Even in the olden times, the problem of motion sickness had been prevalent. In fact, it was even referred to as “camel sickness” in the Bible, where the camel riders experience nausea due to moderate swaying.
With the advent of technology, motion sickness has evolved into many forms such as seasickness, carsickness, space motion sickness, and airsickness; and the reason why more and more people are now traveling by air is because it is the fastest way to get somewhere far away.
Generally, airsickness refers to that feeling of nausea which was triggered by the motion usually experienced when the aircraft escalates to higher altitudes. Some of the common signs of airsickness are loss of appetite, vertigo, burping, stomach awareness, nausea, and increased swallowing and salivation.
Contrary to most popular beliefs, airsickness is not a disorder. It is just a normal response of the body to an unusual stimulus. Simply put: airsickness is due to the disparity between what people see with their eyes and the data that they get from the “vestibular organs” of the ears. So, it is a matter of the discrepancies between what people see and what they feel. Thus, the end result is a confusion of the brain’s regular processing of sensory awareness.
Here’s how to ease the problem:
1. Stress and other forms of anxiety should be minimized.
Studies show that two of the common causes of airsickness are stress and anxieties. It increases the probability of experiencing airsickness. This is because the body will have more difficulty in coping up with the sudden change of environment. Emotional factors trigger the brain to get more confused.
2. Before traveling, it would be better for a person to eat light meals only. Large meals, especially those that have high salt content are possible causes of airsickness.
3. While on board, it is best for a person to stay put and avoid too much moving within the aircraft. Motion is the number one factor why airsickness occurs.
4. People should accept the condition and try to get accustomed on the situation. This will happen after a few hours of being in the air.
Airsickness can be helped with these tips and there are of course, over the counter medications that can help if all else fails.
Tags: airsickness, travel tips
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