Motion sickness treatment

Question 1

What's the difference between over-the-counter and prescription motion sickness medications?

Answer

Over-the-counter motion sickness medications like dimenhydrinate (Dramamine) and meclizine (Antivert, Bonine, Dramamine Less Drowsy) are oral antihistamines that you take 30 to 60 minutes before travel. You can take them every 8 hours.

Scopolamine (Transderm-Scop) is a prescription adhesive patch that's FDA-approved to treat the nausea and vomiting associated with motion sickness. You apply the anti-nausea patch behind your ear 4 to 12 hours before travel and change it every 72 hours as needed.

Question 2

How can I reduce motion sickness naturally?

Answer

Some behavioral changes can help reduce the conflict between what your eyes are seeing and what your inner ear (vestibular system) is sensing. Experts recommend the following travel tips to reduce motion sickness:

• Change your posture to keep your head and shoulders still when you're in motion

• Avoid reading or looking at screens in moving vehicles

• Focus on a stable horizon or an unmoving object in the distance

• In cars, choose the driver's seat, or sit in the passenger seat and stare at the road as if you're the driver

• In boats, stick to the lower deck or midship cabins

• In trains and buses, choose a forward-facing seat

• In planes, choose a seat over the front edge of the wing

There's also some evidence that both ginger and acupressure on the P6 acupressure point on the inside of the wrist can alleviate the nausea associated with motion sickness.

Question 3

Can I get motion sickness in virtual reality (VR)?

Answer

Yes. When you experience motion sickness while playing video games with a VR headset, it's called VR sickness or cybersickness. Cybersickness symptoms include nausea, dizziness, and disorientation.

Question 4

Is there a cure for motion sickness?

Answer

No, there's no cure for motion sickness. But you can become desensitized to certain stimuli through repeated exposure. For example, the habituation training used for military pilots has success rates above 80%.

Question 5

Clinical sources

Answer

1. Garrido, L. E., Frías-Hiciano, M., Moreno-Jiménez, M., Cruz, G. N., García-Batista, Z. E., Guerra-Peña, K., & Medrano, L. A. (2022). Focusing on cybersickness: pervasiveness, latent trajectories, susceptibility, and effects on the virtual reality experience. Virtual reality, 26(4), 1347–1371.

2. Oh, H., & Son, W. (2022). Cybersickness and Its Severity Arising from Virtual Reality Content: A Comprehensive Study. Sensors (Basel, Switzerland), 22(4), 1314.

3. Rine, R. M., Schubert, M. C., & Balkany, T. J. (1999). Visual-vestibular habituation and balance training for motion sickness. Physical therapy, 79(10), 949–957.

4. Zhang, L. L., Wang, J. Q., Qi, R. R., Pan, L. L., Li, M., & Cai, Y. L. (2016). Motion Sickness: Current Knowledge and Recent Advance. CNS neuroscience & therapeutics, 22(1), 15–24.

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Motion sickness treatment

How it works

Common anti-nausea medications for motion sickness

Dimenhydrinate

Meclizine

Scopolamine patch

What causes motion sickness?

What are symptoms of motion sickness?

Frequently asked questions