What to Do If You Feel That You Are Motion Sick in the Car
If you’re prone to motion sickness, road trips can be stomach hell. And if your kids are in trouble, you’ll spend most of the trip wondering if you really need to stop. Here are some tips on what to do when the wave of nausea begins to roll.
Look in the windshield
When I was a kid, my parents always told me to look out the window, but that always made the car sickness worse. Looking through the windshield is much better: how you feel as you move matches how you see yourself as you move. This is why car sickness often escalates in the back seat. Children should not sit in the front until they are 13 or so, but sometimes you can seat them so that a child who is sick of the car can see the road ahead better. If this is not possible, it is best to close your eyes.
If you’re an adult prone to motion sickness, try sitting in a shotgun. Or better yet, volunteer to become a driver.
Breathe in fresh air
Cool air can relieve some of the discomfort associated with car sickness. Scientists don’t fully understand why, but we do know that when we feel sick, our bodies are actually trying to cool us down . That’s why sometimes we get hot, blush and sweat. A cool breeze blowing on your face will make you feel more comfortable, so it’s time to open a window or turn on the air conditioner.
Distract yourself
The symptoms of nausea are physical, but they are controlled by our brain. After all, we are not poisoned and we do not have a stomach bug (well, I hope not). Listening to music can help us take our minds off conflicting visual and motor experiences. So are games, but not video games or crossword puzzles that you have to look at. Now is the time to look out the windshield and start playing Twenty Questions or “My name is Alice…” rhyme, no matter how old you are.
Plan for the worst
Getting sick in a car (or worse, on public transport) is just a few layers of suffering. You feel disgusting but you probably won’t stop anytime soon and what happens if you vomit? If you know that you (or your child) are prone to motion sickness, be sure to bring some kind of bag or container with you that you might throw up in. Sometimes just knowing that it is there is enough for you not to need it.