Travel Sickness: Symptoms, Causes and Treatment

Travel Sickness

Travel sickness, also known as motion sickness, is a condition causing nausea and dizziness while traveling due to repetitive movements. Find out more about this common condition.

Recommended Actions

Resting and closing your eyes during travel, opting for a seat with minimal motion, avoiding reading while in transit, and limiting food and drink intake beforehand can help alleviate motion sickness. Additionally, over-the-counter or prescribed medications can offer relief.

Recommended Avoidances

To prevent motion sickness, avoid heavy meals, spicy foods, and alcohol before and during travel. Additionally, try to avoid reading while in motion and aim to stay in areas with clear views of the horizon or outdoors.

Prevention Tips

To avoid motion sickness, focus on the horizon or a stationary object outside, opt for the front seat in a car or the middle seat in a boat, keep your head still against the seat back, avoid smoking, and consider over-the-counter medications like dimenhydrinate or meclizine before traveling.

Condition 101

Travel sickness, also known as motion sickness, is a common condition characterised by feelings of nausea and dizziness when travelling by car, plane, boat or train. This uneasy sensation is triggered by repetitive, unusual movements during travel, affecting your sense of balance and equilibrium.

Nausea or vomiting
Pale skin
Cold sweat
Dizziness
Increased salivation
Headaches
Fatigue
Travel sickness occurs when there's a conflict between what your eyes see and what your inner ears, which help with balance, sense. This conflict leads to a confusion in the brain, causing symptoms of motion sickness.
Anyone can develop travel sickness, but people with migraines, children between ages 2 to 12, pregnant women, and individuals prone to nausea, are at a higher risk.
Consult with a healthcare professional if your symptoms persist or significantly interfere with your travel plans, daily activities or if they arise suddenly during or after travel, as this might indicate a more serious condition.

Diagnosis of travel sickness primarily involves a thorough medical history and physical examination. Your healthcare provider may ask about the frequency and circumstances of your symptoms. No specific tests are necessary, as the condition is largely identified through reported symptoms.
While uncomfortable, travel sickness usually isn't serious. However, persistent travel sickness may lead to dehydration due to vomiting.
A common misconception is that travel sickness is "all in the head". This is false as it is a physiological response to motion.
Symptoms of travel sickness can mimic those of conditions like labyrinthitis, Meniere's disease, or vestibular migraines. Hence, a thorough clinical evaluation is necessary.

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Treatment Options

Need more information about Travel Sickness, contact us for more help on treatment or advise.

Antihistamines (Cinnarizine, Promethazine)
Hyoscine (Kwells)

For severe cases, doctors may recommend prescription medications or therapies such as scopolamine patches, antihistamines like cyclizine or prescription-strength meclizine.

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