How to Ease Travel Sickness

Travel sickness is such a pain, it is inconvenient, unpleasant and it very often stops you from wanting to travel in the first place because you know what will happen!

Those who do not suffer with travel sickness will not understand exactly just how unpleasant it is, and are very often unsympathetic towards those that do get it, particularly if they tell you "it's all in your mind" (I get told that all the time and it drives me mad!)

Whilst there is no permanent "cure" as different things make people sick, there are things that you can do to prevent getting sick when you travel.

Causes.

Travel sickness has never been completely understood, even by the scientific community, the main theory of what causes motion/travel sickness is that the vestibular system in your inner ear (which controls your balance) becomes affected, basically, it thinks you are moving, when you are in fact still and the vehicle is moving.

Although this has not been proven to be the case and many people have different experiences.

Food.

Obviously, many people (even those that don't normally suffer with it) get travel sick if they have over eaten. If you think this is your problem, try not to over indulge before a car journey.

Water.

This is a culprit that many people do not recognise. A great deal of people think that food is the problem, and so before a journey, they will not eat enough (if anything)

To compensate, they drink a lot of fluid, and when they get in the vehicle and travel, all the water they have drunk sloshes around in the stomach, with nothing to absorb it, I found out this was my problem, and I drank less and ate foods such as crackers and crisp breads, and wasn't sick!.

Heat.

Many people find that getting too hot in the car will contribute a great deal to feeling sick. Keep the window open or the air conditioning on to keep cool.

Focus.

Try to focus on something in the car, people say try to focus on the horizon, but this is almost impossible to do without looking at the objects whizzing past, which will only make the situation worse. If you find focusing a problem, close your eyes.

Ginger.

Try eating ginger before and during the trip, a great deal of people swear by it to alleviate the symptoms of sickness. If you don't like the taste, you can also take it in supplement form the morning of the journey.

Pills.

Some people find that prescribed medicines help, consult your doctor for the best solution.

Over the counter remedies are also available.

Bands.

Many people also use specially designed wristbands to help. They put pressure on a certain point in your wrist which is said to help.

The key is to try and see whatever works for you.