Motion sickness, more commonly known as motion sickness, can easily ruin the lives of travelers. In France, it would be some 3 million people who suffer from this benign disease, or around 4 in 10 French people. By plane, boat, train or car, motion sickness most often results in nausea, dizziness, sweating, headaches or even vomiting … Enough to make going on vacation much less attractive.
At the origin of motion sickness, “an inadequate response of the brain, linked to an opposition between the information provided by the eyes and that given by the vestibule (organ of balance located in the inner ear) “, specifies the Health Insurance website. This means that the eyes will perceive movements (eg car turns) while the inner ear will detect a still body. It is this contradiction that will create this feeling of “sickness in the heart” and cause motion sickness.
To relieve motion sickness and travel serenely, some tips should be taken into consideration:
1. Well be pleasure
The choice of where to sit in the car, train, boat or plane is important, and not the least.
By car, adults are advised to sit at the front of the vehicle, passenger side or even better to get behind the wheel. Indeed, driving will stimulate the brain and thus counter motion sickness. For children who are not old enough to sit in the front, we will favor the middle seat in the back seat, in order to have better visibility of the road. One of the most useful tips is to “watch the road” when traveling by car. Indeed, books, laptops, tablets and other distractions should be banned, at the risk of vomiting. It is therefore necessary to concentrate on the road to limit motion sickness.
By trainIf you are prone to motion sickness it is then advisable to sit in the direction of travel to limit the feeling of “sickness”.
On a boat, it is better to sit as centrally as possible. Indeed, the shocks responsible for seasickness are more strongly felt at the ends of the boat.
By plane, we will ideally choose a place on the wings, window side to be able to fix a point on the horizon. Indeed, it is above the wings that the device is the most stable and that we feel the least jerks.
2. Eat and drink
Although this is counterintuitive, it is imperative to eat before taking transport. But be careful, if it is important to eat, it should not be too large, nor foods that are too fatty, too sweet or too spicy. A meal that is too heavy or, conversely, the absence of a meal can increase motion sickness.
he is also imperative to drink, favoring water. Not only is it important to hydrate before the trip, but also during. We will favor small sips of water regularly. This avoids the dehydration. In case of vomiting, it is advisable to drink a sweet drink.
3. Peppermint and ginger: allies
We can also count on natural allies to overcome, or at least mitigate this evil. Peppermint essential oil maybe your best friend. This one avoids nausea and therefore reduces the risk of unpleasant feeling.
For their part, ginger medicines are also proving their worth and are found usually in the form of syrup at the pharmacy. For people whose symptoms are too debilitating there are patches to put behind the ear.
