How to Prevent Motion Sickness Through Natural Ways
If you are prone to motion sickness, going on vacation, whether it's by boat, car, airplane or train, can become problematic. Nausea, cold sweats, headaches, vomiting and fatigue put a damper on the fun. When your body moves unintentionally, your eyes, inner ears and body send conflicting messages to your brain. This can trigger motion sickness. To prevent motion sickness there are nausea medications your doctor can prescribe, but you can also subject yourself to various natural remedies.
Things You'll Need
- Ginger products or ginger tables
- Acupressure wristband
- Peppermint leaves or peppermint tables
Instructions
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Adjust your eating habits and get plenty of rest before traveling. Avoid overeating and consuming slow-digesting, spicy, fatty and acidic foods the day before and day off your travel. Consume a small meal approximately two hours before you travel so the food can start digesting. Avoid alcohol and caffeine before and during travel because these dehydrate the body and bring on motion sickness; drink water instead.
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Consume ginger products before traveling. Consume up to 4 grams of ginger in tablet, capsule, tea or powder form before traveling. Drink ginger ale or eat some gingersnap cookies over the course of the day. According to The Telegraph, ginger is a traditional natural remedy to help prevent and overcome nausea caused by motion sickness.
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Wear an acupressure wristband to prevent motion sickness. Wristbands that stimulate your acupuncture point, known as Pericardium 6, can be purchased online or from health stores. As an alternative, apply pressure with your fingers on Pericardium 6 pressure point by measuring 2 inches upward from your wrist, on the inside of your forearm. Place your middle and index finger on this area and apply pressure.
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Practice deep breathing techniques to naturally calm you down so you are less prone to motion sickness. Exhale through your mouth. Close your mouth and take a deep breath through your nose and fill your lungs with air for a four count. Hold your breath for a mental count of seven. Push the air out through your mouth for an eight-count so you hear a swooshing sound. Repeat this breathing technique three times.
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Drink 2 to 4 cups of peppermint tea over the course of the day to prevent motion sickness. Place three peppermint leaves in a cup. Fill the cup with hot water and cover it. Allow the tea to steep for five to 10 minutes before drinking it. Take a peppermint tablet, two to three times per day, as an alternative. According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, peppermint strengthens your system against the side effects of motion sickness.
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Tips & Warnings
Always position yourself so you can visually see the motion that your body makes and your ears sense.
References
- The Telegraph: A Natural Remedy for Travel Sickness; Dan Rutherford, et al.; Aug. 2009
- Goddess of the Sea Cruises: Avoiding Sea Sickness
- University of Maryland Medical Center: Motion Sickness
- Biobands: About Biobands
- Dr. Weil: Breathing - Three Exercises; Andrew Weil
- MedicineNet: Motion Sickness; Jay W. Marks
- Photo Credit Jupiterimages/Polka Dot/Getty Images
