Vacation Travel: Avoiding Airsickness While Flying

Motion sickness, including being airsick, is a feeling of nausea brought on by the movement of something in which you are situated, whether it is a plane, a car, a boat, or even riding on a horse. Airsickness is fairly common, especially for people who infrequently fly. When you are in an airplane, you can feel the "bumps" and up and down motion of the air turbulence which some people simply can't handle well.

There are other symptoms of airsickness in addition to the most obvious, vomiting. For instance, you may feel a loss of appetite or upset stomach first, followed by vertigo, which is a sense of dizziness. You also may also start burping a lot or have increased salivation and need for swallowing. Finally, your palms and forehead start to become flushed and sweaty, and experience a warmth throughout your body. Eventually if you can't overcome the airsickness you may start to vomit, after which (surprisingly) you will likely feel better for a while.

Airsickness isn't a medical condition that some people have and others don't. Rather, it is just a normal response to motion that negatively affects some people more than others. (We all know those people who can climb onto a carnival ride that spins multiple directions while weaving the cart in and out, and hanging you upside down - all the while having the time of their lives. You, on the other hand, feel queasy simply watching someone else on that same ride.)

Airsickness is a matter of not seeing what you feel, so to speak. Usually, your five senses are all in sync. But not so in the case of motion sickness. For example, if you are reading on a plane, your eyes are still. Then you go over a bump, and while your eyes stay on the book, the rest of your body moves, which causes a "conflict" in the senses. That is the sensation that causes airsickness.

There are simple means of avoiding airsickness. If you already know you are prone to motion sickness in a car or on a boat, you should follow these recommendations when planning to fly.

First, try to avoid stress or anxiety. The more anxiety you internalize, the more prone to becoming airsick. You should also try to eat only light meals before you fly. That includes snacking on crackers, a small sandwich, or anything that normally helps to settle your stomach. While you are on the aircraft at any altitude after takeoff, avoid walking around until the airplane is stabilized. If while you are standing the flight becomes rocky, sit down in your seat as quickly as you can; the pilot will request that of all passengers anyway.

Finally, technological advances have produced patches and pills you can take beforehand to help avoid becoming airsick. The patches are placed right behind your ear to keep your senses synchronized, and the medication can be prescribed by your doctor for relaxation. It is all a matter of adjusting your body to accommodate the movement and avoid the "mix up" among your senses.

If, in the end, you do become airsick during your flight, the good news is that you should be fine within a short time after de-boarding the plane.