Motion Sickness

Revising Medical Author: Jay W. Marks, MD
Revising Medical Editor: Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD

• What is motion sickness?
• What causes motion sickness?
• What are the symptoms of motion sickness?
• Is there a difference between motion sickness and sea sickness?
• How does our sense of balance work?
• How does motion sickness affect our sense of balance?
• Is motion sickness a serious condition?
• When do the nausea and vomiting of motion sickness stop?
• What measures can be taken to prevent or minimize motion sickness?
• How is motion sickness treated?
• When should I see a doctor for motion sickness?
• Where can I get further information about motion sickness?
• Motion Sickness At A Glance

10 Tips to Prevent Motion Sickness Medical Author: Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD Medical Editor: Jay W. Marks, MD Motion sickness , sometimes referred to as sea sickness or car sickness, is a very common disturbance of the inner ear that is caused by repeated motion. In addition to sea travel, motion sickness can develop from the movement of a car or from turbulence in an airplane. The symptoms of motion sickness are nausea, vomiting, dizziness, sweating, and a sense of feeling unwell. These symptoms arise from the inner ear (labyrinth) due to changes in one's sense of balance and equilibrium. While it may be impossible to prevent all cases of motion sickness, the following tips can help you prevent or lessen the severity of motion sickness: Watch your consumption of foods, drinks, and alcohol before and during travel. Avoid excessive alcohol and foods or liquids that “do not agree with you” or make you feel unusually full. Heavy, spicy, or fat-rich foods may worsen motion sickness in some people. Avoiding strong food odors may also help prevent nausea. Try to choose a seat where you will experience the least motion. The middle of an airplane over the wing is the calmest area of an airplane. On a ship, those in lower level cabins near the center of a ship generally experience less motion than passengers in higher or outer cabins. Read the rest of the tips to prevent motion sickness » Top Searched Motion Sickness Terms: cures, patch, medication, treatment, ginger, driving, patches side effects, remedies, prevention, dizziness, dogs

What is motion sickness?

Motion sickness is a very common disturbance of the inner ear that is caused by repeated motion such as from the swell of the sea, the movement of a car, the motion of a plane in turbulent air, etc. In the inner ear (which is also called the labyrinth), motion sickness affects the sense of balance and equilibrium and, hence, the sense of spatial orientation.

What causes motion sickness?

Motion is sensed by the brain through three different pathways of the nervous system that send signals coming from the inner ear (sensing motion, acceleration, and gravity), the eyes (vision), and the deeper tissues of the body surface (proprioceptors). When the body is moved intentionally, for example, when we walk, the input from all three pathways is coordinated by our brain. When there is unintentional movement of the body, as occurs during motion when driving in a car, the brain is not coordinating the input, and there is thought to be discoordination or conflict among the input from the three pathways. It is hypothesized that the conflict among the inputs is responsible for motion sickness.

For example, when we are sitting watching a picture that depicts a moving scene, our vision pathway is telling our brain that there is movement, but our inner ear is telling our brains that there is no movement. Thus, there is conflict in the brain, and some people will develop motion sickness in such a situation (even though there is no motion).

The cause of motion sickness is complex, however, and the role of conflicting input is only a hypothesis, or a proposed explanation, for its development. Without the motion-sensing organs of the inner ear, motion sickness does not occur, suggesting that the inner ear is critical for the development of motion sickness. Visual input seems to be of lesser importance, since blind people can develop motion sickness. Motion sickness is more likely to occur with complex types of movement, especially movement that is slow or involves two different directions (for example, vertical and horizontal) at the same time.

The conflicting input within the brain appears to involve levels of the neurotransmitters (substances that mediate transmission of signals within the brain and nervous system) histamine, acetylcholine, and norepinephrine. Many of the drugs that are used to treat motion sickness act by influencing or normalizing the levels of these compounds within the brain.

From the Doctors at MedicineNet.com

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