How to Avoid Motion Sickness on Airplanes

For some, a flight is nothing more than being confined to one seat for an extended period of time. For others, that nightmare is only exemplified by the fact that they're bound to feel nauseous and — if the motion sickness gets the best of them — may even actually throw up when the turbulence gets bad enough.

Air sickness is a common plague for many travelers, but luckily there are some things you can do to better equip yourself against this annoying side effect.

The first thing in battling air sickness is knowing what it is. This issue occurs when your inner ear detects movement that your eyes aren't registering. This works in reverse, as well — if your eyes catch movement that your body doesn't detect, say when you're watching a particularly bumpy movie scene, you can become motion sick without even moving.

According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, this imbalance can cause a number of symptoms: cold sweats, pale skin, headaches, dizziness, nausea, increased salivation, fatigue, and vomiting. A 2015 study pulling data from genetics group 23andme in the Oxford Academic on Human Molecular Genetics shared that roughly one in three people suffer from car sickness, the causes of which are incredibly similar to air sickness.

It's also been found that motion sickness is aggravated by anxiety and stress, meaning it doesn't necessarily go away after your flight. But there are a few easy ways to avoid these side effects, or at least help kick them to the curb after they've already started.

Skip the Reading Session

While doctors recommend zoning in on a stable scene or horizon line when you're experiencing motion sickness, reading isn't going to improve your situation at all. What you're doing is adding even more movement that could further mess with your inner equilibrium.

Pick Your Airplane Seat Carefully

The seats closer to the front of the airplane and directly on the plane wings are a little more stable than others, cutting down on the movement of your body during the flights. Just like on a bus, the further back you go, the bumpier it is.

Watch What You Eat Before Your Flight

The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association recommends eating a light meal the night before and day of flying. Avoid taking in a lot of calories, and skip salty foods. Salty foods only aggravate dehydration, which also happens on flights where the air is drier (pro tip: drink lots of water). Also skip any greasy foods that would regularly upset your stomach.

Use the Air Vents to Your Advantage

Direct airflow can make a world of difference when you're experiencing motion sickness symptoms in a confined space, such as an airplane seat. Look to the air vent above your seat to provide a bit of relief in times of nausea and distress.

Acupressure

Way back in 1995, there was a study published in the Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine journal sharing that performing acupressure on yourself can lessen your motion sickness. So, what is acupressure? The act of stimulating various pressure points on your body to better circulate the flow of energy throughout the body.

For motion sickness, try using your thumb to push into your wrist about two inches down from the crease of your wrist. Hold it down for a few minutes with varying pressures to find out what works best for you.

Give 'Verbal Placebos' a Try

A study in the Journal of Applied Psychology shared the effects of telling naval cadets in the Israel Defense Forces that they were unlikely to have seasickness and that if they did, it was unlikely to affect their work performance at all. At the end of the five-day experiment, there was less reported seasickness.

What you can do: Have someone close to you reassure you that you won't suffer from motion sickness and start training yourself to worry less about it. Pick a mantra, something like "I can control my motion sickness," to recite during particularly trying moments mid-flight.

Opt for Ginger Ale

Ginger is great for your digestive system. Once that beverage cart hits the cabin, ask for a can of ginger ale to sip. Avoid taking large gulps — you don't want any air bubbles to add to your stomach discomfort. Hard ginger candies can also do wonders for an upset stomach.

Pack Some Dramamine

If all else fails, they do make medication to help curb motion sickness. Be careful, though: Some of these medications can cause severe drowsiness. But hey, sleeping through your flight is a great alternative to spending it in the cramped airplane bathroom.

What is Motion Sickness?
 

Motion sickness starts with a mild feeling of nausea while you're traveling in a car or on a bus, boat, train or plane. If you're as sensitive to it as I am, you'll feel it when you're swimming in the ocean or a pool! If you don't deal with it when it strikes, it will progress to a bad case of the sweats while your stomach feels worse and worse; eventually, you'll be dizzy and vomiting -- perhaps nonstop. That will lead to dehydration and utter misery.

 

 This isn't the way you want to spend your traveling time, and you don't want to arrive at your destination broken from motion sickness' side effects (fatigue since you can't sleep while throwing up, sore throat from constant vomiting, and a general feeling of malaise as you haven't been able to keep down food). Fortunately, there are plenty of ways for you to gain control of your stomach while you're still on the move.

What Causes Motion Sickness?

Your inner ear.

According to WebMD: "Motion sickness occurs when the inner ear, the eyes, and other areas of the body that detect motion send conflicting messages to the brain. One part of your balance-sensing system (your inner ear, vision, and sensory nerves that help you keep your balance) may indicate that your body is moving, while the other parts do not sense motion. For example, if you are in the cabin of a moving ship, your inner ear may sense the motion of big waves, but your eyes don't see any movement.

This leads to a conflict between the senses and results in motion sickness."

Your brain will often think you've been poisoned when it detects this strange movement that doesn't relate to what you're seeing -- and then you throw up to rid yourself of said poison. 

Motion Sickness Prevention Tips

How to stop motion sickness before it starts? For starters, you can try several over-the-counter preventative drugs and devices. Dramamine is always a good starting point when it comes to motion sickness drugs. I've used it many times and it helps for all but the most severe bouts of sickness. When I know I'm going to be suffering on an upcoming trip -- if I'm going sailing in rough seas, for example -- I pay a visit to my doctor beforehand to get something stronger. 

About Guide to Alternative Medicine Cathy Wong, N.D., has some homeopathic suggestions if drugs don't appeal to you. Peppermint and ginger both come in pill form (click the links to buy from Amazon) and are great for relieving mild nausea. You could also try acupressure bands, which definitely help reduce symptoms, but haven't helped during particularly bad bouts for me. 

Eat before you travel is great advice; starting out with something in your stomach will help reduce nausea. Additionally, if you do vomit, you'll at least be able to expel something besides stomach bile, which hurts as it comes through your throat by itself. I try to have a large meal an hour before traveling, and eating while feeling motion sick (while counter-intuitive) does work to calm your nausea. 

You can also try to sleep. A paramedic once recommended trying to sleep as soon as I boarded a yacht. Sleep will act to reset your inner ear and help you grow accustomed to the constant movement. It's not the easiest of things to do if you're violently swaying from side to side, but it does work if you can grab a 20-minute nap or so. 

And, of course, avoidance is the best strategy. If you know you feel unwell on buses, look to spend a little extra money on a taxi, or a train if you're traveling long-distance. If seasickness has always been an enemy of yours, don't sign up for a whale-watching trip in the hope that seeing the megafauna will be worth it -- you'll come to regret it afterwards.

 

How Can I Cure Motion Sickness?

Once you're traveling and motion sickness has struck, even if you've taken your pills beforehand, try these cures/remedies:

Look at the horizon. Focusing on a distant point helps to calm your brain, which is currently thinking you've been poisoned. If you're traveling in a car, sit in a front seat, as this makes it easier to focus on the horizon and keep your eyes in tune with the motion of the car. Definitely don't read or look down while you're moving. Instead, keep watching your horizon as your focal point. Roll down the window as well, as fresh air helps. Stop often and get out and walk around, as this restores your sense of balance.

If you're on a boat, focus on one point in the distance and stare at it. 

Carry or have access to lots of liquids. Club soda is a great stomach settler, and so is Diet Coke. If you are vomiting severely, you'll need water and electrolytes before you'll feel better and, perhaps, medical attention if you become severely dehydrated. Drink plenty of water and electrolyte-laden beverages, like Gatorade, even if you keep throwing up. A good rule of thumb is to drink at least eight ounces of liquid for each time you throw up. Carry a small rehydration sachet in your first-aid kit for emergencies like these.

If you're prone to motion sickness, you may want to carry your own barf bags - check them out here. They're stronger than the sort offered by airlines (imagine dealing with a formerly full and now split bag on top of feeling terrible). In a car, bags are a bit more convenient than sticking your head out the window when there is no time to pull over and less embarrassing than treating fellow travelers to your misery in slow-moving traffic.

Take precautions and take care and remember, it will end eventually!