MOTION SICKNESS

Motion Sickness - General Information

Motion Sickness is a disease also called kinetosis and it appears when there is a disagreement between the vestibular systems sense of movement and the visually perceived movement. This disorder is a defense mechanism; it’s how the organism resolves conflicts between balance and vision. When you don’t see motion but you feel it (for example in an airplane),  your eyes transmit to the brain the information that you stay still in the same time as your internal ear transmits contradictory information that you are moving. So the brain will come to the conclusion that this discordance is due to poison ingestion because when the organism gets intoxicated appears hallucination and that is what the brain thinks when it gets contradictory information. Therefore, to eliminate the supposed toxin from the organism, the brain responds by vomiting. There are different kinds of Motion Sickness deppending on the environment where the sickness is produced:  airsickness,  sea-sickness,  space sickness, simulation sickness. Airsickness appears as a consequence of air traveling and it is considerated as a normal response of the brain to the discordance between the informations that are received from the body. Sea-sickness occurs after spending a long time on a ship or a boat and is has as a definitory feature a strong feeling of nausea due to the harsh motion of the craft. Simulation sickness is a form of Motion Sickness that is experienced by person who plays computer, video or simulation games. Spaces sickness is a relative new discovered form of this medical disorder and it affects the astronauts in spacecraft missions.

Motion Sickness - Symptoms

The most common symptoms for Motion Sickness are nausea, fatigue and dizziness. A general feeling of disonfort, sweating or a “not feeling well” mood are also signs of disease. An important side effect of this condition that causes drowsiness, fatigue, mood changes and mental depression is the sopite syndrome. It is belived that the cause of sleepiness induced by motion when driving, being on a boat or flying is this syndrome called sopite syndrome. It also may be the cause why babies fall asleep when they are shaken. It is easy to recognize the symptoms of Motion Sickness. The persons affected by this disease suffer restlessness, cold sweat, yawning as being the first to appear. Then, they feel malaise and drowsiness setting in as the symptoms progress and soon an upset stomach causes nausea, excessive salivation, and vomiting. Other unpleasant symptoms are hyperventilating, headache, weakness, losing color in the face or turning red. Although, the extreme symptom is vomiting, this happening when the cause of this condition is not resolved. A different feature of this sickness is that vomiting does not relieve the nausea so the sufferer will experience the discomfort for a long time, depending on his body resistance.  In Greek, nausea means sea-sickness, nausea being the most disturbing syndrome of this disorder. There might be some other symptoms that could be triggered by this medical condition, that have not been listed here.

Motion Sickness - Treatment

The most simple way to stop the Motion Sickness syndroms is to stop the motion. When this is not posible, it helps to look out the window of the vehicle that is moving because, by doing this, your visual sense transmites to the brain the same informations as your internal ear does.  You can also resolve the conflict between the body’s senses by taking a nap or simply closing the eyes. Sleep helps and by reducing the psychogenic effects that occurs when a person magnifies the effect of sickness just by thinking about it.  Another natural way to reduce the gravity of Motion Sickness symptoms is to breathe fresh, cool air, but when doing so avoid foul odors because they could worsen nausea. It is recommended to drive or to sit in front seat in the car, look at the horizon and stay toward the middle if traveling aboard a ship, ask for a window seat, preferably on the front of the plane, when traveling on the airplane. This reduces the stress level that the organism has to face with and diminishes the gravity of symptoms.

The goal for people that experience this medical condition on a regular basis is to learn to prevent and control the symptoms for this disease. But for people who occasionally suffer from these symptoms, there are prescription medications available: Scopolamine, Promethazine, Cyclizine, Dimenhydrinate, Meclizine.  These medications are a good option but they should be avoided by drivers, pilots, ship crew members, astronauts or persons any other occupation where being alert is very important because they have dangerous side effect as impair reactions and drowsiness.  These medications must be taken at least one hour before embarking, if they are really necessary. Complementary and alternative therapies can be included in a treatment plan for Motion Sickness:

• Acupuncture: there is a classic acupuncture point for sickness and nausea called Pericardium 6.
• Homeopathy recommends the use of several natural treatments for this condition: Cocculus, Nux vomica, Borax, Tabacum, Petroleum, Sepia.
• Biofeedback Training and Relaxation
• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy eliminates the anxiety that some people face when they anticipate the symptoms
• Breathing Techniques: it has been demonstrated that taking slow, deep breaths help to diminish the effect of the disease syndromes.
• Nutrition and Dietary  supplements: individuals who suffer from this disorder should have small, frequent meals, eliminate food allergens, eat antioxidant foods, avoid refined foods, drink 6 - 8 glasses of filtered water daily, eat fewer red meats and more lean meats, use healthy oils in foods, reduce or eliminate trans-fatty acids, avoid coffee and other stimulants, alcohol, and tobacco.
• Herbs help reduce the severity of symptoms and sometimes even eliminate them: Ginger (for nausea symptoms), Peppermint, Milk thistle (for detoxification support).

Most times, the Motion Sickness symptoms disappear quickly after the journey is over. Some people get used with the movement during a trip; therefore their symptoms tend to decrease in intensity.  So this is good news for people whom work involves constant movement (pilot, astronaut, ship crew member, flight attendant). More than this, there are no long-term complications for those who suffer from this disorder.