80 | HealthLinksSC.com While there is no known cure yet, the Centers for Disease Control recommends a number of things you can do to keep motion sickness in check, including: • Sit in the front of a car or bus so you can keep your eyes on a fixed point on the horizon in front of you. • Choose a window seat on flights and trains for the same reason. • Try lying down, shutting your eyes, sleeping or looking at the horizon. • Stay hydrated by drinking water only. • Eat small amounts of food frequently. • Avoid smoking. • Try distracting yourself with activities such as listening to music. • Use flavored lozenges such as ginger candy. • If none of this works to your satisfaction, Drs. Glazier and Ko advise the following: • Use patch or oral medications to treat and prevent symptoms. Medicines can be used to prevent or treat motion sickness, although many of them cause drowsiness. • Talk to a health care professional to see if you should take over-the-counter medicines to prevent nausea, vomiting or dizziness associated with motion sickness. “If you choose a prescription remedy, be sure to go over the potential side effects with your pharmacist,” Dr. Ko said. “If over-the-counter meds aren’t working, consider prescription medications such as the scopolamine patch and promethazine.” And if all of these measures fail? Then you may either have to simply live with the condition – or, in the case of carsickness, cure yourself through an unconventional method: by taking the wheel. “It’s not known why, but having control over the car sharply reduces the risk of motion sickness,” Dr. Glazier said. “And until we know more about its causes, these are the best ways right now to keep motion sickness from happening to you. Symptoms commonly include cold sweats; salivation; excessive sweating; vomiting or retching; headaches; and nausea. People have also been known to experience loss of appetite, increased sensitivity to odors, hyperventilation and even anorexia.
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