How to Recognize the Symptoms of Motion Sickness

People experience the symptoms of motion sickness when the eye, ear and brain signals that the body uses to orient itself conflict with one another. It is a common condition, and since it is usually triggered by unfamiliar or extreme movement, its symptoms are fairly easy to recognize.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Know the Symptoms of Motion Sickness

1. Recognize that the skin taking on a pale hue is usually the first sign that a motion sickness attack is imminent. While you may not be in a position to tell whether or not you are turning pale, the pallor is usually accompanied by a cold sweat.
2. Watch for paleness and cold sweats to progress to a feeling of nausea.
3. Know that a motion sickness attack is frequently accompanied by dizziness, sometimes severe, and a headache.
4. Recognize that an increase in the amount of saliva being produced in your mouth is also a sign of a more severe form of motion sickness.
5. Understand that a motion sickness attack frequently culminates in vomiting. However, there is no guarantee that symptoms will begin to abate once they reach this crucial "breaking point." In fact, they may even worsen.

Prevent Motion Sickness

6. Understand that there are tangible steps that you can take to reduce the likelihood that you will experience the symptoms of motion sickness.
7. Sit in the front seat of a car or drive. This allows you to anticipate movements better. Your body will be better prepared for them, because it will have less difficulty staying oriented.
8. Focus on the horizon if on a boat, or look out the window if on a plane. Both help keep the brain oriented and psychologically minimize the effects of movement.
9. Maintain proper ventilation. Fresh air has a therapeutic effect on many motion sickness sufferers.
10. Use a headrest when traveling by land or air. This will keep the jarring head movements that cause dizziness to a minimum. It can also help to close your eyes to lessen the visual stimulus that can complicate your body's disorientation.

Tips & Warnings

• Most symptoms of motion sickness will rapidly abate once your trip is over.
• Motion sickness has a strong psychological component and can be treated by gently duplicating the movements you experience during sea, air or land travel. This can acclimatize your body to these movements, reducing the frequency and severity of your symptoms. This is called the Puma technique and can be found at PumaMethod.com.