What Is Motion Sickness?

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Medically reviewed by Sameena Zahoor, MD

Motion sickness happens when what you see is different from the movement your brain senses.  Experiencing lots of motion, especially rocking back and forth, can trigger this feeling of sickness. Riding in a car, plane, ship, or roller coaster are common causes of motion sickness, which may cause you to develop symptoms like nausea, fatigue, and problems with balance. Symptoms typically resolve within 24 hours after the onset of motion sickness.

Seeing a healthcare provider can help you improve motion sickness symptoms and understand which triggers to avoid. Your healthcare provider may diagnose your motion sickness with a medical history. They may recommend medications, like anticholinergics or antihistamines, to treat your motion sickness.

Fortunately, tips like sleeping while traveling and avoiding heavy meals right before getting on a moving vehicle can help keep symptoms of motion sickness at bay.

Symptoms

If you have motion sickness, symptoms tend to get worse as time goes on. Experts categorize symptoms based on what you feel in the early stages of motion sickness and how you feel later on.

Early Symptoms of Motion Sickness

The symptoms of motion sickness usually start slowly. You may not even notice that you’re starting to get sick. The symptoms will continue to get worse if the triggering movement doesn’t stop. In the beginning, symptoms may include:

• Fatigue
• Stomach discomfort 
• Nausea

Unfortunately, if you don’t remove yourself from the situation that’s causing the motion sickness (such as being on a boat), symptoms tend to get worse. As the symptoms continue, you may notice:

• Headache
• Blurry vision
• Hyperventilation
• Dizziness
• Repeated yawning
• Low blood pressure
• Sensitivity to heat or strong odors

Late Symptoms of Motion Sickness

If your motion sickness persists, it’s common to experience worsening symptoms. These may include excess saliva in your mouth, followed by vomiting. After vomiting, some people see a brief improvement in symptoms. However, symptoms tend to return after a short time and it’s possible that you feel nauseous again.

With late-stage symptoms, you may experience problems with balance or have a hard time walking without feeling dizzy or nauseous. People often have some difficulty carrying out normal daily activities because they need to avoid movement.

If you’re able to remove yourself from the triggering movement, your symptoms will typically go away on their own. It usually takes less than 24 hours for the most prominent symptoms to resolve.

Causes

You experience motion sickness when your body sends your brain opposing information about how your body is moving. Sometimes, your head and body will be moving differently from each other.  Other times, a repetitive jolting motion will trigger it. Your brain gets confused and doesn’t know whether you’re moving or standing still.

In most cases, repetitive motions are the reason motion sickness starts to occur. Symptoms may start while:

• Sitting on a horse
• Riding a roller coaster
• Moving in a car, boat, or plane

In some cases, you only have to think you’re moving to become motion sick. If you’re using virtual reality, you may develop the same symptoms as if your body was actually in motion. Alcohol and substance use can sometimes have the same effect.

Your eyes, inner ears, and receptors on your skin and muscles work together to keep you balanced. They do this by sending messages to your brain about how your body moves. When this message is different from the movement your eyes see, you start to feel unwell. Your motion sickness worsens when your body’s movement continues to contradict your brain’s perception.

Risk Factors

Some people are more at risk of experiencing motion sickness than others, including:

• Pregnant people 
• Younger children
• Those who have a history of migraine
• People who have a family history of motion sickness

Diagnosis

If your symptoms of motion sickness are interfering with your quality of life, seeing your healthcare provider for testing can help. At your appointment, your provider may start by asking for a detailed history of the events leading up to your symptoms. Your healthcare provider will ask you your medical history, including questions like:

• Have you ever felt sick looking at a device?
• Has movement ever triggered nausea or vomiting? 
• Did you ever experience motion sickness as a child?

Your healthcare provider may perform a physical exam to rule out any other conditions that cause symptoms similar to motion sickness. These conditions include concussion, low blood sugar, vestibular migraine, and basilar artery occlusion (a type of stroke).

You may need additional testing to differentiate between motion sickness and another health condition. Your healthcare provider may perform the following tests to rule out other conditions:

• CT angiography: A 15-minute, non-invasive procedure where your healthcare provider injects contrasting dye into your vessels to visualize a specific area of your body
• Blood sugar test: Assesses your blood sugar levels by using a finger prick and blood sugar meter to provide real-time results

Once your healthcare provider rules out any other conditions, they can recommend treatment options to manage your motion sickness.

Treatments for Motion Sickness

The goal of treatment is to prevent or treat major discomfort caused by motion sickness. Your doctor may recommend changing positions or shifting your gaze. If that doesn’t work, they may recommend medication. Medication is most effective when used alongside lifestyle changes.

Medications

If you have motion sickness, medications can help relieve symptoms. The two most common types of medication include:

• Anticholinergics: Medicines like Scopace (scopolamine), can treat and prevent motion sickness. This medication lowers your chance of vomiting without causing drowsiness. This medicine comes in the form of a patch that you can apply behind your ear a few hours before motion. The patches can be effective for 72 hours. 
• Antihistamines: While these medications can help treat motion sickness, they can also cause significant drowsiness. Many people with motion sickness use Dramamine (dimenhydrinate), as this medication blocks histamine receptors in your brain to prevent vomiting. This medication’s effects last a long time, so it’s useful for longer trips.

Alternative Therapies

In addition to medications, healthcare providers may also recommend some lifestyle or behavioral changes that you can incorporate to help relieve symptoms. Consider the following:

• Getting cold and fresh air: Excess motion usually overwhelms your nervous system. While this is typically a short-term fix, going outside to get some fresh air can help calm down your immune system. Your symptoms might return shortly afterward.
• Using a motion sickness band: Applying this band to your forearm and adding pressure can help activate receptors in the vagus nerve—the longest nerve in the nervous system that manages several functions of your body like heart rate and digestion. Some studies suggest that stimulating the vagus nerve can potentially help manage nausea and vomiting.
• Eating hard ginger candies: Sucking on or eating ginger candies may help reduce some symptoms of motion sickness. Studies show that ginger root may be able to reduce vomiting, cold sweats, and dizziness.

How To Prevent Motion Sickness Episodes

Preventing motion sickness is often more effective than treating it. The following tips may help prevent your risk of developing symptoms:

• Distracting yourself with an activity 
• Listening to music
• Closing your eyes
• Putting down your phone or book (as reading can make motion sickness worse)
• Lying down
• Sitting in the front or window seat of a vehicle
• Drinking water
• Limiting the amount of caffeine and alcohol you drink before getting in a vehicle 
• Avoiding heavy meals before a motion-related activity 
• Avoiding foods that are high in histamine, such as tuna, soy sauce, and salami
• Taking slow, deep, and controlled breaths to calm down your nervous system

Complications

While complications of motion sickness tend to be rare, you might experience complications if you’re frequently vomiting. Throwing up can sometimes lead to dehydration—a condition that occurs when your body loses too much fluid. Mild dehydration is uncomfortable, but severe dehydration can cause dangerous changes in your electrolyte balance. When you lose too much fluid, an electrolyte imbalance may cause:

• Changes in your heartbeat
• Muscle weakness or cramps
• Shifts in your blood pressure

Fortunately, preventing motion sickness or promptly treating symptoms can help reduce your chance of developing complications. If you do experience vomiting, drinking water to replenish the lost fluids can also help.

A Quick Review

Motion sickness is a treatable condition that’s triggered when the movement you see is different from what your brain perceives. This can happen on car, train, plane, or boat rides. It’s possible to also experience motion sickness symptoms on rollercoasters, with virtual reality headsets, or while drinking alcohol.

If you develop motion sickness, common symptoms can include fatigue, nausea, vomiting, and hyperventilation. Medications and lifestyle changes can help treat symptoms, but preventing motion sickness is the best way to avoid symptoms altogether and reduce the risk of complications.

Frequently Asked Questions

What triggers motion sickness?

Motion sickness gets triggered when your brain and body perceive movement differently from each other. Repeated motion, such as being in a car, boat, or plane can cause motion sickness.

How long can motion sickness last?

Motion sickness usually goes away within 24 hours after the triggering movement has stopped.

Do motion sickness bands work?

Early research shows motion sickness bands may help reduce some motion sickness symptoms, but more research is needed to confirm these findings.

Read the original article on Health.com.