Motion sickness is a sick feeling triggered by movement, which can occur in cars, buses, trains, planes, boats, amusement rides, or virtual reality experiences. The condition causes cold sweats, nausea, and vomiting. Symptoms can strike without warning and can get worse quickly. Other symptoms include pale skin, headache, a cold sweat, dizziness, and irritability.
Motion sickness occurs when your brain receives conflicting signals from different sensory systems within your body that register motion—your inner ears, eyes, muscles and joints, and nerves in the skin. For example, in a car, the car is moving forward, but your body is standing still. This imbalance is what causes you to feel sick.
Many actions can trigger motion sickness, such as:
- Reading while in a moving vehicle
- Sitting in the back seat of a car
- Watching a movie or playing a video game with lots of motion
- Riding on a boat or ship in rough seas
- Riding on an airplane with turbulence
Motion sickness is common in older people, pregnant women, and children between the ages of 5 and 12. Women are more likely than men to get motion sickness, and the female hormone estrogen may be to blame as a spike in estrogen levels may cause or increase susceptibility to nausea. Some medications such as certain antibiotics, NSAIDS (ibuprofen or naproxen), birth control pills, and others can make you more likely to feel motion sickness when traveling.
In rare cases, the condition is triggered by a problem with your inner ear, such as fluid buildup or an ear infection. Parkinson’s disease is another cause of the condition.
To prevent motion sickness, you can take steps while traveling to reduce your risk of getting sick, such as:
- Sitting in the front seat of a car
- Looking out the window at a fixed point in the distance
- Avoiding reading or watching movies while in a moving vehicle
- Taking deep breaths and staying calm
- Avoiding heavy meals before traveling
Motion sickness treatments include medications like the scopolamine patch, which can prevent nausea. If you experience motion sickness repeatedly, you should see your doctor. They will do a physical exam, look inside your ears and at your eyes, and ask you questions about your health history before recommending treatment.
