Your Health Matters 11/18/2010

YOUR HEALTH MATTERS – for 11-17-10

The French call it mal de mer; and even the most seasoned sailors can suffer from it.  In the air, it’s airsickness.  On land (especially in the mountains), it’s carsickness.  And then there’s amusement park ride sickness—Space Mountain just about ruined my fun!  It is possible for all species of animals to experience this malady.  That queasy, uneasy feeling is collectively known as motion sickness.

The etiology (cause) of motion sickness is a conflict between what your eyes tell your brain and what your other senses tell your brain at the same time—this is my simple explanation of motion sickness.

However, technically or medically the explanation would read: “Balance and equilibrium depends on four systems being intact: the vestibular system (the labyrinth of the ears), the proprioceptive system (somatosensors of joints and muscles), the visual system (the eyes), and the cerebellar system (coordination). Motion sickness is most likely to occur when two or more systems are impaired simultaneously or when they transmit sensory information that is contradictory.”

Impress someone and say, “I’m suffering with neural mismatch,” when you have your next motion sickness attack!

Several types of sensory conflicts produce motion sickness.  The classical type is the situation in which the body detects motion that the eyes cannot detect.  Such as sitting in the back seat of a car; your eyes are focused on the front seat, your eyes are telling your brain that you’re not moving. But there is a part of your inner ear that tells your brain differently.  You feel the bumps on the road; you hear the sounds of traffic; you may even smell the fumes.  In other words, your senses signal your brain that you are moving.  It’s this mixed message that mixes up your insides!

Have you seen the IMAX film that incorporates a helicopter flight with steep gorges and valleys?  Although the body is being kept still in the movie seat, there is the persistent sensation of movement, another type of neural mismatch.  Some who view these simulations are forced to exit the theater to avoid vomiting.

DON’T WORRY!  Nobody ever died from motion sickness, even though they’ve felt like they wanted to!  Anxiety is just going to make you feel worse, because it provokes some of the same undesirable body changes as motion sickness.  If you can relax and realize this is just a passing sensation—you’ll fare much better.  (This is what I tell some of my friends who are afraid to visit me in the mountains—afraid they will get car sick going around the mountains!)

The BIGGEST MISTAKE people make is not eating, mostly out of fear that if they eat, they will vomit. When you don’t eat, the electrical activity of the stomach becomes very unstable, and it’s very easy for anything—a bad smell, the sight of another passenger getting sick, whatever—to push you over the boundary and make you vomit.  You should eat a small, low-fat meal before traveling.  (My remedy, while traveling—thru the mountains, I nibble on saltine crackers and sometimes sip Coca Cola or ginger ale—never let the stomach get empty!  Saltines also go with me on all flights and cruises.)

When in a moving vehicle, it is better to focus on distant objects outside the vehicle—reading increases the susceptibility to motion sickness.  Being the driver of the car helps protect against motion sickness—especially in areas of sharp mountain curves.

OTC medications for the preventing and treatment of motion sickness are: Bonine and Dramamine– also check with your pharmacist.  Most cruise lines will have one of these available for the passengers.  If medications are necessary, they are best taken at least one hour before embarking.

A prescription medication called Transderm-Scop comes in the form of a patch, which can be worn behind the ear.  I see a number of folks with these on cruises.  I make sure that my stomach is always full and I have my saltines handy—haven’t had to get a patch or take a pill—yet!  Recent studies have shown that ginger root (used for many generations for nausea) may be as effective as the other drug treatments and have fewer side effects.  If you have frequent and serious motion sickness bouts—talk with your doctor.

Claudia Parks, RN, is a former doctor’s office and emergency room nurse and retired as an educator from Fulton County(GA) Schools.  She writes Your Health Matters as a public service; the information here is designed to help you make informed choices about your health.  It is not intended as a substitute for the advice of your physician.  Claudia and her husband make their home in the beautiful north Georgia Mountains. You may contact Claudia at yhm@windstream.net