What Causes Motion Sickness and How to Deal with It?

Motion sickness is a physiological reaction to motion. The symptoms of motion sickness include dizziness, lightheadedness, nausea, and vomiting. It's most often triggered by movement in relatively rapid and unpredictable ways. An estimated 1 in 3 people are highly prone to motion sickness when exposed to intense motion, such as boating in a rough sea or airplane turbulence.

Let's look the some of the causes behind motion sickness.

Motion Induced Sickness

This form of motion sickness is the most common of all. Your inner ear contains canals that equalize the pressure in your ear as you go from higher to lower altitudes. If the movement you experience isn’t aligned with this function, it can cause you to experience symptoms like nausea and vomiting for 8-12 hours. This form of motion sickness is most common when in a moving vehicle, like a rough car ride, and it’s the cause for approximately 85% to 90% of all cases.

Vestibular Disorder

The symptoms of vestibular disorder can be different for everyone. It can cause dizziness, nausea, vomiting, eye strain, headache, tinnitus (ringing in the ears), balance disorders, and sleep problems. Individuals with vestibular disorder have problems processing information from their eyes or body that tells them if the movement they're experiencing is real or not. That’s why it’s very similar to motion sickness.

People with this disorder tend to misinterpret their senses as being out of sync with the external environment causing all kinds of symptoms, including vomiting and feelings of confusion.

Acceleration Induced Vertigo

A third cause is acceleration-induced vertigo. It can occur to people who often travel by airplane, train, boat, and helicopter. This form of motion sickness is caused by the inner ear fluid moving up the inner ear due to sudden changes in acceleration. The senses in the inner ear can misperceive this movement causing dizziness and nausea, sometimes vomiting.

How to Deal with Motion Sickness?

If you find yourself in need of a comforting remedy for motion sickness, check out these quick remedies.

Try Ginger

A study has found that people with motion sickness are more likely to be deficient in vitamin B6, which is often found in high quantities in ginger. Simply chew on some raw ginger or enjoy some ginger tea for relief.

Chew Gum

The act of chewing stimulates saliva production, and saliva aids with digestion to reduce motion sickness symptoms.

Try Rest

Sometimes, all it takes is a little bit of downtime to break the cycle of motion sickness. Taking the time to rest during the experience can help you feel less uncomfortable.

Drink Lemon Water or Ginger Tea

This helps with nausea and vomiting, so sip some during the worst part of your journey.

Seek Doctor’s Help!

Medical treatments and medications can help you feel comfortable during your journey. At TelMDCare, our virtual doctors are here for you. Our online doctors can help you deal with motion sickness effectively!

Book your virtual healthcare appointments and consult our Virtual Doctor For Motion Sickness today. Call us today to learn more about services!