motion sicknesss disorders

DISORDERS

(Their description, characteristics or symptoms,

causes, and complementary or alternative treatments)

Disorder: MOTION SICKNESS

Description: Motion sickness occurs when motion causes the eyes, the sensory nerves, and the vestibular apparatus of the ear to send conflicting signals to the brain. Some individuals experience motion sickness while traveling by car, train, sea, or air.

Symptoms: Mild symptoms may be uneasiness, headache, and nausea. Severe symptoms may include vomiting, dizziness, excessive yawning and/or salivation, fatigue, weakness, inability to concentrate, pallor (turning white), and severe distress. Prolonged motion sickness, such as on a long sea or air trip, may produce depression, low blood pressure, and dehydration.

Incidence: Women are affected by motion sickness more than men. Elderly people and children under the age of two usually are not affected.

Causes: Motion sickness is caused by movement on the organ of balance in the inner ear. Other factors that may play a role are genetics, anxiety, movement immediately after eating or eating too much, and poor ventilation. There is a great variation in susceptibility of different people.

Treatments: Natural remedies have been used with great success for motion sickness. Motion sickness is far easier to prevent than to cure. Once excessive salivation and nausea set in, it is often too late to do anything but wait for the trip to be over so recovery can begin.

Nutrients:

Supplement Dosage Comments

Charcoal tablets	5 tablets 1 hour before travel. Take separately from other medications and supplements.	A detoxifier.
Ginger		See under Herbs, below
Magnesium	500 mg. 1 hour before trip.	Acts as a nerve tonic.
Peppermint		See under Herbs, below
Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine)	100 mg. 1 hour before trip, then 100 mg. 2 hours later.	Relieves nausea.

Herbs:

	Ginger is an excellent preventive and treatment for nausea and upset stomach. Take 2 ginger capsules (approximately 1000 mg.) every three hours, starting one hour before beginning the trip.
	Peppermint tea sooths and calms the stomach. A drop of peppermint oil on the tongue provides excellent relief from nausea and motion sickness. Peppermint can also be taken in lozenge form.

Recommendations:

	Take whole-grain crackers with you on trips. Olives can also help ward off nausea because they decrease salivation.
	On short trips, avoid eating or drinking anything at all.
	Do not eat spicy, heavy, fatty, fried or junk foods before or during travel. They can contribute to nausea.
	Avoid alcohol. If you are prone to motion sickness, alcohol consumption will only aggravate the problem by further disrupting communication between the eyes, the inner ears and the brain.
	Avoid odors and aromas that can bring about nausea. Avoid odor from smoke, engine exhaust, paint fumes, nail polish, and animal waste. Even otherwise pleasant odors, such as those from perfume or after-shave, can cause a problem if you are prone to motion sickness.
	Sit still and breath deeply. Your brain is already confused without extra motion on your part. Especially try to keep your head still.
	Stay cool, if possible. Fresh air can assist in battling motion sickness. If in a car, roll down a window. If on a ship standing on deck and taking in the sea breezes can help. In an airplane, open the overhead vent.
	Limit or eliminate visual input. Traveling at night helps many people, simply because visual acuity is diminished, so that they do not perceive motion to the same degree as during the day. At sea, lying down and closing your eyes at the first sign of motion sickness can be helpful. In an automobile, set your eyes on a distant, stationary object, such as the horizon.

Considerations:

There are numerous over-the-counter products available that may help prevent motion sickness, including dimenhydrinate (Dramamine) and Meclizine (Bonine). These drugs are not always effective, however, and can cause side effects, especially drowsiness.

If motion sickness is severe and herbs, homeopathic and over-the-counter medications do not bring relief, a physician can prescribe scopolamine, a dime-sized patch (Transderm-V or Transderm-Scop), which deliver the drug through the skin for up to three days. It should be applied at least four hours before embarking. The patch can be worn on any part of the body that is free of hair. Possible side effects of scopolamine include dry mouth, drowsiness, blurred vision, and dilated pupil on the side the patch is worn.

Vitamin For Life Recommended Regimen and cost:

Product No	Description	Comments	Cost
245-15	Activated Charcoal Tablets 260 mg.	5 tablets 1 hour before travel. Take separately from other medications and supplements.	$5.95/100
232-15	Magnesium Caps. 200 mg.	2 capsules one hour before trip.	$4.95/100
894-15	Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) tabs. 100 mg.	1 table one hour before trip. Then 1 tablet 2 hour later.	$3.65/60

Sources:

Prescription for Nutritional Healing, 2^nd Edition

By James F. Balch, M.D. & Phyllis A. Balch, C.N.C.

Alternative Medicine, The Definitive Guide

Compiled by the Burton Goldberg Group

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