What Is Motion Sickness? Why Your Stomach Rebels on the Road

After twenty minutes of driving uphill, after about the fourth hairpin turn, silence falls in the car. Someone from the backseat has paused from their phone, the window has been rolled down, and everyone knows what will happen for the next few kilometers.

If you have been that someone before, read on. More trips to the hills, school bus rides and ferry rides have been ruined by motion sickness than any kind of weather. But very few of us know what is actually going on inside.

What exactly is motion sickness, why does it pick on some of us and spare others, and what works? Here’s everything you need to know, minus the scientific mumbo-jumbo.

What is motion sickness, really?

Motion sickness is an unpleasant state resulting from conflicting messages your brain gets about movement. It has nothing to do with the stomach and is not caused by food poisoning, despite the misconception that exists. It originates in the brain.

The brain uses three systems to detect movement. The eyes tell it what is seen; the inner ear, where the balance mechanism lies, tells how fast and in what way you move and change the direction. Muscles and joints report whether the body moves or rests.

Usually, all these systems give consistent information to the brain. When they disagree, motion sickness arises. Read a book in a moving car and your eyes say "we stay in one place", while the inner ear tells "we have just turned to the left". The brain cannot resolve the conflict, so it creates an uncomfortable feeling instead.

Why sickness? There is a widely accepted theory saying that the brain interprets the conflicting information as poisoning. Its primitive reaction is to get rid of possible toxins by vomiting. An effective survival strategy for cavemen.

Motion sickness causes: why some people get it worse

The problem is always the same but the circumstances may differ. The most frequent causes of motion sickness are:

• Curvy roads, especially when you're at the back seat and can't anticipate the curves
• Reading, texting or watching videos in a moving vehicle
• Ferry boats, where the deck seems to move while the cabin appears stationary
• Turbulence on flights
• Amusement park rides, VR headsets and even some video games

Certain individuals are simply more susceptible to it. Children who fall within the age range of 2 to 12 years old are the most susceptible. Women are usually more vulnerable, especially when they are pregnant and menstruating. Individuals who suffer from migraines also have a higher susceptibility, and it is often hereditary.

Oddly enough, drivers almost never become ill. Their eyes and balance system are always in synchronization because they know each turn before it occurs. Not so for the passenger who keeps looking at his phone.

Motion sickness symptoms: the early signs most people miss

Vomiting is the symptom that everybody remembers, but it is the last to occur. Motion sickness symptoms are progressive, and the first few symptoms can be easily dismissed.

Initially, you have the subtle symptoms – yawning, excessive sleepiness, and silence in the middle of conversation. Then follows the cold sweat, paleness of the skin and excessive saliva production. The stomach starts with nausea, burping and an overall feeling of heaviness, sometimes accompanied by dizziness.

Motion sickness and vomiting are connected, but not necessarily. Many people experience severe motion sickness symptoms for many hours without actually vomiting. In case vomiting does occur, there is a period of relief after it.

The trick is to catch the yawning and cold sweat early. That is the moment when the problem can be solved.

Headache, fever and anxiety: what's connected and what isn't

There are three common elements associated with motion sickness. Only two are related, while the other is not.

Headache and motion sickness

These two travel together often, Dull headache can be an element of motion sickness, and sometimes, it is the main symptom, and there may be no nausea at all. In case you have migraines, you have higher chances of getting sick while moving, and a bumpy ride can trigger one. Irregular eating and lack of fluids can make things worse during travels.

Fever and motion sickness

Consider this combination as a red flag since motion sickness does not lead to a fever. While you can be sweating and flushed from the experience, your body temperature will remain at a normal level. Fever along with nausea is an indicator of some other condition and not the one related to motion sickness. Some examples of such conditions include food poisoning, ear infections, and gastrointestinal diseases.

Anxiety motion sickness: the loop nobody warns you about

Fall ill a few times when you travel and your mind starts anticipating it. Your sense of unease comes much before the vehicle starts moving. This anxiety results in your stomach tightening and making sure to pay attention to each and every feeling that you experience, hence leading to the appearance of the feeling of being sick. It is called anxiety-induced motion sickness and it is absolutely real.

How to reduce motion sickness before the trip

Most of the battle is won before you leave the house.

• Pick your seat - Front seat in a car, over the wing on a plane, the middle of a boat on a lower deck, a forward-facing window seat on a bus or train.
• Eat light - A small, bland meal an hour or two before works better than a heavy, oily one. An empty stomach is no better.
• Sleep well the night before - A tired brain handles mixed signals badly.
• Skip the alcohol and strong smells - That includes the overpowering car air freshener.

How to deal with motion sickness once it starts

The second the early symptoms appear, take action. Procrastination won’t solve anything.

• Focus on the distant horizon or any distant fixed reference. It tells the same tale to your eyes that your ear tells to you.
• Put the phone and the book away. This one is non-negotiable.
• Feel a blast of fresh breeze on your face. Either open the window or switch the vent towards yourself.
• Maintain a steady head against the headrest, and shut your eyes if viewing the scenery does not help.
• Sip water and eat something dry, such as plain biscuits. Ginger, whether eaten, in candies, or consumed in tea, is well-supported by research for reducing nausea.
• Distract yourself with music, a podcast, or a conversation. The busier your mind is, the less you notice things.
  

How to cure vomiting in car rides

It will be impossible to cure your sickness instantly once it is imminent. The only way to cure motion sickness is to cease from moving. Therefore, try to pull over and get out of your car and stand still on a stable surface for five to ten minutes while gazing into the distance.

Wash your mouth, have some water in small quantities, and move to the driver's seat before driving. Always have a sick bag handy, and strangely enough, the mere fact of its presence prevents people from using it in most cases.

Motion sickness treatment: when tips aren't enough

In case of frequent or extreme attacks, medicine can provide relief. The common motion sickness remedies include antihistamine medicines like dimenhydrinate, meclizine and promethazine and even a scopolamine transdermal patch that is worn behind the ears in some places. However, they are more effective when taken before the travel and not after the start of motion sickness has begun. Most of these have the side effect of drowsiness and therefore, should not be considered where the patient has to drive.

One should consult the doctor before use of any of them, especially in case of kids or pregnant women or people taking other drugs. It should also be checked with a doctor where these symptoms continue after the travel or in case of feeling dizzy without being on travel.

Where ANCHOR fits in your travel kit

Two things from the list above come up on every journey: cool, fresh air and a mind that isn't fixated on the next wave of nausea. On a packed bus, or in a car where the AC keeps recycling the same stale air, both are hard to come by. That is the gap we built ANCHOR by VARAÉ for.

ANCHOR is a pocket-sized Ayurvedic nasal inhaler, made under an AYUSH licence. It blends pudina, camphor and clove oil with Vijaya leaf extract in the government-approved quantity. One slow inhale gives you a cool, minty rush, the kind many travellers find settling when a ride starts to feel rough.

It also gives a nervous mind something simple to do, which matters when anxiety is half the problem. We won't call it a cure for motion sickness, and it can't replace a front seat or a pit stop. Think of it as one more thing in your kit, right next to the water bottle and the ginger candy.