Travel Sickness

markyboy.1967

markyboy.1967

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Mark Molloy
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i suffer badly from travel sickness and have tried a few things to combat it. I was bad as a child and it seemed to get a little better in my teens but its as bad as ever now or worse.

I cant travel in the back of a car and even with sickness tablets i get sick. If i travel in the dark or travel on winding roads its really bad. Sitting in the front of a car does put it off for a while but often just need to get out the car and be sick. Sometimes im ill for the full day afterwards and its a total pain as it can effect my photography.

So do you suffer from travel sickness and how do you combat it?
 
"Kwells" work for me for motion sickness but, I think you need to seek professional advise from someone who understands.

Best of luck.
 
I too suffer from this. Some tips:

- try to travel in the front seat of a car
- always look to the horizon
- avoid reading
- if possible, sleep on long journeys
- keep the car well ventilated
- make regular stops
- when on a train, sit in a seat facing the direction the train is travelling ie. not reverse

The reason you should always look to the horizon and not look down for reading, texting etc is so your senses are in sync with each other, being stationary inside the vehicle vs the movement of the outside world, for lack of a better term.
 
I joke that I get seasick in the bath but it's not far from the truth. Dawn has given some good tips but I wouldn't try to sleep personally unless it's a sleeper train, in a car the unexpected motion would make me worse. If I know I'm going to have to travel by boat or as a passenger in a car I'll avoid eating before hand and try to keep my eyes ahead, not looking out to the side at the passing countryside. I don't do pills and remedies so can't tell you if one works or not.
 
I did get seasick in the bath after my last trip on a ferry - took me a good 24 hours to feel anything like normal.
One suggestion that works for me is to eat boiled potatoes - just a small mouthful as soon as you start a journey and then more as needed.
Made a trip out to the Great Barrier reef a pleasure - the only time I have ever coped on a boat.
One positive as a kid was that I always got a window seat, but I guess that doesn't help you Mark !
 
There are wristbands you can get (from Boots, I think) which act on a pressure point.

They worked great for my wife and she was the worlds worst traveller.
 
Medication wise, if you can get your GP to prescribe you some "Stemetil" or if you buy some meds from the chemist with this as the main ingredient, works very well - it used regularly at work for "dizzy" patients - to reduce the dizzy sensation and the sickness feeling...
 
Dawn.Calinski said:
I too suffer from this. Some tips:

- try to travel in the front seat of a car
- always look to the horizon
- avoid reading
- if possible, sleep on long journeys
- keep the car well ventilated
- make regular stops.
Click to expand...

Yes, agree with these recommendations and I have advised patients of these, many times over the years...
 
My Sister in Law used to suffer awful motion sickness - to the point where people refused to travel with her!
She wound up visiting her Dr., and was prescribed medication used for treating vertigo.
The travel sickness disappeared instantly.
A month later when she returned to her Dr. for a review and repeat prescription, he revealed that the "drugs" had in fact been a placebo...sugar pills.
He explained that as she had suffered travel sickness as a child, she had developed an anxiety linked to the expectation of being violently sick when travelling, and that there was no physical cause at all for her.
She was never bad again when travelling.
Might be worth a visit to the Dr. if it's disrupting your life.
I had it as a kid, but it disappeared when I learned to drive.
Good luck!
 
markyboy.1967 said:
Half of those are hard to stick to when im the driver.
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And some of the travel sickness pills are mild sedatives and shouldn't be used if driving (or used to be!)
 
Nod said:
And some of the travel sickness pills are mild sedatives and shouldn't be used if driving (or used to be!)
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Kwells definitely are.
I take one before mid - long haul flying just so I can spend a good portion of the flight asleep :lol:
 
You have my sympathy...I get really sick...can't even watch 3D films or film of people at a fairground etc . and it really effects where I go and what I do travel wise. I tend to take kwells but also wear sickness bands.
 
They do when I wear the bands and take kwells at the same time. I have Sturgeon tablets too which are ok but need to be taken 2 hours before travel...which isn't always possible.
 
markyboy.1967 said:
Never heard of sturgeon tablets even though i have tried several to date.Im led to believe that the bands have never been proven to help medically but may just be worth a try.
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Stugeron (cinnarizine) - It's another of the 3 typical meds given for dizziness. This and the more common Stemetil are generally given, Serc is the other - more for the sickness side though.

Hope this helps.
 
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I feel your pain. I am shocking and can feel so ill at the slightest movement.

I'm fine if I am driving so try to do that most of the time but wouldn't dare try a cruise or similar as boats make me violently ill ( those who have witnessed me at sea can confirm this )

Last year we went to a friends BBQ and they had put new decking down in the garden. The spacing between the joists must have been quite wide and the boards were springy......I had to sit down as it was making me a little queasy !!!

I mentioned it once at the doctors and he was very honest and said that it was all connected to my inner ear and there was not really anything that could be done medically.
 
I've just ordered a pair of those wrist pressure point bands, I have to take a ferry later this week and have a lot of driving to do before and after so pills are out. I'll give the boiled spuds a go if the bands don't work, either way I'll report back :) (or :( )
 
Have you tried vestibular rehabilitation?

For a few years I had Meniere's disease. The effect of this is a sudden fuzziness of hearing – you can still hear but everything sounds as if it is through several layers of blanket, and an equally sudden onset of vertigo and nausea. There first time it happened to me it was very scary. I was lucky as the main impact on me was the vertigo rather than nausea but I've read some sufferers can feel sick for hours.

It is caused by a build up of pressure in the fluid of the inner ear. At the hospital the doctor suggested some exercises that would tend to induce similar symptoms. The idea being to somehow 'train' the brain to be more tolerant of the effects of the conditions – my words, not the doc's – and it is called vestibular rehabilitation.


I've just Googled “Vestibular rehabilitation and travel sickness” and found this link.


http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/summerhealth/speed-away-from-travel-sickness.htm


Scroll down until you find the heading “Serious cases”


Your GP could advise.


Hope you get it sorted.


Dave
 
Mrs Nod is not a happy sailor or flier so I asked her what works best - Paprika flavoured Pringles was her instant reply! We've had some pretty bumpy rides down to Crete and some equally bumpy boat trips while there but she's yet to actually lose her lunch during any of the trips so there's probably something that's doing the trick!
 
Beer worked for me when I went sea fishing. I worked out that I was dehydrated so took barley water next time.
 
viv1969 said:
My Sister in Law used to suffer awful motion sickness - to the point where people refused to travel with her!
She wound up visiting her Dr., and was prescribed medication used for treating vertigo.
The travel sickness disappeared instantly.
A month later when she returned to her Dr. for a review and repeat prescription, he revealed that the "drugs" had in fact been a placebo...sugar pills.
Click to expand...

Yeah, don't tell anybody, but those wrist bands are totes placebos ;) They work, but then so would drawing a dot on the inside of your wrist with a felt tip.
 
JonathanRyan said:
Yeah, don't tell anybody, but those wrist bands are totes placebos ;) They work, but then so would drawing a dot on the inside of your wrist with a felt tip.
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B*gger that's another fiver wasted!
They worked on the ferry to Santander but now as I am informed they are a placebo :(
 
ChasG said:
B*gger that's another fiver wasted!
They worked on the ferry to Santander but now as I am informed they are a placebo :(
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Oh, you got the £5 ones? No, those are legit, honest. It's the other ones that are placebos :D
 
ChasG said:
B*gger that's another fiver wasted!
They worked on the ferry to Santander but now as I am informed they are a placebo :(
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To be fair though, placebo effect or not...if it worked it wasn't a fiver wasted!
 
Loads of people swear by homeopathic medicine...
 
ChasG said:
But I hoped to use them again:(
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And why can't you?
It worked. That's all that matters.
It worked for you and there's no reason to believe it won't do so again :-)
 
I have completely lost my faith in them - after being informed they are a placebo ;)
 
ChasG said:
I have completely lost my faith in them - after being informed they are a placebo ;)
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But now your brain knows, that as the band has no clinically proven therapeutic effect, but you still didn't get travel sick, then the travel sickness itself is psychosomatic.
There's clearly no physical reason for you feel nauseous when travelling, so in the future you won't.
Sorted. Job done.
NEXT!! :lol: ;)
 
viv1969 said:
But now your brain knows, that as the band has no clinically proven therapeutic effect, but you still didn't get travel sick, then the travel sickness itself is psychosomatic.
There's clearly no physical reason for you feel nauseous when travelling, so in the future you won't.
Sorted. Job done.
NEXT!! :LOL: ;)
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Sorted! Thank you. I thought I was stuck here forever:D
 
The wrist straps didn't arrive in time but the ferry crossing to Orkney was very calm so I didn't suffer at all thankfully. I'm sure to have to go again so I'll keep the straps for later.
 
I don't get it constantly but when I do, I'm best off closing my eyes, slow down my breathing and if possible just go to sleep. Unfortunately I had it once on a train where it was so warm, no seats, just constant motion but not constant speed, I barely made it out of the train in time as I felt my brain shut down...But yes definitely not read, and if I drive I'm absolutely fine...
 
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