Motion Sickness

[Fae Oonagh]

Home Remedies For Motion Sickness
The story is told about the captain of the ship who announced, "There is no hope. We are all doomed. The ship is sinking and we'll all be dead within an hour." One voice was heard after that dire announcement. It was the seasick passenger who cried, "Thank heavens!"

If you have ever been seasick, you probably anticipated that punchline.

Symptoms
Symptoms of motion sickness are generally recognizable. A paleness of the skin may be followed by yawning, restlessness, and a cold sweat. As the symptoms progress, malaise and drowsiness set in, sometimes accompanied by an upset stomach. Excessive salivation, nausea and vomiting may follow. People with more resistance may experience a waxing and waning of symptoms and perhaps never actually vomit.

Natural home remedies
Most people think air, land and sea sickness start in the stomach. Wrong! Guess again. Constant jarring of the semicircular canals in the ears cause inner balance problems that produce those awful motion sickness symptoms.

What to do? Go suck a lemon! Really! That's one of the time-tested remedies.

Here are a few more that might help you get through that miserable feeling.

Pull out and pinch the skin in the middle of your inner wrist, about an inch from your palm. Keep pulling and pinching alternate wrists until you feel better.
A cup of peppermint or chamomile tea may calm the stomach and alleviate nausea.
Take ginger in capsule form half an hour to an hour before the trip.
Take vitamin B6 for three days prior to the trip.
Suck a piece of peeled ginger root.
Wear motion sickness bands on your wrists.
Make Things Spicy

Mix 1/8 teaspoon of cayenne pepper in a cup of warm water or a cup of soup and force yourself to finish it, even if you think it'll finish you. It won't. But it may stop the nausea.
At the first sign of motion sickness, take a metal comb or wire brush and run the teeth over the backs of your hands, particularly the area from the thumb to the first finger, including the web of skin in between both fingers. You may have relief in five to 10 minutes.
Briskly massage the fourth and fifth fingers of each hand, with particular emphasis on the vicinity of the pinkies knuckle. You may feel relief within 15 minutes.
During a bout of motion sickness, suck a lemon or drink some fresh-squeezed lemon juice to relieve the queasiness.
To avoid the misery of motion sickness, a doctor at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, recommends taking two or three capsules of powdered ginger a half-hour before the expected motion. Or stir ½ teaspoon of ginger powder into 8 ounces of warm water and drink it about 20 minutes before you travel.
Here's a we-don't-know-why-it-works-but­it-does remedy-tape an umeboshi (that's a Japanese pickled plum) directly on your navel, right before you board a bus, train, car, plane or ship, and it should prevent motion sickness. Umeboshi plums are available at health food stores and at Asian markets.
Incidentally, the plums are very rich in calcium and iron. Of course, to reap those benefits, one must eat them, rather than tape them to one's tummy.

Far-out Idea
On any form of transportation, sit near a window so you can look out. Focus on things that are far away, not on nearby objects that move past you quickly.
On a plane, to assure yourself of the smoothest flight possible, select a seat that's over the wheels, not in the tail. There's a lot more movement in the tail end of a plane.
A Mexican method of preventing motion sickness is to keep a copper penny in the navel. It is supposed to work especially well on crowded bus rides over bumpy roads.
For at least half a day before leaving on a trip, have only liquid foods that are practically sugar-free and salt-free.
This remedy came to us from Hawaii, Afghanistan and Switzerland. Take a big brown paper bag and cut off and discard the bag's bottom. Then slit the bag from top to bottom so that it's no longer round, but instead a long piece of paper. Wrap the paper around your bare chest and secure it in place. Put your regular clothes on top of it and travel that way. It's supposed to prevent motion sickness.
Preventing motion sickness is easier than treating it once it has begun. A number of precautions can provide some help.

Place yourself where motion is least. In a car, sit in the front seat, looking ahead. In an airplane, choose a seat over the wing. On a ship, remain at the middle of the ship (preferably on deck). In a bus, take a seat just behind the front door.
Keep your head still and focus on the distant horizon. Close your eyes to avoid looking at fast-moving scenery or waves. Attention should be focused away from the motion of the vehicle. Reading is not recommended.
Avoid overindulgence in food or alcohol for at least 24 hours prior to travel.