Motion Sickness, do you have that problem?

Portugal
January 1, 2007 8:33am CST
When I was young (4-10) I used to get sick in every trip I made. I even could get sick in a 5 minute trip. Now, it's unusual for me to get sick, but it still happens sometimes, without an apparent reason. It's more probable for me to get sick in the morning, and less (almost impossible) at the end of the day or at night. When I get sick, I try to fight it, by taking deep breaths (calming myself) and I close my eyes, trying to sleep. I tried looking into the horizon, but that doesn't work for me, because even the horizon is constantly changing... And you? Do you usually get sick in car trips? Do you suffer from motion-sickness? How do you fight it? Let's share our advice to others :P
9 people like this
77 responses
@shmeedia (1044)
• Canada
1 Jan 07
i have had severe motion sickness all my life. i was even participating as a test subject in a motion sickness study conducted by the aerospace department of a local university! the tests were to see if test subjects can adapt to motion sickness over time. i was one of 2 cases that did not adapt. my results were up and down, there was no logical progression :( the girl running these tests said that so far research shows that there is not set reason for motion sickness. sometimes it IS related to inner ear damage - a so called 'balance' problem. but then there are people who get sick when objects move horizontally but not vertically or vice versa. i get sick from any direction of movement lol. the vestibular system (inside the ear) is the main cause for this uneasiness, but it's still being learned WHY and HOW. i lost 3D vision in one eye a few years ago, and this caused my symptoms to get even worse, as i had no real focal point. riding in a car or bus for less than 5 minutes sometimes was enough to make me ill for the next 2 days!!! i often still get headaches from motion sickness. and when i get headaches for other reasons, i often end up feeling nauseous, so i refrain from getting near a moving vehicle, and just try to keep my eyes closed, at best, take a nap. i've found the only way to get rid of motion sickness is to use gravol, or to sleep through it. and i think gravol works well for me because one of the side effects is drowsiness. so....sleep it shall be!
2 people like this
@shmeedia (1044)
• Canada
2 Jan 07
lol, thanks i guess...? i suppose it isn't a 'nice' story to always be motion sick and never get a cure :( but thanx for the best response (smile)
1 person likes this
• Portugal
2 Jan 07
It was a nice story to hear, but of course it's not nice to have motion-sickness all the life :| I choose your response as the best, because it explained in detail how motion-sickness works, and how we can prevent it. You deserved it ;)
• Portugal
1 Jan 07
Thanks for your advice. A real nice story you have there :O
1 person likes this
@icequeen (2840)
• Canada
1 Jan 07
Yeah...I used to suffer from it as a child too. I don't really travel a lot now...but I probably still have it...My son also had motion-sickness when he was younger...and threw up a few times. I used to give him gravol before any school trips..and that seemed to work...you just have to take it a few hours before the trip...I think he is okay now though...he has not been sick in a few years....
2 people like this
• Portugal
1 Jan 07
Thanks for your answer. *writes Gravol in his textbook* :)
@totolotto (711)
• Singapore
1 Jan 07
Yes i have it too... thats why i take motion sickness tablets if i need to go on any long trips. i think taking ginger helps too.
@shmeedia (1044)
• Canada
1 Jan 07
funny enough, ginger is a peculiar thing. in some cases, it cures motion sickness or nausea, and in other cases can make it worse! it has happened to me :( i even once saw in a chinese herb shop, a ginger tea with a warning label on it with a very contradictory message. it said ginger helps cure nausea, but that pregnant women or people prone to nausea should NOT take this tea!
• Portugal
1 Jan 07
Thanks for your answer. I'll try the ginger, then (what a cookbook I gathered from this discussion :P ).
@TerryZ (22076)
• United States
1 Jan 07
No not me I can go deep in the ocean on a big boat and fish all day long. I love it. I think thats is pretty good considering I am a female. I dont get sick when driving in a car for a long period of time either. I gues Im just lucky.
• Canada
2 Jan 07
I wish I could be you.....I have weanted to scuba since I was a child but just the very thought of it makes me queezy! =)
@lafavorito (2959)
• Philippines
1 Jan 07
I used to suffer from Motion Sickness when I was very young, around 2 - 5 I think. Our family often takes trips to the mountains and the motion of the car turning corners after corners really makes me sick, I often have a plastic bag in hand so that whenever I feel sick I'm ready. My mom often make me drink warm milk before we go up the mountains so that my stomach can relax and she urges me to sleep so that I will not feel anything. Now I'm over the motion sickness, I can even ride a roller coster a few times and not feel sick.
• Portugal
1 Jan 07
Thanks for your response. When I was young, my mother told my doctor about my problem with motion sickness and she also advised about having something on the stomach before I went for a trip. I never felt that helped, though...
• Philippines
1 Jan 07
yes i still have motion sickness at my age. Everytime i ride any airconditioned vehicle i always puke. One thing i do is i always have menthol candies everytime i travel. That way i am able to survive it without getting sick. It works for me
1 person likes this
• Portugal
1 Jan 07
Thanks for your response. I've never tried using menthol candies before, but I doubt they would work for me. Maybe they work because you believe they do. Your brain can control motion sickness better than any medicine out there :P
@wahmoftwo (1296)
• United States
1 Jan 07
I never had a problem until a couple of years ago. If I don't keep my eyes on where the car is going I get sick to my stomach and a terrible headache. It is really weird.
1 person likes this
@sbeauty (5865)
• United States
1 Jan 07
I had motion sickness for years as a child. Mother said I couldn't even ride the few blocks downtown as a baby without throwing up. We took a lot of long vacations when I was young, and I was sick a lot. The worst I can remember was when I was about 16. I had felt violently sick all day, but my mother kept telling me to sit up because it was all in my head. We'd stopped at a motel, but then we decided to go find a pizza place. I was in the back seat as always when everything just came up before I could even try to do anything about it. All I remember is my dad driving the car with stuff dripping off his ears. When I got into college I would try and find rides home for weekends, and I inevitably ended up in the back seat. I found that if I would wear my glasses (formerly only used to see the board in classrooms), I wouldn't feel quite as sick. After that I tried to always ride in the front seat and wear my glasses. I didn't get sick that way. Later they started doing studies and discovered that near-sighted people often struggle with motion sickness just because what they see out of the windows going by so fast is nothing but a blur. I concur with their findings.
1 person likes this
@chikkadee (372)
• Australia
2 Jan 07
I have never understood the whole horizon thing, it has never worked for me either and I used to drive from port hedland to perth western australia which has a very long, never changing background. Saying that,however, I never really suffered from motion sickness. As a child we used to make that 2 day drive from port hedland to perth and because I spent the entire time reading or drawing or colouring (or similar) I used to feel it for a bit. But then I would just chat or take my mind away from what I was doing and I would be fine. Pretty damn good as an adult too, the only time I feel motion sickness is when the room is spinning after a good night out :P
1 person likes this
• Canada
1 Jan 07
I do sometimes have motion sickness. I cannot read in a moving vehicle and sometimes even just looking down at the floor of the car for a moment will make me feel ill. Since I had my children, I cannot go on the rides at an amusement park any more because I get very dizzy and nauseous. I also can't go on the swings at the park because that also makes me feel really sick. I don't take anything as far as medication for these issues... I mainly just avoid the situations at all costs ;)
1 person likes this
• United States
1 Jan 07
I do have motion sickness till now.When im on a running car and im moving around it makes me sick.So when im on the car and not driving i try to stay focus on the street.I always take a motion sickness tablet with me.
@Janono630 (238)
• United States
2 Jan 07
I have to say that when i was little i would get sick going for a ride down the street. now that im a little older i dont get it as bad as i used to. i never really get sick in a car unless i fall asleep and when i wake up im a little dizzy but nothing too bad. I also used to do bad on planes but now if i just sip on a little ginger ale i am ok and just relax and try to sleep or listen to music. I Can lay in my hammock in the summer and sway in the wind back and forth and sleep and never feel sick. After i get up from a nap there a feel refreshed and reay to go.
• Portugal
2 Jan 07
Thanks for your response.
• United States
2 Jan 07
I get motion sickness so bad sometimes that I can't go on roller coasters ever or sit in the back seat of a car. It's sad - even though I don't like heights, I'd still like to be able to do something at an amusement park. I get sick on car trips sometimes, especially if I have a headache (sinus headache especially). I have dramamine, but it usually doesn't work. I usually just have to throw up for it to go away...or just go to sleep. I know it sounds gross but it does the trick :-p
• United States
1 Jan 07
If my parents are driving I get sick if I dont know where I am and my parents start taking corners. If im just driving around its fine, but if I have to take a long trip I get really sick. Ive never thrown up because of it though. Has anyone ever tried motion sickness pills? and do they work? I might try some on the next trip I take if they do.
1 person likes this
@loray143 (485)
• Philippines
20 Jan 07
Hmmm... I guess when you were younger you dont go on car trips regularly. youre not use to it. that's why your body is reacting when you get to one
@pendragon (3350)
• United States
1 Jan 07
Only if I read in a car, I get nauseaous.Nothing else though, I can even read on a train, just not a car.Sounds kind of like Dr. Suess,lol.
• Portugal
1 Jan 07
I would wish I could do the same as you. Friends of mine read books on a train or a car and they don't have even a little sign of motion sickness. I love to read, but I can't even try to do it in a car. Even reading newspaper's headlines get me sick...
• United States
2 Jan 07
When I was a child I used to get car sick all the time. Back then, cars had that gasoline smell so I think that is what made me sick. Also, I found that if I sat in the backseat I would get sick, but if I sat in front I was fine. Now I get motion sickness on amusement park rides. I have never been on a cruise, so I don't know if I would get seasick. And when I fly, I always take dramimine before I get on the plane, so I have never gotten sick while flying.
• Portugal
2 Jan 07
If you are in the back seats you experience a lot more of centrifugal forces. My mother always sits in the front row, but one day she moved to the back and she was sick for the first time.
@moneymaka (492)
• United States
20 Jan 07
Actually yes i do get motion sickness, usually when im in a car or in school bus i try to read or write something i get a headach then followed by sickness in my stomach.
@ram13288 (387)
• United States
20 Jan 07
i used to have motion sickness but then somehow it just went away one day. i noticed that i didnt get sick anymore the day one of my friends got a car and we went for a pretty long ride. i think that me being excited about him getting a car help me get rid of motion sickness because all the times that i would get sick was when i had to drive somewhere with my dad which i was never excited about doing and on those trips i would just think to myself not to get sick but thinking about eventually made me sick. so i guess im just trying to say is that only get in a car when you are excited or anxious about the destination you are going to. i hope that helps.
• United States
12 Mar 07
i don't get sick on rollercoasters or any rides but i get sick in the car when i try to read. it gives me a headache then makes me sick to my stomach. i can watch a movie in the car though. i don't know why. it's pretty weird.