Motion sickness

Motion sickness or traveller's sickness is a disorder suffered by some people while traveling. It can manifest in cars, aircraft, trains or ships, and more rarely during the use of virtual simulators, such as video games or flight simulators. Its most common symptoms are nausea, vomiting, cold sweat, headache, drowsiness, yawning, loss of appetite, and increased salivation.

Astronauts can suffer from space adaptation syndrome.

Causes

Its primary cause is excessive stimulation of the vestibular apparatus by low-frequency movements.

The accepted theory, called "sensory conflict and neural mismatch theory," describes the discrepancy between the visual and somatosensory patterns experienced during travel and those memorized as 'normal' by the driver. by the individual as the cause of the disorder.

Individual susceptibility is highly variable, but virtually anyone whose vestibular apparatus is functional can suffer from it if the stimulus is intense or long-lasting enough.

Visual stimuli such as a moving horizon, together with other factors, in many circumstances associated with the transport vehicle such as poor ventilation, smoke, carbon monoxide or steam, and emotional factors such as fear or anxiety, act together with movement to precipitate an attack.

Treatments

Keeping your head still and lying on your back can help control motion sickness. If possible, the view should be fixed on the horizon. Avoid reading or consulting maps.

Habituation techniques can be used, but their effectiveness manifests itself in the medium term and must be maintained through continuous practice.

There are several medications that help prevent motion sickness: antimuscarinics, such as scopolamine, antihistamines, such as dimenhydrinate, and sympathomimetics, such as dextroamphetamine. Scopolamine is the most effective, especially when used preventatively. Possible adverse effects should be taken into account. During pregnancy, only meclizine and dimenhydrinate are recommended.