6 Ways to Overcome Motion Sickness, Guaranteed 100% Effective!

Do you have a problem with motion sickness? If so, let's take a look at how to overcome motion sickness while riding in a car or an air-conditioned bus.
Traveling may be something that cannot be avoided by someone, whether for work or vacation.
However, motion sickness makes a person feel uncomfortable while traveling. For this reason, people's responses to dealing with motion sickness vary.
Well, ways to avoid motion sickness in an air-conditioned car or public transport like an air-conditioned bus can be found below!
How to Overcome Motion Sickness Without Medication
With different body conditions, the response when someone feels motion sickness during travel can actually be prevented.
This can be done with a few easy things before getting into the vehicle. Let's look at some ways to avoid motion sickness forever:
1. Avoid Heavy Meals
One way to overcome motion sickness in a car or bus is to avoid consuming heavy meals. Heavy foods like oily dishes, rice, or meat should not be consumed before traveling.
The longer digestion process makes the body's organ functions disturbed because the food is digested more slowly. If you've just eaten heavy food, don't leave immediately so that the food can be digested first.
As an alternative, snacking is still allowed, especially types of snacks like biscuits, salty foods, bread, nuts, apples, and bananas.
Some easily digestible snacks can keep the stomach full even while traveling.
Read Also: Tips for Driving a Car So Passengers Don't Get Nauseous During the Journey
2. Choose a Seat Position with Minimal Jostling
How can we avoid motion sickness when riding in a car and public transport? By choosing the right seating position. You should choose a seat position according to the type of vehicle.
Here are the recommended seating positions to minimize the occurrence of motion sickness:
- Front seat of the car or next to the window
- Seat facing the direction of travel, not facing backward
- Ship cabin in the front or middle of the ship
- Seats near the wings or near the airplane window
3. Avoid Strong Smells
What to do when experiencing motion sickness? If using public transport, avoid areas with strong odors. Not just the bathroom, you should also avoid cafeteria areas, engine rooms, and other areas with strong and pungent smells.
4. Get Enough Rest Before Departure
To overcome motion sickness while riding in an air-conditioned bus or car, you should also ensure that your body is in prime condition before departure.
Not only getting enough sleep and rest, but you should also rest your eyes before getting into the vehicle and during the journey. Taking breaks during the trip is also highly recommended to balance the coordination of body organs.
You can stop for a moment or open the window during traffic jams to get fresh air and better air circulation.
5. Consume More Fluids
Many may wonder, what should we drink to avoid motion sickness? It is actually recommended to just drink plenty. Drinking a lot and consuming fiber will be good for optimizing the body's condition before traveling.
Oxygen will spread to all cells and tissues in the body so that organ functions remain balanced and will not respond negatively when experiencing vehicle jolts.
6. Adjust Your Line of Sight
One way to overcome motion sickness is by adjusting your line of sight. A person's line of sight while traveling will differ from the direction felt by the muscles and joints.
This disrupts brain function, so you need to adjust your line of sight to coordinate the body and joints.
If you start to feel nauseous during the trip, focus your gaze on a single point that is far away while regulating your breath.
Read Also: Tips for Driving Long Distances with Children
Causes of Motion Sickness
During travel, there are certainly differences in situations experienced while in the vehicle. This is often what makes discomfort arise as a response from a person's body condition. So, feeling nauseous or motion sickness is normal.
Unfortunately, discomfort may feel heavier if it occurs too often. Therefore, it is good to know everything related to the symptoms of motion sickness that often appear. Well, motion sickness can be triggered by several conditions as follows.
1. Lack of Oxygen
Changes in air circulation that usually occur inside the vehicle will cause cells and tissues in the body to lack oxygen.
This can cause several parts of the body to not function normally, resulting in symptoms of nausea, dizziness, and so on.
2. Jostling and Instability
Motion sickness is something that cannot be avoided when the body responds to abnormal conditions due to jolting.
This is also known as motion sickness, which is a mixed signal felt when a person's vision and hearing change, but the body remains in the same seated position.
3. Changes in Air Pressure
Usually, the speed of the vehicle also causes air pressure to change rapidly. This often affects the eustachian tubes that open briefly and create a sensation of blocked ears or dizziness that appears for a moment.
5. Having Migraines Due to Genetic Conditions
Although not scientifically proven, some studies have found a similar genetic variant between migraine sufferers and those with motion sickness. Therefore, motion sickness is suspected to be caused by a genetic condition that influences it.
6. Hormonal Changes
In some hormonal conditions such as menstruation and pregnancy, there are usually hormonal changes that also occur in a person. This will certainly impact the body's condition that responds to travel, especially long-distance travel.
Effective Motion Sickness Medications
Can motion sickness go away on its own? Yes, it can actually if we get used to it. However, if you have difficulty getting rid of it, you can use motion sickness medication.
There are several types of effective motion sickness medications that are allowed to be consumed to reduce the feeling of motion sickness if the symptoms worsen.
However, taking motion sickness medication may alleviate the nausea or dizziness you experience, but some of them can also cause drowsiness. If you have to drive, it is better not to take medications that have drowsiness as a side effect.
Always read the side effects of medications before consuming them. Here is a list of medications you can take to overcome motion sickness.
1. Antihistamines
Motion sickness medications for adults are divided into several types such as cyclizine, dimenhydrinate, diphenhydramine, and meclizine. These medications are usually used to treat allergic reactions with symptoms like colds, watery eyes, sore throat, or itchy nose.
2. Hyoscine or Scopolamine
This motion sickness medication may be the most suitable for relieving stomach cramps. This antispasmodic medication is available in tablet and injectable forms. However, you only need to take the tablet form to alleviate nausea during motion sickness.
3. Antidopaminergics
This type of medication is commonly used to reduce nausea complaints due to vertigo. Therefore, you can take this type of medication to feel better when motion sickness symptoms worsen.
Other medications, such as ephedrine, alprazolam, diazepam, prochlorperazine, and ondansetron can also be obtained without a doctor's prescription. However, it is advisable to take these medications 1 – 2 hours before traveling.
Meanwhile, there are other medications like domperidone, metoclopramide, and ondansetron that can also be used to treat motion sickness, but they