Motion Sickness (cont.)
How does motion sickness affect our sense of balance?
The symptoms of motion sickness appear when the central nervous
system receives conflicting messages from the other four systems --
the inner ear, eyes, skin pressure receptors, and the muscle and
joint sensory receptors.
For example, imagine you are riding in an airplane during a storm,
and the plane is being tossed about by air turbulence. But your eyes
do not detect all this motion because all you see is the inside of
the airplane. Consequently, your brain receives messages that do not
coordinate with each other. You might become "air sick."
Or suppose you are sitting in the back seat of a moving car reading a
book. Your inner ears and skin receptors detect the motion of your
travel, but your eyes see only the pages of your book. You could
become "car sick."
Another example illustrates an actual medical condition. Suppose you
suffer inner ear damage on only one side from either a head injury or
an infection. The damaged inner ear does not send the same signals to
the brain as the healthy ear. These conflicting signals about the
sensation of rotation can result in a sense of spinning or vertigo,
as well as nausea.
Is motion sickness a serious condition?
Not usually. For most people, motion sickness is just a minor
annoyance (although it may not feel so minor at the time).
Some travelers, however, can be incapacitated by motion sickness.
When do the nausea and vomiting of motion sickness stop?
The distressing symptoms of motion sickness usually stop when the
motion that causes it ceases.
But this is not always true. There are people who suffer symptoms for
even a few days after the trip is over. This is called the "mal
d'embarquement" syndrome or, more properly, the "mal de debarquement"
syndrome. ("Mal d'embarquement" is embarkment or departure sickness
while "mal de debarquement" is disembarkment or arrival sickness.)
Next: What measures can be taken to prevent or minimize motion sickness? »
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