather, or in an airplane with air bags, anyone can be affected by nausea. The driver and those who travel attentively will almost never suffer from car or travel sickness. What can you do about this condition?

What to do if you feel nauseous?

The problem is caused by a lack of information from the eyes. The fluid in the vestibular organ moves, but the eyes do not register the same. To relieve nausea, look outside and concentrate on a fixed point. Looking at the horizon often helps, so that the nausea can quickly subside. Taking control of the vehicle also helps. In addition, a prediction of a movement can help, because the brain has already been instructed that a certain movement is coming. Think of the wave movements of a boat. The difference between perception of the eyes and the information obtained from the vestibular organs decreases and therefore also the nausea. If the nausea is caused by belching, Gaviscon works to calm the stomach acid.

What else can you do?

You need to distract yourself so that you feel less nauseous. Take a piece of ginger as it calms the stomach. If you travel by car, get out. A break with fresh air always helps, because you are back on solid ground. Also eat or drink something so that the excess stomach acid is occupied and removed. Sleeping is also a good way to rest the body and brain, so that no conflicting information has to be processed by the brain. If you have a lot of trouble traveling, take a travel tablet beforehand to prevent nausea.

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