Motion sickness is a set of unpleasant symptoms that appear while traveling on water transport. In everyday life, this condition is called "motion sickness." Dizziness, nausea and weakness during sea voyages are familiar to many people. Medicine refers this symptom complex to kinetoses or movement diseases. It arises due to the reaction of the vestibular apparatus to constant monotonous vibrations. It is useful for each person to know about the signs of motion sickness, the causes of its occurrence and prevention. This will help prevent discomfort during boat trips and travels.
Mechanism of occurrence
During pitching, severe irritation of the vestibular apparatus occurs. This body of balance is sensitive to any change in body position. When swinging, the human head constantly leans in different planes. Monotonous signals about the movement of the body begin to arrive in the brain. Dizziness occurs. The vestibular apparatus is closely associated with the vomiting center, which leads to nausea.
We can say that motion sickness is a reaction of a person’s vestibular apparatus to monotonous swaying. In addition, when pumping, conflicting impulses enter the brain. The vestibular apparatus sends signals of active movement, and the muscles send information about the immobility of the body. This causes a temporary malfunction in the central nervous system, which manifests itself in nausea and dizziness.
Causes
Irritation of the vestibular apparatus occurs in all people during pitching in vehicles. However, kinetosis does not always develop. About 10% of people are susceptible to motion sickness. The causes of motion sickness are associated with weakness and poor fitness of the balance.
In addition, kinetosis can provoke and exacerbate the following factors:
- Motion sickness often occurs during heat and high humidity.
- Kinetosis can trigger sharp odors. Often people who are in a smoky room are susceptible to motion sickness.
- Overeating, eating fatty foods and drinking alcohol make a person more vulnerable to motion sickness.
- Taking certain medications during the trip can provoke an attack of kinetosis.
The occurrence of motion sickness can contribute to psychological reasons. If a person is afraid of motion sickness, then he often has manifestations of kinetosis.
Where seasickness may appear
"Motion sickness" is the old household name for kinetosis. In fact, this condition can occur not only during water travel. Motion sickness can occur during trips on any type of transport, including ground transportation (car, bus, trolley bus, etc.). Similar sensations can also occur while riding a carousel. In many people, kinetosis develops during air travel.
However, in land transport, unpleasant symptoms appear only during long trips. At sea, pitching is much stronger, so nausea and dizziness develop faster and more pronounced. In addition, people made their first voyages in antiquity by sea. Then they first encountered this condition. It is from that time that the name kinetosis took root. Nowadays, no one is insured against seasickness while traveling on any type of transport.
Who is at risk
Children are very susceptible to motion sickness. Their vestibular apparatus is still weakly formed. However, under the age of 3 years, kinetosis rarely occurs. Motion sickness is most often observed in children from 4 to 12 years old.
Also, pregnant women can suffer from kinetosis. During the period of gestation, the woman’s body is sensitive to any fluctuations, in addition, the manifestations of motion sickness can be aggravated by toxicosis.
The occurrence of motion sickness is more often observed in people suffering from migraine, and in women during menstruation. Older people also often get sick in transport, as their balance organ undergoes age-related changes. In addition, there is a hereditary predisposition to kinetoses.
All people at risk should be especially careful during long trips and water trips, as well as take care of preventive measures in advance. Next, we will examine in detail the symptoms and treatment of motion sickness.
Symptoms
Kinetosis occurs in the form of an attack of poor health. This condition is accompanied by the following symptoms:
- nausea;
- vomiting
- cold sweat;
- blanching of the skin;
- dizziness;
- headache;
- apathy or agitation;
- weakness;
- discomfort in the body ("lightheadedness").
The severity of these manifestations can be different: from mild weakness and nausea to a severe attack of dizziness and vomiting.
Motion sickness is not a pathology from a medical point of view. This condition is only a temporary functional disorder of the body. It passes quickly as soon as the swing stops, and the vestibular apparatus calms down. After a person exits the vehicle, all unpleasant sensations gradually subside.
Forms
Depending on the symptoms, doctors distinguish several forms of kinetosis:
- The most common nervous type of this condition. It is accompanied by signs of irritation of the vestibular apparatus and vomiting center: nausea, dizziness and weakness.
- In older people, a cardiovascular form of motion sickness often occurs. Motion sickness is accompanied by an increase in blood pressure, tachycardia or bradycardia. This type of motion sickness can be dangerous for people with heart disease and hypertension.
- Sometimes during an attack of nausea and vomiting, a person's taste sensations change. There is an aversion to certain odors. There is discomfort in the gastrointestinal tract. In this case, doctors talk about the gastrointestinal form of kinetosis.
Sometimes a person has all of the above symptoms. Irritation of the vestibular apparatus is accompanied by functional disorders of the heart and gastrointestinal tract. This form of kinetosis is called mixed.
Diagnostics
Diagnosis of kinetosis is usually straightforward. However, in some cases it is required to differentiate this condition from neurological pathologies. Patients usually complain of periodic nausea and dizziness. It is very important to find out the circumstances of the attack. If such sensations bother the patient only in transport, then most likely they are associated with motion sickness. If attacks of nausea and dizziness occur at rest, then this is a sign of other diseases.
First aid
If a person has an attack of motion sickness on his way, then he needs first aid. The following measures will help alleviate the condition of the patient:
- The patient needs to be transferred to a cool place.
- During an attack, it is recommended to close your eyes. This will slightly reduce the irritation of the balance organ.
- To facilitate breathing, you need to unfasten the collar and provide an influx of fresh air.
- The patient should be allowed to smell a little ammonia.
- It is useful to massage the solar plexus.
- During an attack, it is necessary to distract the patient's attention from discomfort as much as possible.
- With severe nausea, it is useful to induce vomiting. In many cases, this leads to relief, especially if the attack was preceded by overeating or drinking.
- It is necessary to give the patient drink water with lemon juice or cold lightly brewed tea.
- Eating salty foods will help reduce nausea. However, do not overeat.
Preparations
There are special pills for motion sickness that you need to take before traveling in order to prevent an attack. These drugs include:
- Aeron.
- Aerovit.
- "Dramina".
- Bonin.
- Ciel.
These medicines calm the vestibular system and stop vomiting. If you take them in advance, it will make the upcoming trip more comfortable. If an attack of seasickness has already begun, then the use of the drug "Dramina" will be most effective.
Antihistamines will also help improve the patient's condition:
- "Suprastin";
- Pipolfen;
- Diphenhydramine.
It is important to remember that medicines for motion sickness have contraindications and side effects. Therefore, if a person suffers from kinetosis, then before the upcoming trip you need to discuss with the doctor the possibility of using such drugs.
Folk remedies
Folk remedies for seasickness, unlike medicines, have virtually no contraindications. If an unpleasant condition occurs during a sea voyage, you can use the following recommendations:
- With the approach of nausea, dissolve caramel with ginger in the mouth.
- Chew green leaf tea.
- Stock up on tea with mint and lemon in advance. Drink should be consumed while traveling in small sips.
- Prepare a mixture of honey and peppermint oil. One tablespoon of honey should be mixed with 1 - 2 drops of oil. This composition must be taken with you on a trip. At the first signs of kinetosis, take 1 teaspoon of the drug. This folk recipe especially helps children.
- Take a large amount (up to 5 g) of ascorbic acid. If vitamins are not at hand, then they can be replaced with green apples.
Prevention
All people who are prone to motion sickness need to know about preventive measures for motion sickness. This unpleasant condition can be prevented if you adhere to the following recommendations:
- During pitching, you need to try not to fix your gaze on stationary objects. It is better to consider objects that are far away. It is useful to periodically close your eyes.
- Do not overeat or drink alcohol before traveling or traveling.
- In ground transport, if possible, select the first places in the cabin where pitching is not so pronounced. On a ship, motion sickness is less felt in middle cabins.
- Before traveling, you need to have a good rest and sleep, overwork can provoke an attack of kinetosis.
- Medications that prevent kinetosis should be taken on the eve of the trip.
It is also useful to do physical exercises that train the vestibular apparatus. To strengthen the body of balance, squats, inclinations, revolutions around yourself, swinging on a swing are useful. Regular gymnastics will help minimize the risk of kinetosis.