Nothing ruins a road trip like a nasty case of carsickness—especially if it strikes while you're stuck in traffic, While carsickness and other types of motion sickness are most common in children between the ages of 2 and 12, anyone can get carsick. It's nothing to be ashamed of, and there are several ways to treat it.
Car Sickness Causes
Even if you were never a queasy kid, you can still fall victim to adult-onset motion sickness. There are a lot of factors that can trigger this change, rare as it may be. Hormonal changes, such as pregnancy and menopause can trigger motion sickness, so can changes in medications, or inner ear problems.
Motion sickness can strike at any place, any time. You don't need to be going particularly fast on a winding road for your palms to sweat and your stomach to heave. Motion sickness is triggered by a misunderstanding in your vestibular system, the part of your body that controls balance and motion.
When you're in a car, your eyes can sense that you're moving by objects going in and out of your line of sight. However, your inner ears and the nerve endings throughout your body know that even though you're moving, your body itself isn't in motion. This causes things to get all mixed up in your brain, eliciting a fight or flight response.
Understanding how something works is the first step in treating it. As we said, motion sickness is a perfectly logical, if inconvenient response to these mixed messages. Now that we know the causes of motion sickness, let's look at a few treatments.
Easy Treatments
The most easy treatment for motion sickness is to remove external stimuli. This means focusing your attention away from screens or books and focusing on the horizon instead. This is easiest when you have an unobstructed view out the windshield, so we recommend riding shotgun.
Another easy trick is getting a little air by rolling down the window—weather permitting, of course! Not only does the breeze cool you down when you feel clammy, it also helps to regulate your senses, which are all out of wack. If you can't open the window, you should redirect cool air vents towards yourself.
What do you do if you try all of those tricks and still feel like you're going to loose your lunch? While your stomach is focusing on getting the bad stuff it perceives as toxins out, you can give it a hand by putting some good stuff in. Over-the-counter medicines like Dramamine and Gravol can help ease motion sickness.
One side effect of OTC medications—at least some of them—is that they can make you drowsy. This isn't very helpful if you're being relied on for navigation or conversation. Drinking a ginger ale and/or eating a salty snack will keep you hydrated while also soothing your stomach.
If you're prone to motion sickness, it can also help to eat strategically in the days leading up to your travel. Greasy, spicy, and heavy food generally takes longer for your body to digest, which can lead to nausea. We know how tempting it is to treat yourself to fast food during long drives, but maybe gentle on your stomach.
We'll leave you with one last tip for the road—literally! Dwelling on your sickness will only make you feel worse. If you don't feel up for conversation, then putting your earbuds in or turning the radio on can help take your mind off your churning stomach.
