You can Beat Car Sickness

SOME of us are more prone to car sickness than others. But whatever the degree of the affliction, sometimes it can certainly ruin our car trips. Although there is no cure for motion sickness, it can be prevented in all but some extreme cases. Passengers are more likely to experience nausea or vomiting than drivers, and it affects people travelling by road, air or sea.

Some car travellers have reported being so severely affected that they resorted to unusual methods to cope. Among them are:

• Travelling with the windows wide open even in winter
• Using only those routes where they can stop easily every 15 minutes
• Avoiding roads with bends
• Wearing sunglasses even when the sun was nowhere to be seen
• Fasting for 24 hours before trips
• Chewing liquorice or sucking sticks of celery

Motion sickness occurs when two "motion messages" to the brain are in conflict. One comes from the balance centre of the inner ear, while another comes from the eyes. The brain becomes confused by the discrepancy between sight and sensation when it interprets movement, even though the body isn't actually moving. People suffering from motion sickness often then have some resulting nausea or vomiting.

This problem affects some groups more than others. Women are more than twice as likely to be affected as men - particularly during their menstrual cycle. Children between the ages of three and 12 years are also prone to car sickness.

The United Kingdom-based RAC Foundation, an organization established to promote the environmental, economic, mobility and safety issues relating to use of motor vehicles, has issued the following advice on how you can prevent your journey from becoming a misery:

• Choose the front seat and face forward, keeping your head steady
• If you have a choice, drive rather than being driven. The concentration required distracts you from the sickness and enables you to visually look at the horizon and road ahead
• As a passenger, try to focus on the horizon straight ahead of you - don't look from side to side or turn around to talk to those behind you
• Don't read in the car, not even a map - let someone else navigate
• Avoid heavy meals before travelling and steer clear of fatty or spicy foods and alcohol
• Never travel on an empty stomach or consume alcohol before travelling
• Avoid direct exposure to the sun
• If you have a choice, a straight road is less likely to make you feel queasy than a winding one
• Try driving at night when there are fewer visual stimuli to confuse your brain - provided you are not tired
• Get plenty of fresh air by opening a window
• Try not to feel anxious about it as this merely increases the likelihood that you'll feel queasy
• For children, travel games that don't involve looking down make good diversions. Anything that requires looking out of the window (for example car spotting) is suitable, as are word rhyme games
• Travel with a leak-proof container or a strong plastic bag in case of emergencies

People can also buy over-the-counter drugs to prevent motion sickness. Such drugs need to be taken at least 30 to 60 minutes before travelling - but advice on the best type of drug should be sought from a pharmacist. Motorists should always ensure that any drug they take, whether prescription or over-the-counter, has no side affects that could affect their driving ability.

Alternative suggestions for combating motion sickness include "acu-pressure bands". Such wristbands have a small plastic bead that puts pressure on the inside of the wrist - preventing the user from experiencing motion sickness. This can be done manually by applying gentle pressure between the two tendons about 3cm or so back from the wrist joint.

 Herbal remedies may also help. Many people use ginger root to help calm the stomach and thus prevent motion sickness. This can be bought as a tea drink, in capsule form or chewed raw in small slivers.

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