travel sickness

What's this?

Motion sickness, medically too Kinetosis called, represents one Combination of symptoms that often arise while traveling. Many of those affected wonder what is behind motion sickness. Motion sickness is in the population widespread, but actually not a real disease and besides harmless. However, it is very uncomfortable for the patient concerned.

It occurs on shaky bus rides, on winding roads or, quite classically, on the ship in stormy seas. So it appears especially when traveling, which is how it got its name. If it occurs mainly on boat trips, then it is called Seasickness designated.

The main cause of motion sickness is one Disturbance of the sense of balance. Normally the brain receives the same information about the position and movements of the body from the balance organ and from the eyes. With motion sickness, however, there are different contradicting information from the eyes and sense of balance. The brain therefore has difficulty processing these signals, causing motion sickness.

In principle, one can therefore say that actually anyone can get motion sick at any time, even if they have never had problems before. However, the severity of motion sickness varies greatly from person to person. Besides, that plays Age with regard to the occurrence of motion sickness.

Symptoms

The symptoms of motion sickness can vary greatly from person to person.This is comparable to the perception of certain objects, which is also very subjective in humans. So one can be affected significantly more and worse than the other. At the same time it can happen that you suddenly get motion sick even though you have never had problems with motion sickness.

Typical symptoms of motion sickness are malaise attached to Nausea, headache and dizziness (please refer: Dizziness with nausea). However, these classic symptoms do not have to be expressed in every patient. Slight forms of motion sickness are expressed in easy tiredness, frequent yawns and increased sweating up to sweating. If the patient is more severely affected by motion sickness, symptoms such as Pallor, racing heart and palpitations, Nausea or even increased dizziness. Ultimately, kinetosis can even lead to symptoms like Circulatory waste or one clearly increased breathing (Hyperventilation) to lead. The severe form of motion sickness also leads to repeated vomiting and a severe subjective feeling of illness.

therapy

When symptoms of motion sickness occur, different therapeutic measures can be taken. There are a few Medicationthat can be used in the context of motion sickness. Unfortunately, they don't work equally well for everyone, so everyone has to find the right remedy for themselves.

The dosage forms of the drugs are also very different. Dimenhydrinate, which belongs to the group of antihistamines and can be used to treat motion sickness, is for example in classic tablet form or even as chewing gum available at the pharmacy, which you should chew while driving or flying. Another form of drug treatment for motion sickness is this Sticking plasters onthat continuously release the corresponding active ingredient.

Medication

Drugs against motion sickness are available in large numbers in pharmacies. You will be in the different dosage forms offered, so that the patient concerned should try a few options to find the best dosage form for him. The active substance Dimenhydrinate belongs to the group of so-called antihistamines, which are known to be taken in the context of allergies. Another property that the drug has is its "Antiemetic" effect. So it helps against nausea and vomiting. There is both Tablets, Dragees or in the form of Chewing gum. The gum should be taken as soon as symptoms appear.

Another effective drug for motion sickness is the so-called Scopolamine. It belongs to the group of parasympatholytics. This drug is also effective against nausea and vomiting. At the same time, it has a sedating effect and is usually in the form of a Plaster available. However, this must a few hours before departure must be stuck to the skin, otherwise it cannot release its active ingredient quickly enough. The big advantage of this patch is that the active ingredient gets into the body even if the person vomits, unlike the tablets.

Alternatively, herbal medications can be used to treat motion sickness. This mainly plays ginger a significant role. Ginger is used both for digestive problems, but also for treating nausea and vomiting. It is also used to prevent motion sickness. Ginger is available in both Tablets and dragee form as well as a tea infusion. It should be taken for the first time about half an hour before departure.

Tablets

Dimenhydrinate (Vomex®) are available in the form of tablets for the treatment of motion sickness. In addition to its anti-allergic effect - it actually belongs to the group of so-called Antihistamines - Another effect of this active ingredient is used in the treatment of motion sickness: it works both against nausea, as well as against vomiting. At the same time it has one sedative effectwhich is also beneficial for the mental component of motion sickness. You don't have to take the tablets in advance, you can take them take if necessarywhen you notice that motion sickness is slowly making itself felt.

Another drug that comes in pill form is that Cinnarizine. It is usually used in the field of vertigo therapy for certain ear diseases. But since it is also a positive effect on nausea and vomiting it is also used in the treatment of motion sickness.

Please also read our article on this Cinnarizine.

homeopathy

Also in the homeopathy you can find some remedies that can be taken against motion sickness. In order to find the right remedy for this, you have to know your symptoms and compare them with the descriptions of the respective homeopathic remedies. If none of the descriptions exactly match one's own symptoms, one should pick the remedy that best fits the descriptions.

Most are in homeopathy Borax D12, Petroleum D12, Tabacum D12, Nux vomica and Cocculus D12 used to treat and prevent motion sickness. Cocculus D12 is probably the strongest remedy for the therapy of motion sickness. Especially with small children, remedies from homeopathy are more likely to be used, as many alternative therapies are not approved for children due to their age.

Motion sickness in children / babies

The motion sickness occurs common in toddlers and children on. Longer car journeys or boat crossings can therefore sometimes become a real torture for them. Are particularly often and severely affected by motion sickness Infants from 2 years. This period often extends to around the beginning of puberty. Children are from sudden nausea, excessive vomiting and dizziness plagued.

Motion sickness is coming rarely with babies until not before. With them it is Balance organ not yet so pronounced in the inner ear, so that there is no discrepancy between the signals from the eye and the signals from the inner ear, as in older children. They perceive their environment differently than older children. From puberty onwards, motion sickness gradually subsides in affected children and can sometimes ultimately disappear completely in adulthood.

For parents of affected children there is useful tipsthat can improve the situation a little while traveling. Contrary to popular belief, it is exactly the wrong impulse to distract your children with coloring books, reading books or watching TV. This type of distraction makes symptoms worse because the coloring books represent an object at rest, but the inner ear signals movement. It is better to let the child unreservedly look out the window allow. If it's old enough, it may help it sit on the front passenger seat. You can use the kid for distraction Tell stories or sing with him. Affected toddlers can also be helped by playing search games with them while driving. Classic games of this kind are, for example, “guess the license plate number” or “I see what you can't see”. Even if you have severe symptoms, you should not cancel trips or allow yourself to be restricted too much by motion sickness.

Motion sickness jet lag

A Jet lag often occurs on a long-haul flight when a few hours of time difference disturb the body's own rhythm.

All processes in the human body follow a natural rhythm that is the length of a day. This is known as circadian rhythm. So be for example Blood pressure, Heart rate and Body temperature controlled and we have an "internal clock" when it comes to things like eating or sleeping. If you land in a different time zone, the time of day or night and the internal clock no longer match and this is expressed in different ways. Of the Sleep-wake rhythm is messed up and it occurs frequently A- and Difficulty sleeping through the night on. Still, there is frequent during the day fatigue. Jet lag also has an impact on appetite and digestion. For example, hunger occurs at night and the urge to stool or urinate becomes noticeable at inconvenient times.

The symptoms that are caused by jet lag go away on their own after a few days. It is important to be careful in the destination country to adapt to the times of the day there. This will help the body get used to the time change.

Read detailed information on the subject: Jet lag