Motion sickness (also known as travel sickness, sea-sickness, car sickness, and air sickness) is a general term for an unpleasant combination of symptoms, such as dizziness, nausea and vomiting, that can occur when you are travelling by road, rail, air or sea.
Motion sickness is thought to arise when there is a conflict between what your eyes are seeing and what your inner ear, which gives you your sense of balance, are sensing.
Your brain then receives a jumble of contrasting information, which is thought to bring on the symptoms of motion sickness.
How common is motion sickness?
It is thought that everyone is potentially vulnerable to motion sickness, but some people are more vulnerable than others.
For example, almost everyone on a ship in a force-5 gale would be expected to have motion sickness. But only 5% of people will have motion sickness on a ship that is sailing on calm seas.
Women are more susceptible to motion sickness than men, especially if they having their period or they are pregnant.
The condition is also more common in children aged between 3 and 12 years. After this age, most teenagers will grow out of motion sickness.
Outlook
In most cases, symptoms of motion sickness will improve as you begin to adapt.
For example, most people who experience motion sickness on a cruise ship would notice an improvement in symptoms in two to three days.
However, an estimated 5% of people fail to adapt, and will continue to experience symptoms until they are removed from the environment that is causing their motion sickness.
Mild symptoms of motion sickness can usually be improved with a number of self-care techniques, such as closing your eyes and distracting your brain by listening to music on a personal music player.
More serious symptoms of motion sickness can be treated with medication. A widely used medicine for the treatment of motion sickness is hyoscine, which has a good track record of success.
