Moving Right Along

There are oceans of potions for those ill from motions

Motion sickness might seem like a trivial medical problem at first glance, but it can turn any sort of long journey into an unpleasant experience. Some people are so affected by this feeling that they can never read in moving vehicles and they dread boarding planes or ships. Fortunately, simple measures can alleviate the discomfort of motion sickness for most people.

Motion sickness results when your body's motion-sensing apparatus detects movement that is at odds with what your eyes tell your brain. Dr. Max E. Levine and his colleagues at Penn State University created the same effect in a laboratory when volunteers watched a striped, rotating drum.

The researchers found two non-drug ways to reduce the nausea associated with motion sickness. KOMO-TV in Seattle describes how eating a protein meal before departing or cooling the face with a washcloth or cool water can alleviate symptoms.

People who have more persistent motion sickness might consider using a device worn on the wrist like a watch. It uses a 48-hour battery to stimulate the nerves of the wrist with a gentle electric current. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the device to treat motion sickness, morning sickness and nausea resulting from chemotherapy or other medical procedures. "Patients feel a little tingling in their hand when it's working," says Dr. David Hunstad, an anesthesiologist at William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Mich. The Detroit News has the details.

ABCNews.com reviews the pharmaceutical choices available to treat motion sickness, including pills and skin patches worn behind the ear.

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