Motion Sickness- THE CURE while on the road

[Ray Eklund]

Motion Sickness is hard to describe to anyone who does not suffer. Those who suffer, know. Anyyone who flies, travels by motor vehicle or even watches a fast moving stream can find no comfort unless whatever is creating the problem is stopped. My parents had no clue or even considered there was some medication that could be taken to prevent motion sickness. No clue at all.

As a passenger in a moving vehicle I suffered.
As a passenger in an airplane, boat, ship I suffered.
As a passenger in a small aircraft... I really suffered.

Dramamine was a relief that COULD have taken care of my Motion Sickness, yet the small cost to my parents was lost to their reasoning. If any cost at all while as a military dependent.

Motion sickness made long trips miserable and unenjoyable. It was unavoidable. My ears have had a ringing since my time in the military. If I spin too fast I would feel nausea. It was a curse that little could be done except with... medication.

The path to a CURE:

At 10 years old my family took a converted Navy battleship to the Canal Zone for military families. I was sick the entire trip. The smell of food made me ill. But at 1PM a movie would play in the cafeteria for the kids. No matter how rough the seas... I was not feeling sick. Hmmm.

At 13 flying across the Atlantic Ocean in a "turbo prop" plane I had to have passengers pass their "air sick bags" to me, as I needed one handy for the entire flight. Absolutely horrible for fellow passengers and myself.

At 19 learning to fly Helicopters in the US Army and bobbing around I had to resist getting Air Sick. Others who made their first test flight with a instructor used their hat to... barf into, discarding the hat into the trash can at the first landing site. I barely held it... but did. The perspiration began. The getting pale and feeling nauseous was overwhelming, but resisted.

Watching a movie at the theatre close to the screen with lots of motion. I would have nausea.

Travel as a passenger in a car, especially the back seat was an accident waiting to happen, so I got to sit up front on the passenger side. That helped if I looked straight ahead. A cursed life, you would have believed.

When I began to PILOT a Helicopter, myself, no Air sickness no matter how rough of a flight.

As a DRIVER of a vehicle, no Motion Sickness.

Fly fishing in a fast moving stream, no Motion Sickness.

Although small boats and any aircraft as a passenger I still need Dramamine, even though it makes me drowsy... it was effective.

For whatever reason when my mind was concentrated on actually having control I suffered no ill effects of Motion Sickness. There is a possible a reason, but for me being proactive was my cure.

I enjoy driving. I enjoy pulling an Airstream and navigating rutted roads, overhead obstacles and avoiding potential poor driving habits of others on these roads. My cure was being an active participant in the "motion" of choice.

Some of you might have children that seem... zonked... out when traveling. Please do not do what my parents did, nothing. Maybe a child's prescription for a Dramamine type product will make their trip more pleasant. It is an absolute hell having a natural feeling of helplessness with motion sickness. It sure would have made my traveling as a dependent child more pleasant with some medication.

IF you suspect one or more of your children have a motion sickness problem... take care of it. It cannot be avoided, but sure can be prevented. My children did not suffer at all. My wife does not suffer at all. Consider a remedy for that one child who seems lethargic and miserable when traveling. There could be an easy fix and the memories would be much better than I have to offer as a child.

[Protagonist]

The best thing for motion sickness is to eat lots of pineapple… it's the only thing that tastes the same coming back up as it did going down!

Now that the obligatory humor in poor taste (ahem! ) is out of the way, a coworker of mine who suffered miserably from airsickness discovered that he was okay if he ate or drank something containing ginger before flying, not just ginger-flavored, but containing real ginger. In his case, homemade ginger snaps washed down by Reed's Original Ginger Brew.

[McDave]

Similar to Ray's experience, when I was young my Dad used to take me fishing in Ensenada, Mexico. It was a blast; I was allowed to drink daiquiris at the bar with the men, the food was great, and usually Montezuma's revenge would hold off until we were on the way home. It continued being a blast until we went out on the fishing boat. I desperately wanted to fish and be accepted by the men, but my body would revolt. I would feel fine until we cleared the harbor and the swells started rolling. Usually I could hold it together while we were underway, but when the boat stopped for us to fish, I started getting green. If I didn't tie into a fish right away, I had to get really friendly with the rail. However, if I did catch a fish in time, I was usually fine for the rest of the day. It took about a half hour to land a yellowtail, which was enough time to take my mind off my problems, and they usually didn't come back until the next time we went out.


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[TWA640316]

Ray, with all those problems, why would you elect to choose pilot training? I had my instructor show me a spin a couple of times. Wow, the first time really catches you by surprise, but no upchuck. The thing that got me was the color test and unable to pass the waiver test either. Went from being a "pilot wanabe" to a pilot scheduler, then to a truck driver. Oh well, you do what you can do, I guess.

Stan

[Ray Eklund]

Originally Posted by TWA640316

Ray, with all those problems, why would you elect to choose pilot training? I had my instructor show me a spin a couple of times. Wow, the first time really catches you by surprise, but no upchuck. The thing that got me was the color test and unable to pass the waiver test either. Went from being a "pilot wanabe" to a pilot scheduler, then to a truck driver. Oh well, you do what you can do, I guess.

Stan

******
I was offered an option of Flight School or drafted into probably Infantry... My dad was a ROTC instructor and in the network. You had to have 20/20 vision was the only disqualification.

After 18 weeks of flying my hay fever was becoming evident and that finished me and my 19 year old ambitions of flying skids in Viet Nam in 1970. I ended up as a Finance Clerk for an artillery battalion to finish out my two years. When you are 19 and too ignorant understanding WHY the Army was taking anyone into the program... I now understand. The casualty rate was very high in the late 1960's and by 1970 the need for single, unattached dependents as pilots dropped significantly.

The "autorotation drill" was an experience few get to practice.

At this time NASA was looking for geologists who could fly helicopters. Most of the class was under 21 and unlikely.

Was good timing for me. The food was great. Fort Wolters, TX was closed a few years later. Nobody messed with the Morning Reports Clerk... or the Finance Clerk. We all have our own story. This was mine.

[Gmoore]

One can buy elastized bands that have a small plastic button built in. The button puts very gentle pressure on the inside on each wrist. The package contains the simple instructions.
These have worked brilliantly for my family, on wheels and on water.
No drugs, no nasty ingestibles and no nausea. Perfect!

[Rgmhog1450]

I lived with motion sickness all my life, including my stint on a destroyer home ported in Norfolk, Va. during the Vietnam era. Dramamine, I laugh at it - totally worthless for me. I sufferred through it, and, although it was awful, was better than getting shot at in Nam. Years later, after becoming a physician, I discovered Scopolamine patches.(not available in the 60's) It has been a godsend. I am able to enjoy cruises, fishing, etc. The only limitations to it's use is that it must be used very carefully in the elderly (disorientation) and it cannot be used if piloting an aircraft due to the potential for drowsiness.

[54fuselage]

When I was a kid I suffered with motion sickness anytime I was riding in the backseat of a car, and particularly if I tried to read something while in the car. To this day I can't read while riding in a car. I stumbled across the same antidote when I began flight training. I knew I was going to battle motion sickness but was determined to fight it. It wasn't long before I realized that the mental focus on the task kept me well...except for aerobatic training, that was a different story.

Funny thing is these days I'm heads down reading checklists while the captain taxis the plane and it doesn't bother me at all.

[Hiho Silver]

http://www.amazon.com/Sea-Band-Adult...otion+sickness

The sea-bands works great on the ocean. We always kept a couple of pair on our boat.

Here is a link for them


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[mandolindave]

Other folks may have other triggers.

But personally, I don't think the should call it " motion " sickness.

I think that they should call it " confused brain" sickness. The brain gets visual information that the water is moving, that doesn't match with the movement of the boat. The inner ear gets information, that doesn't match. Your equilibrium gets out of whack. Just a theory.

Anyhow I only get sick on small boats. If I closed my eyes and went with the rocking, by pretending I was on a hammock , I felt better.

[NavyCorpsman]

A medication free method used by Navy / Marine Corps aviators: Make a stable "artificial horizon" from a visual point on the instrument panel. (something horizontal and flat) Keep that horizon in your field of view as needed. The rationale: The semicuircular canals in each ear are competing with visual input for the sense of positional stability to your brain. A stable reference point most often will eliminate or minimize the conflict. It does take a bit of practice, but when you get it figured out it is amazing. Until you do, use a standard trash bag tied around the neck.

Medications such as Meclizine and Scopolomine diminish the output/input from the ear to the brain. They do cause varying degrees of sedation and visual disturbance, not what you really want while you are towing or backing your trophy around.

Give it a try next time, and let me know if it helped...

[m.hony]

I always thought I suffered motion sickness in the back seat and not while driving was due to not holding on or having control. When you are driving, your mind has a direct correlation with what you are seeing and feeling because you are basically making it so.
Put someone else under the steering wheel and you don't know what is going to happen. What you see and what you feel don't match. Looking straight ahead definitely helps.
To solve it, I just drive all the time and never ride shotgun.
I can handle a cruise ship up until rough seas, and then it is best to sit down somewhere in the middle of the ship. There is less up and down in the middle.
I can handle aircraft OK until turbulence, then the sick feeling comes on.
Another problem with aircraft travel is sinus congestion. This causes poor balance and stability on still ground, especially descending stairs. One ear being continually stopped up causes me to walk like a drunk and stagger across level floors. I haven't had a drink of alcohol since the 90's.
Poor depth perception due to monocular vision compounds it even further. Even an un-level floor will throw me.
All of these issues make it difficult to walk across an area where the material or flooring changes. Even a threshold can throw me.
There is a patch that you can put on your shoulder before taking a cruise that calms the motion sickness.

[JCWDCW]

Gmoore and Hiho Silver have it ...for sure

Years ago while helping on a school excursion he teachers suddenly realized they forgot to give one of the girls her Dramamine. Within minutes she looked 'green'. I showed her how to put pressure on the inside of her wrist with the fingers of her other hand...look for the tender spot just above the joint. She held that for the next 40 mintes and survived the trip without medication.
JCW

[KJRitchie]

Thought I was going to loose my cookies at Disneyworld on Mission to Mars . As I've gotten older my tolerance to motion sickness has gotten less. Maybe I should try the Seabands.

Kelvin