Author: Sue Wes
Source: ezinearticles.com
There is nothing like having that nauseous feeling. If you have ever been sea sick, car sick, or nauseated from any type of motion sickness, then you know what a horrible experience this is.
When I was a young girl, the whole family would pack up the car and head for the Gulf Coast for a three-week vacation in a rented house on Dauphin Island, Alabama. Those were the best times, and still a favorite place to visit. Walking on the beach, sun kissed little bodies running around like wild-children. I always looked forward to that vacation adventure – until we would rent a boat, speed into the Gulf for some deep-sea fishing. It was then I discovered what it meant to be seasick. It only took one trip and I never got on another boat in the ocean again. There was no Dramamine, or nerve stimulation devices to prevent motion sickness.
The cause is over-stimulation of the fluids in the ear and conflict between the brain and vision. For example if we are watching a picture of a moving scene, our vision is telling our brain there is movement, but our inner ear is telling our brains there is no movement – thus the conflict. When we are riding in a car, airplane or boat, there is unintentional movement and the brain is not coordinating the data between the pathways of the brain, eyes and ears. The fluid filled canals inside our ears are our sense of balance and conflicting information can trigger it with its awful symptoms of generally feeling unwell, headache, unusual amount of saliva, hyperventilating, weakness, nausea, sweating, vomiting, dizziness, and pallor.
This feeling is more common in children from the ages of four and twelve years. However, as an adult, I have never outgrown that tendency and still have mild symptoms traveling on winding, hilly roads, in an airplane or boat. Could it be the memory of suffering motion sickness, or maybe the stress anticipating being sick when I board an airplane or boat? Perhaps. Nevertheless, there is no feeling like it.
Some tips on how to minimize or prevent motion sickness are: if you are on a boat, scan the horizon in general avoiding looking directly at the waves, stay in the center of the ship, or sit over the wings of an aircraft were there is less motion, drive the car instead of being a passenger, close your eyes to help eliminate sensory conflict, if you can, lie down, don’t drink alcohol or eat, have a source of fresh or circulating air, do some deep breathing before the trip to lessen anxiety. If you suffer from motion sickness, you might consider trying one of the nerve stimulation devices, known as relief bands. These are really wonderful, fit on your wrist and use electrical impulses to prevent it. The best thing is that they are drug free since most of the available drugs make you drowsy. Who wants to be in a stupor for most of their vacation?
These little tips have helped me and I hope they help you, too. Have a safe, motion sickness free journey!
Safe Home Sue is a product specialist for Safe Home Products(R). Safe Home Products, Inc. is a growing e-commerce reseller of consumer products that improve safety, security, health and quality of life. Established in 1999 as a woman-owned business, Safe Home Products serves over 100,000 clients worldwide from its customer service and fulfillment headquarters in Iowa City, Iowa and offers over 10,000 products including carbon monoxide and radon detectors, emergency preparedness equipment, environmentally-friendly cleaning supplies, pet products, pest control solutions, and home medical equipment.