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Travel Health: Relief for Queasy Riders
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If you get seasick or carsick while traveling, help is on the way
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BY HANNAH WALLACE | ILLUSTRATION BY CHRISTIANA REPCHECK
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Anyone who has ever been hit by nausea during a whale-watching trip or while lurching around in the back of a Peruvian taxi is familiar with kinetosis, otherwise known as motion sickness. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, this common travel malady affects up to half of children riding in cars and airplanes and nearly all boat passengers on rough seas. Generally, it starts suddenly with queasiness and cold sweats and can progress quickly to dizziness and vomiting.
Those prone to motion sickness probably know that many preventive medications can cause unpleasant side effects—drowsiness, dry mouth, blurry vision—and most are not suitable for children. Anh Nguyen-Huynh, M.D., Ph. D, assistant professor of otology and neurotology at Oregon Health & Science University, suggests trying some of the techniques listed here before resorting to pharmaceuticals.
• Since motion sickness occurs when conflicting information reaches the brain from the eyes and inner ear, try to make your visual experience match your sensory experience. If you’re in a car or bus, sit by a window, preferably up front where the ride is smoother. If you’re on a boat, stay on the deck where you can see the horizon.
• Whatever you do, don’t read. “If you’re trying to hold a book steady while your body is bouncing up and down, the information is conflicting,” says Nguyen-Huynh.
• Try an acupressure wristband such as the Sea-Band, which relieves nausea by stimulating an acupuncture point on the forearm called the P6 (pericardium 6). Constance DeCherney, 24, who spent a 110-day semester at sea, says the band “kept me completely intact” even on the Cape Town rollers, where the boat pitched 25–35 degrees. “The one time I took it off—for a massage treatment—I was dry heaving.”
• Try ginger supplements. Unlike Dramamine, ginger doesn’t make you sleepy. In three double-blind trials, ginger was equally or more effective than dimenhydrinate (Dramamine) in preventing mild motion sickness (participants took 250–500 mg of Zintona ginger capsules).
If the preceding tips don’t offer relief, check with your doctor about the following:
• Over-the-counter drugs like dimenhydrinate (Dramamine) or meclizine (Bonine, an antihistamine). Both take 30 minutes to kick in and can cause marked drowsiness. They also come in flavored chewable tablets that are suitable for children.
• The scopolamine patch (Transderm Scop). This dime-sized patch, which you place behind your ear four hours before traveling, slowly releases an anti-nausea drug called scopolamine into your bloodstream. It can cause dry mouth, blurred vision and drowsiness; it’s not recommended for children.
• Lorazepam (Ativan). Though it’s a sedative, Lorazepam can be less tranquilizing than Dramamine for some, but it can be habit-forming. It is not recommended for children.
If you do decide to take one of these medications, you probably won’t need it for more than a few days. “Motion sickness goes away once you get accustomed to the movement,” says Nguyen-Huynh. And try to stay active—even when you’re drowsy. “If you’re on a cruise, get up, look outside and keep moving around. Your body will adjust much more quickly.”
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Published: Sept/October 2007 Issue
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