Motion sickness can turn an exciting trip into an uncomfortable experience. A cruise, boat day, road trip, or flight can be a nightmare when nausea takes over. You’re either left feeling sick when you should be focusing on the experience or destination, or you start avoiding things and missing out altogether.
The good news is that you can take steps to lower your risk. Learning how to prevent motion sickness and manage it when symptoms begin can help you feel more prepared for your next adventure.
What Causes Motion Sickness?
Motion sickness happens when your brain receives conflicting information about movement. Your eyes may tell your brain that you are sitting still, while your inner ear senses that your body is moving. Your brain has trouble processing these different signals, which can lead to nausea, dizziness, sweating, and vomiting.
Motion sickness can happen in cars, airplanes, boats, trains, and amusement park rides. Some people experience it often, while others only notice symptoms during certain types of travel or exposure to motion.
How to Prevent Motion Sickness
If you know you are prone to motion sickness, a few changes can make you more comfortable. Try these tips before and during the activity.
Planning Ahead
If motion sickness regularly affects your travel, do not wait until you feel sick to think about relief.
Choose Your Seat Carefully
Where you sit can affect how much movement you feel. In a car, choose the front passenger seat when appropriate. On a boat, stay near the center, where there tends to be less movement. On an airplane, a seat over the wings may provide a steadier ride.
Watch What You Eat and Drink
A heavy meal right before travel can make nausea more difficult to manage. Before and during your trip, choose smaller meals and avoid foods that you know upset your stomach. Staying hydrated can also help. The CDC recommends limiting alcohol and caffeine when trying to prevent motion sickness.
Planning Treatment Options
If you’re using a preventative treatment, make sure you have everything you need with you and plan ahead so any treatments you rely on have time to take effect. Let’s dive into what treatment options exist!
Preventative Treatment Options
Medications
Motion sickness pills or prescription patches can prevent nausea. However, they come with a few drawbacks. They take time to kick in, so you need to take them in advance. They can also cause side effects like metal fog or drowsiness, so you might not be as sharp to enjoy your journey.
Wearables
If you prefer a drug and side-effect-free treatment, there are two wearable options: passive treatments and active treatments.
Acupressure bands are a passive treatment that applies pressure to a pressure point on your inner wrist, believed to relieve nausea. However, if it’s not exactly in the right spot, you don’t get any relief. And there’s no indication that you’ve gotten it right.
Reliefband® is a motion sickness bracelet that uses an active treatment called neuromodulation to stop the nausea signal. Multiple clinical studies have shown its effectiveness for motion sickness, and it’s FDA-cleared to treat nausea related to motion sickness. A tingling sensation in your palm lets you know you have it in the right spot. Plus, it kicks in within minutes, so you can use it before symptoms start or after they begin without having to plan far in advance.
Behavioral Prevention
There are also a few behaviors when you’re on your journey that can help prevent nausea.
Look Toward the Horizon
Reading, scrolling on your phone, or watching a movie can make motion sickness worse because your eyes focus on something that does not move with your body. Instead, look toward the horizon or a distant, stable point. This can help your eyes and inner ear process movement more consistently.
Get Fresh Air
Fresh air may help ease nausea, especially during a car or boat ride. Open a window when possible or spend some time outside during a break. Taking slow, controlled breaths can also help you stay comfortable when symptoms start to build.
How to Stop Motion Sickness After it Starts
Sometimes prevention doesn’t work, or motion sickness catches you off guard. So, how do you stop motion sickness after it starts to prevent it from ruining your day?
Medications are less effective at this stage because of how long they take to metabolize and kick in.
Behaviors like looking towards the horizon, getting fresh air, and moving to a more strategic seat can still help to a degree.
Your best option for relief is a wearable like Reliefband. Since it works within minutes, you’ll feel relief fast. And since it’s drug and side-effect-free, it won’t interfere with anything else you’re doing. That way, the nausea is a blip in your day instead of derailing it.
Visiting Antarctica Without Fearing the Drake Passage: Sherry Ott’s Story
The Drake Passage, which cruises cross to reach Antarctica, is known for its turbulent waters and resulting seasickness. Some travelers spend the entire stretch in bed because of how bad it can get. Naturally, that causes many seasoned motion sickness sufferers to avoid the trip.
This was Sherry Ott’s biggest fear on her trip, but because she had researched and found Reliefband Sport, she didn’t let it stop her. In her blog, she describes how she used the waterproof wearable as part of her approach to managing motion sickness.
Sherry liked that the Reliefband Sport could be worn in the water and that she could adjust its intensity as needed. She used it throughout her trip, including during day-to-day activities on the ship and while zodiac cruising.
Finding a reliable solution for motion sickness allowed her to enjoy experiencing a part of the world she might have missed out on otherwise.
Do Not Let Motion Sickness Limit Your Plans
Motion sickness doesn’t have to decide where you go or what you do. If you are wondering how to prevent motion sickness, you can reduce your risk with proper planning, travel behaviors, and the right treatment options.
It also helps to have a reliable option ready if symptoms begin. With a motion sickness wearable like Reliefband, you can have drug-free relief available whenever you need it.
Whether you are planning a cruise, spending a day on the water, or heading out on a long road trip, preparation can make a difference.
Reclaim your freedom to explore with Reliefband’s fast-acting, drug-free motion sickness relief wearable.
