You know I travel a lot
and although i love visiting new and old
places sometimes getting there is less than pleasant.
Why? Because I get car sick, and air sick and sea sick and horse sick and one time
i did like stand up paddle boarding and I got stand up paddle boarding sick.
And spending 3 hours on a turbulent flight squished between 2 strangers
while concentrating on not puking on them is not fun
but it does help me to understand my affliction.
So lets talk about that.
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Motion sickness is all about sensory conflict.
Meaning your central nervous system is receiving conflicting information
from your eyes, and your inner ears and your sensory receptors in your spine and joints.
Normally these systems work together to give us our sense of balance.
When you walk down the street without falling down-
Your vestibular system in your inner ear is jiving with the images that you are seeing in your eyeballs.
The Vestibular system is a sort of pretzel shaped set of tiny sensory organs nestled in the cochlea in your inner ear.
Together these organs form a sort of human gyroscope
by detecting both linear-that is forward and backward...
and rotational movements of your head.
But say you are riding down a bumpy road and you're squished in the back of a station wagon...
Your eyes say that you are stationary because they see that your seat isnt moving...
But your inner ears feel every turn of the road
And soon your brain is mad at you.
We are not exactly sure why those conflicting senses make you want to throw up your stomach contents
but researchers think its related to particularly vindictive neurotransmitters that light up your brain's vomit center.
Yes you have a vomit center.
Because certain medications like those containing antihistamines, anticholinergics, and serotonin
seem to relieve motion sickness symptoms.
Scientists suspect that the nausea is related to the release of those corresponding neurotransmitters
that different meds specifically target:
Histamine, acetylcholine, and serotonin.
And there seems to be a specific king of nausea related to movement too,
because drugs used to curb- say the nausea caused by chemotherapy- dont work for motion sickness,
indicating that different neural pathways are in action.
About 30% of the population is lucky enough to be naturally immune to motion sickness,
though researchers aren't sure why that is.
Unfortunately, for the rest of us its a problem that can only be treated, not cured.
It helps to sit up front if you're in a car so you can anticipate motions
which helps your senses all get on the same page.
And though its tempting to close your eyes as you meditate on not hurling
it's better to keep your eyes open and focused on a point in the distance.
Of course, you cant really do that if you're on a boat at night or stuck in the middle of a jumbo jet,
in which case bring some dramamine and keep your barf bag handy.
Actually, several studies have shown that taking powdered ginger before sailing on rough seas
or being strapped into a whirling test chair was equally if not more effective in preventing motion sickness than...
various over the counter medications.
Again, why is not entirely clear, but at least one study suggests
that the active compound 6-gingerol, which is related to the chemical that makes chili peppers spicy
helps keep food moving through a distressed gastro-intestinal system rather than building up
in the stomach- where it is tempted to evacuate via vomiting.
And if you are wondering: Yes! Other non human animals can get motion sickness too.
There are lots of historical accounts of horses getting sea sick on ocean voyages
and perhaps you've had to give your dog or cat their own special medication
to get through a cross country roadtrip.
Well obviously animals, including us, did not evolve to ride in vehicles
but one theory for why we have developed such strong reactions to feeling disoriented
may have to do with poison prevention, specifically a defense against neurotoxins.
Because before any of us were riding around in boats or wagons...
the main time our senses would get all wonky was when we'd eaten a poisonous plant or something.
Feeling motion without seeing it may make the brain think that it is hallucinating
indicating that something is seriously wrong and vomiting is the boy's way of trying to expel that supposed toxin.
But until your body and brain can get together and realize that rough roads don't mean that you're on
some kind of hallucinagenic trip, I'd recommend a pocket full of ginger, or some dramamine.
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