Help Me Understand Motion Sickness

[84porsche]

So I have read tons of articles about motion sickness and just would love for this to be able to go away. Try this on for size -

I get motion sickness when someone else drives mountain roads with me as a passenger, roller coaster, boats and race cars or at least my one experience in Jack's car. As a driver though, I do not get sick at all.

Why can some people be immune to the effects of motion and others not? What's the deal?

That being said I made through Space Mountain for the first time in nearly 12 years but know that I won't be going back anytime soon. Thoughts?

[porsche4life]

Is it a control issue? I know I get nervous when I am not in control of the situation. I can go all out at autocross... I can't stand to ride with others....

[84porsche]

Honestly I am not sure. I am beginning to think it might be. I was just reading that NASA has something that use on astronauts but I don' t think it's available for consumers to potentially use.

[porsche4life]

I know dramamine helps me... but that is only b/c it knocks me out.


You might talk to your MD about getting a scrip for some phenergan. You could take some before an activity that causes you upset.

[widgeon13]

Originally Posted by 84porsche

So I have read tons of articles about motion sickness and just would love for this to be able to go away. Try this on for size -

I get motion sickness when someone else drives mountain roads with me as a passenger, roller coaster, boats and race cars or at least my one experience in Jack's car. As a driver though, I do not get sick at all.

Why can some people be immune to the effects of motion and others not? What's the deal?

That being said I made through Space Mountain for the first time in nearly 12 years but know that I won't be going back anytime soon. Thoughts?

My wife is the same way, she can't ride for a long time w/o feeling ill. It's worse when she is in the back seat and can't see down the road. When she drives, no problem. Or perhaps it's just me.

[porsche4life]

Originally Posted by widgeon13

My wife is the same way, she can't ride for a long time w/o feeling ill. It's worse when she is in the back seat and can't see down the road. When she drives, no problem. Or perhaps it's just me.

My ex g/f was that way.... At least when I was driving... I am about 99% sure it was a control issue with her... Talk about nuts.....

[cbush]

No answer on why some, but I think you can condition your body to it to not get sick. Good thing is that they have some over the counter meds that work great. I get motion sickness on the track--even driving! Over a recent track weekend I felt like crap on the first day, on the second day, I took one of those chewable pills, and the motion didn't bother me at all.

Of course if I would just learn to drive smoother, I probably wouldn't have a problem at all

[porsche4life]

Chuck if you would drive faster you wouldn't have time to think about it!

[GH85Carrera]

Some people are just very sensitive to motion sickness. My wife’s entire family is very sensitive. Right after we got married we went on a ski trip. I knew if I was not driving I would be in the back seat. I brought a book and they were all horrified at the thought of reading a book in the back seat. They said I could not do that and I thought they had some family rule about reading. They just knew I would get sick while reading a book in the back seat while going through the mountain passes. I did not have a problem at all.

At Disney World they have a fantastic ride called Mission to Mars. I would love to see how it works. All I know is it is amazing to feel the gee forces. It was a lot of fun. My wife would not even go into the building. She had heard how it makes some people get sick that love all the other rides.

Mythbusters did a good episode about motion sickness. Ginger seems to be a very good way to beat it. All of the wrist bands and other non medicinal things were useless.

[Christien]

From what I understand, it's more about what your eyes see coming at you not being in sync with what your brain feels. This explains why as a driver you don't get sick, whereas being a passenger you do, all other things being equal. When you're driving (particularly at the track or autocross) your eyes are watching everything happening, and your brain (and therefore hands and feet) are responding to that and controlling the motions as reaction. As a passenger, it's the opposite - your brain is reacting to what your eyes see, which isn't necessarily in sync with what the driver's doing.

I've occasionally got motion sickness at the track - very mild, but always concerns me because I'm very prone to nausea. I've found it helps significantly to look even further down the road.

Along the same lines, have you ever wondered how figure skaters can spin countless times and not get dizzy? It's the same thing - brain feeling something different than eyes see. From what I'm told, they keep their visual focus on one particular spot.

[Scuba Steve]

Ginger, as in from the spice rack or from a sushi place? I haven't seen that episode.

[GH85Carrera]

Ginger from the spice rack. My father in law would just mix some up in water and drink it. I don't think it was that tasty but it was better that sickness.

[Scuba Steve]

Cool, thanks for the info! My wife gets motion sickness and isn't a big fan of dramamine.

[fluque]

I get sick is cars often, worse if I'm riding in the back seat but never when driving. As a kid it was kind of bad, now it's gotten somewhat better. Never got to the point of having to empty my stomach but it would get me 1/2-1 hr to get back to normal.

In my case it's definitely not a control issue. I'm also sensitive to very sweet perfumes and get sick in the same fasion.

[Dantilla]

I've heard Bob Hoover (Amazing airshow pilot, in case you didn't know) will get airsick as a passenger.

I never get motion sick, but when I was on a gillnetter in Alaska, I was told to keep a full stomach, as it's the stomach acids sloshing around that causes it. Munching saltine crackers is said to be one of the best preventions, as it acts as an internal baffle.

A journalist that was about to get a ride in one of the Blue Angles asked about what to eat before hand. The answer:

"Bananas. Tastes the same coming up as going down."

[Superman]

Driving apparently wards it off. Otherwise, front passenger seat is a good location, watching the road. Back seat is more likely to cause motion sickness. And not watching the road. My sisters used to get car sick often. I've never been motion sick in my life. At the carnival, I love The Zipper.

[Seahawk]

This is an interesting topic, one, as a former Navy pilot who cruised on very small frigates in very large seas, I researched. I have only been sick once.

There really are shades of gray in the root cause of motion sickness. The Navy medical establishment acknowledges definitive physical attributes that can contribute to motion sickness, but they also acknowledge definite mental contributory factors as well: stress, apprehension, prior experiences as a child, anticipation of getting sick, etc.

In flight school there are always hard core pukers, guys and gals that get motion sickness on pre-flight The Navy will, if the student is willing and has been doing well, try and get the individual on a path back to flight.

They start with the patch, which often works. A good friend of mine who is a flight surgeon told me that if the patch works many times the third or fourth "patch" prescription is basically a placebo...with identical results.

Failing the patch, they move to the physical side, inner ear, blockage, etc. If there are no obvious, non-repairable issues, the fun begins.

Another good friend of mine (spent some time shooting with him and his son this weekend) I met in flight school was a hurler, a dynamic bag filler. The patch failed, he had no physical causes so, as he described it, the torture began.

Spin chairs, lots of time in visual flight sims, g-force trainers (NASA G-Force Training), etc. and basic counseling. The purpose, as my friend commented, is to introduce you to as many of the worst possible chow-returning scenarios as possible so that flight in an aircraft is welcomed relief.

It worked for him. I have no statistics, but there is often a definitive link between motion sickness and the mind only...that is why driving instead of riding, piloting instead of riding, is often key: the mind concentrates on a task and forgets about the motion.

[Dantilla]

Originally Posted by Seahawk

... a dynamic bag filler.
... the worst possible chow-returning scenarios .....

Two examples of great use of the english language. Thanks!

[AFC-911]

I get motion sickness when I'm reading or looking down in a moving vehicle & on a rocky boat ride.

I am fine with high speed rollercoasters, plane & helicopter rides.

I really don't get it.

[Tobra]

Try closing your eyes on an E ticket rollercoaster.

We used to give the misbehaving jarheads a shoe box with a ball or an orange in it. You watch that baby rollin' around and you will get a second look at your lunch PDQ, even in mild seas.

As I understand it, motion sickness has a lot to do with your brain processing visual and inner ear data.

Peppermint is good for nausea