Motion sickness occurs when your brain gets signals that do not match the signals from your inner ears, eyes, muscles, and joints. You may experience motion sickness, also known as airsickness, carsickness, and seasickness, while traveling by car, train, airplanes, and particularly by boat or ship. Symptoms of motion sickness include dizziness, fatigue, and nausea often progressing to vomiting. Some people are naturally prone to motion sickness, and motion sickness is also associated with migraines, but others are only bothered during extreme turbulence while on a boat or plane.

First Aid for Motion Sickness

Motion sickness can be treated in the following ways:

• The best location to prevent seasickness is an interior location of a large ship, or facing forward and looking outside a ship or plane window.

• For short trips, the OTC medications meclizine, brand name Dramamine, and Bonine, are effective and can also be used for intermittent symptoms.

• On long trips, the prescription medication Transderm-Scop is a patch that can be worn behind the ear for as long as three days at a time.

Side effects of these medications are typically drowsiness, sedation, and dry mouth. Do not use motion-sickness medication if you have glaucoma or urinary obstruction.