Avoid movement.

My wife does not fly without her scopolomine patches.It works for her, she never has motion sickness now.

Was on a dive boat heading to a site, the sea was VERY rough. I estimate 50% of the passengers were sick or about to become sick.
The crew passed out the bands and after awhile only a few still felt ill. Seemed to work like a charm. My wife was one of the affected.

I just sat on the bow trying to get as much up down movement as possible and feeling the boat crash into the waves I'm fortunate that I don't seem to be affected by motion sickness.

i swear by Bonine...previously prescription only, now over the counter and definately better than dramamine.

One caveat...it can cause extreme sleepiness...the more you take, the worse it gets, so unless you dont mind getting very sleepy, take Bonine in moderation. Best to start about 1 hour before the flight and continue taking it for 1 hour after, if you had a really rough time of it.

Here is a remedy that works and is actually based in neurophysiology. I learned it in a graduate class in neuropharmacology several years ago and it has worked for me ever since.

Have you ever been to the dentist who shakes your gum before giving you an injection? This is because the general sensation of shaking over-rides the localized sensation of the needle prick in the transmission along the nerve. You don't feel the stick as much after the shake.

Same thing works from the ear into the brain. The transmission of the sensory imput from loud sounds or music (headphones work best on airplanes ) overrides the transmission of balance information from the semi-circular canals and thus transmission to the reticular formation in the lower brain (through a geniculate nucleus of the hypothalamus, if I am not mistaken.) In the reticular formation you get neutrotransmitter "slop-over" from the balance area of the reticular formation into an adjacent area that controls the body's "get rid of stomach contents" control mechanism. So, too much firing of the neurons in the balance area produces neurotransmitters that are not re-uptaken by the cells and "leak" over to stimulate that part of the brain that makes you vomit. Reduce the transmission of balance information and "voila."

So, get an MP3 player or Walkman and turn up the tunes.

Onoe poster suggested an overwing aisle seat. I disagree. A window seat is better. By looking out the window, visual input to the brain can be correlated with motion in the plane. This reduces motion sickness, but the magnitude varies from person-to-person.

The worse thing to do is to close your eyes (a moment or two is ok) because then you may become disoriented to motion.

Thankfully, as I've gotten older, my motion sickness has decreased. I have used the patch (prescription) but didn't get any relief. Dramamine makes me sleepy. I didn't use anything on my last 3 air trips and was fine, although, throw in a little turbulance and see that change in a hurry!

Thankfully, as I've gotten older, my motion sickness has decreased. I have used the patch (prescription) but didn't get any relief. Dramamine makes me sleepy. I didn't use anything on my last 3 air trips and was fine, although, throw in a little turbulance and see that change in a hurry!

A couple of years ago, I started getting motion sickness on flights. Experimenting a little with food intake, beverages, etc., I concluded that drinking coffee and/or alcohol was the cause of the sickness. Most of the "sick" flights were morning flights. So I don't drink coffee in the mornings before flying now.

Linda

I have always battled motion sickness. I had over 50 flights/trips last year and still need to take Dramamine. I now take � tablet before take off. Thankfully, Dramamine has a non-drowsy version.

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Skip the counter medicine and do this.

Do not make large right or left movements with your head. Don't bend down and get up quick. Do not move your head in a side to side motion quickly.

When looking out the window fix on a point on the distant horizon. Don't focus on the ground moving below. Do the drugs if you must but the above things are significant contributors to the motion sickness and your inner ear triggers it. Also take early morning flights for some reason this works to lessen the anxiety of flying.

PRessure points are Acupuncture points and do not relate to anything we know in Western Medicine. The points are on the Meridians that the Chinese have worked out thousands of years ago.

Other points for Emergencies is pressing the edge of a finger nail between the eybrows and/or the point on the upper lip under nose. It should help nausea, vertigo, etc.

[This message has been edited by R&R (edited 04-04-2003).]

Trivia Corner

Can anyone guess the official name of that double-ridged area between the upper lip and the nose?

Trivia Corner

Can anyone guess the official name of that double-ridged area between the upper lip and the nose?


Canarsie, I believe the answer to your question is the philtrum.

We have a winner!!!

Sorry, I have no prizes, except for that little metal or plastic thing on the end of a shoelace.

Does anyone know the name of that little piece on the end of a shoelace?