Ah, summertime! Time to ride all the rides at the amusement park! Time for the road trip going halfway across the country to your favorite national park! Time to catch a flight to go visit Grandma and Grandpa and your thirty-two cousins!
And also the time for feeling green, queasy, dizzy, and downright vile.
You’re not alone. 1 in 3 people are inclined to get motion sickness at the drop of the rollercoaster and the curve in the road.1 It tends to be more common in women, particularly during their menses, and in children. If you’re susceptible to migraine headaches, that means you’re also more likely to deal with the on-the-road queasies. In case that makes you feeling lonely, don’t worry; under more extreme situations, like being in a boat in rough seas, about 80% of people experience motion sickness.2
I happen to be one of those lucky 1 in 3 who starts to feel motion sick even from the mention of the condition. According to my parents, I was pretty much a backseat barfer from birth. I’ve been on a life-long quest to get ahead of the effects of motion sickness and have tried all kinds of remedies. While I haven’t found the Holy Grail of all things motion sickness prevention, I do have a few favorites that have recently entered the chat.
Wearables: While pressure-point bands have been around for a while (with less-than-stellar effective responses from those who try them), a new type of wearable is now making the rounds. These wearable devices use vibration and neuro-stimulation pulses to help with nausea symptoms. There are several on the market, some pricey, some more affordable. I bought one for myself in more of the mid-price range, not knowing if this would be yet another failed attempt. To my surprise, I’ve found that this type of wearable has been helpful. I can’t say for certain if it’s so much about resolving nausea or if it’s more about the distraction of having my wrist shocked by an electric impulse every three seconds, thereby distracting me from my motion-sickness symptoms, but whatever the case, I’ll take it.
Glasses: Yep, I’ve done this one too. They are the craziest looking glasses you’ve likely ever seen, with fluid in the bottom of the rims. The idea is that the visual of the bright blue fluid is supposed to help your vestibular system have a better understanding of the movement you’re experiencing. These have been a mixed bag for me; while you’ll certainly look memorable while wearing these, they’ve only made a small difference in my symptoms. For one of my brothers, who also deals with motion sickness, they actually made him feel more queasy.
Benadryl: If there’s an OTC out there for motion sickness, I’ve likely tried it. Most of them make me feel so sleepy or woozy that it defeats the purpose. However, as it turns out, Benadryl, and specifically its primary ingredient antihistamine ingredient diphenhydramine hydrochloride can help with feelings of nausea. I’ve found that a very small dose, not even the full does I would take with an allergy attack, is enough to knock off the queasy edge. I first learned this when I discovered chewing gum in Europe for nausea. It worked so well, I wondered why we didn’t have the same product in the U.S. As it turns out, when I researched what was in the gum, it’s diphenhydramine hydrochloride. You can learn more about using diphenhydramine hydrochloride for motion sickness here. (This is in no way intended to be taken as medical advice. As with any medical condition, check with your primary care physician.)
While motion-sickness may try to take the fun out of your travels this summer, you might just find the relief you’re looking for with some of the new technology and advances we have today. As a disclaimer, none of these products have allowed me to read or work on my computer or turn around backwards while in transit; I keep my eyes forward, sit in the front of the car, book an aisle seat on a plane, and never, ever ride anything where I’ll be backwards or circling in a loop. Know your limits, don’t apologize for them, and give these new technologies a whirl, um, sorry, a try. Here’s to keeping your lunch down!
1 https://medlineplus.gov/genetics/condition/motion-sickness/#:~:text=Motion%20sickness%20is%20very%20common,motion%20that%20is%20intense%20enough.statistics#:~:text=More%20people%20complain%20about%20headaches,complaints%20of%20headache%20each%20year.
2 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motion_sickness#:~:text=of%20motion%20sickness.-,Epidemiology,medium%20to%20high%20motion%20sickness.