Motion sickness is nausea that is usually caused by travel in a car, plane, train, or boat. It is sometimes called carsickness, airsickness, or seasickness. Some people also get it if they do things like play video games or look through a microscope.
Motion sickness can make your child vomit or sweat. It can also cause a headache. These symptoms usually go away soon after the motion stops. But sometimes it takes a few days.
You can treat your child's motion sickness with over-the-counter medicine or prescription medicine. You may also try having your child take ginger or wear acupressure wrist bands.
Motion sickness is a general feeling of illness, nausea, and other symptoms caused by movement. It occurs when one part of your balance-sensing system (inner ear, eyes, and sensory nerves) senses that your body is moving, but the other parts don't.
Some medicines can help prevent or treat the symptoms. But when symptoms start, they may not go away until after the motion stops.
Motion sickness can cause:
Symptoms will usually go away soon after the motion stops.
You can take medicine to prevent or reduce nausea and vomiting. These include:
Some of these medicines require a prescription. Most work best if you take them before you travel.
These tips may help you feel better when you have motion sickness:
It's best to try to prevent motion sickness, because symptoms are hard to stop after they start. After symptoms start, you may feel better only after the motion stops.
These general tips may help you avoid motion sickness:
To avoid motion sickness when you travel by car:
When you travel by airplane:
When you travel by ship or boat:
Many people try other methods of preventing motion sickness, such as taking powdered ginger capsules or wearing acupressure wristbands. There isn't much evidence that they help, but it's safe to try them.
Here are a few things to try:
You get motion sickness when one part of your balance-sensing system (your inner ear, eyes, and sensory nerves) senses that your body is moving, but the other parts don't. For example, if you are in the cabin of a moving ship, your inner ear may sense the motion of waves, but your eyes don't see any movement. This conflict between the senses causes motion sickness.
You may feel sick from the motion of cars, airplanes, trains, amusement park rides, or boats or ships. You could also get sick from video games, flight simulators, or looking through a microscope. In these cases, your eyes see motion, but your body doesn't sense it.
If you've ever been sick to your stomach on a rocking boat or a bumpy airplane ride, you know the discomfort of motion sickness. It doesn't cause long-term problems, but it can make your life miserable, especially if you travel a lot.
Children from 5 to 12 years old, women, and older adults get motion sickness more than others do. It's rare in children younger than 2.
Motion sickness is sometimes called airsickness, seasickness, or carsickness.
Call your doctor now or seek immediate medical care if:
Watch closely for changes in your health, and be sure to contact your doctor if:
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