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MOTION SICKNESS

Just about anyone can get motion sickness. Kids ages 2-12 get it very easily, while infants and toddlers seem relatively immune. But for everyone else, riding in a car, boat, train or plane can bring on unsettling feelings of nausea and dizziness. But why? Let’s dig into the causes, symptoms and treatment of motion sickness.

MOTION SICKNESS

Just about anyone can get motion sickness. Kids ages 2-12 get it very easily, while infants and toddlers seem relatively immune. But for everyone else, riding in a car, boat, train or plane can bring on unsettling feelings of nausea and dizziness. But why? Let’s dig into the causes, symptoms and treatment of motion sickness.

CAUSES

Motion sickness occurs when your inner ear, eyes and deeper tissues of your body’s surface send mixed signals to your brain. That doesn’t happen when you’re walking or moving your body on your own, but when you’re being moved in a car, boat, train or plane, your internal sensors can go a little haywire and throw off your sense of balance, causing nausea or dizziness.
Smiling woman on swing ride

SYMPTOMS

Motion sickness is awful to go through, though for as horrible as it may feel, it’s usually a temporary, minor problem. However, if you travel frequently, it can be a big problem. The most common symptoms of motion sickness include:
  • Nausea
  • Dizziness
  • Sweating
  • Vomiting
  • Headache
  • Fatigue

TREATMENT

Medications and preventive measures can treat motion sickness. If you take medication, remember to take it before you travel, because once motion sickness starts, it’s hard to stop. Motion sickness treatments include:
  • Antiemetics—such as the Bonine® once daily travel tablet—are over-the-counter medications that help relieve nausea and vomiting associated with motion sickness.
  • A motion sickness patch.
  • Acupressure bracelets may help in the same way as acupuncture by putting pressure on certain points of the body.
  • Ginger, a traditional remedy for nausea, may help with motion sickness.
  • Peppermint is another herb that may help.

TRAVEL TIPS

Taking Bonine® right before you travel can help keep motion sickness at bay. For other ways to stop motion sickness from being your traveling companion, consider this list of dos and don’ts.

Group of friends holding hands at the beach

DO

  1. In a car: Offer to drive. If you can’t drive, sit in the front seat. Keep the air vent on your face.
  2. On a boat: Choose a central cabin and watch the horizon to settle your senses.
  3. On a plane: Choose a seat over the wing. Keep the air vent on your face. Remember to eat light, low-calorie meals and snacks in the 24 hours before your flight.
  4. Breathe deeply through your mouth, not your nose.
  5. Look out the window at a stationary point.
  6. Drink caffeinated beverages. Ginger ale is especially calming to your stomach.
  7. Eat dry crackers.
  8. Carry mint- or ginger-flavored lozenges with you to help with nausea.
  9. Keep your head still, resting on a seat back, for instance.
  10. Take your motion sickness medication – like Bonine® – before you travel.
bonine-dont-circle

DON'T

  1. In a car: Avoid reading, sitting in the rear of the car, or sitting backward.
  2. On a boat: Stay above deck if possible. Stuffy quarters without a horizon view can make your sickness worse.
  3. On a train: Avoid sitting backward.
  4. On a plane: Avoid sitting in the rear of the plane.
  5. Don’t smoke. Smoking makes nausea worse.
  6. Avoid big, greasy meals and alcohol before travel.
  7. Avoid traveling on an empty stomach. An empty stomach can be just as bad as one with the wrong foods in it.
  8. Don’t bring strong-smelling foods or snacks.
  9. Don’t forget to take a motion sickness medication – like Bonine® – before you travel.

STOP MOTION SICKNESS IN ITS TRACKS

Fly, drive and move freely without nausea, vomiting or dizziness caused by motion sickness. Find the Bonine® product for you.

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