Swaying( Sea sickness) - Causes, symptoms and treatment. MF.

Seasickness, or motion sickness is a common disease condition. They suffer not only those who travel by sea, but also passengers in cars, trains and planes. Usually a person experiences only a certain discomfort, but sometimes the disease manifests itself in severe form, completely depriving him of the opportunity to engage in ordinary activities. Almost half of the children traveling by car and airplane are half-wheeled, and almost 100% of the passengers are on board the vessel in rough seas.

Most often, marine sickness occurs on small ships and in small cars. Most of all women suffer from it( especially during pregnancy and menstruation), children between the ages of 2 and 12, as well as people prone to migraines. About individual predisposition to this disease is known little.

The main role in the development of seasickness is played by the vestibular apparatus( semicircular canals and otoliths) located in the inner ear. He reacts to the position and movements of the head. Information on the position of the body in space is also transmitted by proprioceptors located in muscles, tendons and joints. Together with the visual receptors, the vestibular apparatus and proprioceptors fix changes in the position of the body and transmit information to the brain. Symptoms of seasickness appear when this information becomes monotonous.

Symptoms of motion sickness / seasickness

The classic symptoms of seasickness include a feeling of discomfort in the abdomen, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, pallor and cold sweat. The food in the stomach is digested slower, and the feeling of hunger does not occur longer than usual.

Prevention of motion sickness / seasickness

If you are susceptible to motion sickness in a small or moderate degree, you can minimize its symptoms with simple measures.

• Take a seat where less swaying - usually the front seats in the car, the first cars on the train, the middle part of the ship, and on the plane - the seats above the wings.
• Look at the deleted objects or close your eyes. Do not read or look at anything in the cockpit.
• Try to move your head as little as possible.
• If possible, lie on your back, on your back.

Usually, painful feelings stop within 15 minutes after stopping. Travelers who have to relapse, after a short period of time, again experience motion sickness, the symptoms become less pronounced.

Treatment of motion sickness / seasickness

Anticholinergic and antihistamines will help alleviate the serious manifestations of seasickness. All medicines should be taken at least 30-60 minutes at the beginning of the trip, so that they have time to act before the stomach begins to react to motion sickness. The specific choice of medication depends on the duration of the journey, the severity of the symptoms of seasickness, the health of the traveler, the sedative effect of individual drugs and personal preferences.

One of the effective drugs is scopolamine. It can be used both in the form of tablets( "Aeron"), and in the form of a patch. Plasters are used for prolonged travel and weaken the symptoms of seasickness for any kind of movement. The plaster is placed on the skin behind the ear no later than 4 hours before the start of the trip and is subsequently changed every 3 days. To achieve maximum effect, you should paste the patch 8 hours before shipment.

Scopolamine tablets are effective for 6-8 hours and can be used for short trips or for a time between the adhesive sticker and the beginning of its action. Tablets have more side effects than a patch. Most often there is dryness in the mouth - it is experienced by almost two thirds of those taking the medicine. Other side effects include reduced visual acuity( especially in people with hyperopia), pupil dilatation and bradycardia, all of which can appear or worsen 24 hours after patch application or repeated use.

Scopolamine has less sedative effect than antihistamines.

All drugs for seasickness can reduce the reaction rate, so people who drive vehicles, large machinery or descend under the water are advised to use them with caution. In addition, these medications are not recommended for those who suffer from cardiovascular diseases, lung, liver and kidney diseases.

Treatment of seasickness with folk remedies

Some patients suffering from seasickness can benefit from non-pharmacological agents, although their effectiveness is not always confirmed by scientific data. As with pregnancy, nausea and vomiting sometimes help alleviate ginger, as well as stimulating a biologically active point on the inside of the wrist( about 5 cm below the base of the hand between the two muscle tendons).In any case, the use of such drugs will not give side effects.