travel sickness

Motion sickness: description

Travel sickness is a widespread and harmless phenomenon, but it can be a heavy burden for sufferers. The technical term “kinetosis” derives from the Greek word for moving (bringing cinema). Because it is the movement stimulus that makes people with motion sickness. It can be triggered, for example, by a jolting and swinging coach or in a car on a winding mountain trail. The main problem here is that the movement confuses the sense of balance. There are different ones Variants of motion sickness:

• Widely used is the seasickness– she shows up on ships and other vessels.
• From one country disease On the other hand, one speaks of people who develop symptoms of kinetosis back on the solid ground after a sea voyage. Already the jetty seems to waver after the body has adjusted to the wave movements on the ship. This experience is made especially by sailors who have spent a long time on a ship.
• Rather rare is the airsicknessin which the affected people on air travel is bad. Sometimes it occurs in combination with fear of flying (aviophobia), whereby both sensations can intensify each other.
• Even astronauts sometimes develop a kinetosis: Due to the lack of gravity is many people in space once sick and dizzy. This is called as space sickness.

A variety of situations can lead to a travel sickness – for example, a ride on the gondola, a ride on a camel or a stay in a skyscraper, which fluctuates slightly in the wind. From one Pseudo-motion sickness One speaks when a flight simulator, a computer game or a 3-D cinema caused the motion sickness. In this case, there is no “real” authoritative movement, but only the impression through the eyes.

seasickness

How a seasickness manifests itself and what you can do about it, you will learn in the article seasickness.

Why does motion sickness affect some people more than others?

How strong the attraction must be to trigger a motion sickness varies from person to person.

In adults, women are more affected by motion sickness than men. Physicians assume that the hormone balance also plays a role, because during their menstruation and in pregnancy, women often show symptoms of travel sickness more quickly than usual. Incidentally, even animals can travel sick: Not only so many a dog is in the car bad, but even fish can be seasick if they are transported in a staggering aquarium.

Motion sickness: symptoms

The motion sickness can occur in different degrees. In the initial stage, only mild symptoms of kinetosis are usually noticeable: Affected persons often feel tired and often have to yawn, produce more saliva and may have a slight headache.

As a classic motion sickness one usually calls the following symptoms:

• a headache
• sweats
• Nausea and vomiting
• dizziness
• paleness
• fast breath (hyperventilation)

In this condition, the blood pressure drops and the heartbeat accelerates (tachycardia). Most of the people recover but recover relatively quickly from the motion sickness, as soon as they can reconcile the sensory impressions.

In rare cases, a motion sickness can reach threatening levels, for example, if for days heavy nausea with vomiting and the person affected by this large amounts of water and salts (electrolytes) loses. Some people with motion sickness feel very tired and are downright apathetic; In rare cases, the motion sickness leads to circulatory collapse.

Travel sickness: causes and risk factors

The motion sickness can be triggered by a variety of causes, from swaying ship to the ride into space. Doctors assume that the reason for this is a conflict between different sensory impressions.

The body must constantly coordinate conscious and unconscious movements in order to maintain its balance. To assess its exact location in space, he gets information from the various sensory organs: The vestibular apparatus sits in the inner ear and recorded on the one hand on the so-called semicircular cans the exact rotational movements of the head. On the other hand, the otolith organs (sacculus and utricle) perceive the horizontal and vertical movements in space. Small receptor cells, the so-called hair cells, absorb any changes in the different parts of the organ of equilibrium and pass them on to the brain as electrical signals via the responsible nerves.

In addition to the organ of balance, the so-called proprioceptors send signals to the brain. These sit mainly in the muscles and tendons and “measure” their respective strain state. The nerves work so well together that a person, for example, can coordinate his arms exactly parallel with his eyes closed.

The eyes represent the third important source of information for the brain when it comes to perceiving one’s own body in space. For example, it is accustomed to the horizon, the floors and tabletops being a horizontal orientation axis; Walls, masts and lampposts, on the other hand, always run vertically. In the case of motion sickness, this visual impression plays a crucial role.

All this information that the brain receives from the sensory cells usually assembles it into a meaningful three-dimensional image. In certain situations, however, the information is contradictory, such as when the eyes perceive that one is sitting still and looking at a city map (for example, as a passenger in the car), while the organ of balance announces fluctuations and shocks. This creates the feeling of motion sickness.

Various factors also lead to increased susceptibility to motion sickness:

• Diseases like migraine
• alcohol consumption
• Fear (eg fear of flying or fear of motion sickness itself)
• pregnancy
• Menstruation

Travel sickness: examinations and diagnosis

In motion sickness, the diagnosis is usually clear, especially since the symptoms occur in characteristic situations – such as on the ship or in the car – and repeat themselves there. For mild and moderate symptoms, sufferers often do not seek medical help to diagnose motion sickness since they or their fellow travelers can classify it themselves.

For severe symptoms, it is important for treatment, however, that the doctor clarifies the exact background and ensures that it is actually the consequences of motion sickness and not an infection or poisoning to vomiting and circulatory collapse (differential diagnosis). For long-distance travel, it is always advisable to think of “travel illnesses” in the sense of, for example, tropical diseases. In order to rule out other diseases, the doctor interviews the person affected or his relatives according to the exact circumstances – even after taking medications and whether the problem of motion sickness has been known for some time. A physical examination and a blood test may be necessary in individual cases to exclude other diseases.

Motion sickness: treatment

For the treatment of motion sickness, there are some tips that can be used to control nausea, dizziness and other symptoms. It is important to react as early as possible – ideally at the first signs of a slight headache and increased salivation: direct your gaze out of the vehicle into the distance, preferably on the road or on the horizon. This gives your eyes a firm orientation. In the meantime, even glasses with a movable bar are available, which works as an artificial “horizon” for the eyes.

Reading while on the move or being on the phone, for example, can increase the symptoms of motion sickness. Try to avoid such activities.

If you already feel bad and have the opportunity to do so, lie flat on your back and close your eyes. In general, it is often helpful in travel sickness to spend as much of the travel time asleep. During sleep, the sense of balance is largely eliminated and the visual impressions fall away.

In addition, there are some drugs that are used as drugs against travel sickness:

• scopolamine
• meclizine
• dimenhydrinate
• cinnarizine

These agents are available in the form of patches, tablets or chewing gums. But beware: many travel sickness medications can make you very tired and slow down the reactions, so you should not drive after taking it yourself (for example, driving from the airport). Also, not all medicines mentioned are suitable for children. It is best to consult your doctor or pharmacist before you travel.

Alternatively, you can also put on ginger: The sharp tubers also relieve nausea, for example in the form of freshly brewed ginger water.

Prevent

If you are prone to motion sickness, it is best to prevent the approaching nausea even before you drive. With a few simple measures you can mitigate the travel sickness or completely avoid:

• Eat a light, non-fatty meal before traveling. Well suited would be, for example, a fruit salad or sandwiches.
• Do not drink alcohol – even the day before. If possible, avoid caffeine or limit yourself to a small cup of coffee.
• If you can set it up, you drive on your own when traveling by car. A well-known phenomenon is that the driver himself usually does not resent – presumably because he keeps his gaze steady on the road.
• If possible, choose a place in the direction of travel, preferably a window seat, by bus and train. In the car, the passenger seat is a good place in the coach, the front row of seats overlooking the street. Even a seat in the middle of a bus can help – the pendulum movements are the least.
• In the airplane it can help to sit at the height of the wings. Here, a place on the aisle is often the better choice, as many people with motion sickness are good at taking some steps in the corridor up and down in between.
• Medication against travel sickness are usually most effective when used at least 30 to 60 minutes before travel. It is best to follow the recommendations on the package leaflet or ask the pharmacist.

Travel sickness: disease course and prognosis

A motion sickness can occur at any time, even if a person has never been affected before. In some, the typical symptoms are only occasionally noticeable and often they resolve in the course of a life again.

Most susceptible to motion sickness are children between the ages of two and twelve. In babies, the sense of balance is not yet so pronounced that the movement stimuli could disturb him. From adolescence, most people become less sensitive to jerking, swaying or swaying, and people over 50 years of age only suffer from slamming Travel sickness.