I come across a lot of people who suffer from Motion Sickness aka Travel sickness. Traveling by bus in particular, is dreadful for many including myself at times. I have realized this is a sickness that is not hereditary, bursting the myth my mum fed me (even she suffers from travel sickness). So let me first explain why some of us feel uneasy while traveling…….
What is Travel Sickness?
When we are in a moving vehicle, our ears can sense the motion of, say, a car, bus, train or plane. However, our eyes see everything as stationary. This sends contradictory signals to our brain which eventually results in us feeling uneasy, sick and in extreme but frequent circumstances, vomit. At times even driving conditions, hygiene, ventilation and claustrophobia come into play and this makes it worse.
However, I would also like to believe that sometimes it is all in the mind. I mean think about it, even before you embark on your journey, you know that you are going to feel sick. It’s like you are instructing your mind to behave in that manner. Nonetheless, we all know the age-old remedy to overcome this sickness – Pop a Travel sickness pill! But what about situations in which you haven’t taken a pill – forgot to eat one and neither did you carry such tablets along?
So here are my inexpensive, really cheap tricks that might help you overcome travel sickness and take you through your journey…..
- Sleep
This always works. Whenever you feel uneasy or sickly it is best to close your eyes and sleep (or at least try to).
- Music
You may forget your motion sickness tablet but you will not forget your Ipod. These days, most cell phones come with memory cards that allow you to store loads of music. So whenever you feel uneasy, put on your ear phones and listen to your collection. In my case, I even sing along the lyrics softly. This helps divert my mind to a good extent.
- Chew a Candy
Another inexpensive trick is to pop a candy or a chewing gum in your mouth when you don’t feel well. Often when you are sick, your mouth acts funnily, sometimes feels dry. This could/should be tackled by drinking small sips of water or chewing a candy. Now either you carry loads of sweets in your bag or just buy some at the nearest shop you come across. My magic candy is a digestive called ‘Hajmola’ which I stock up in my bag or if I am on the highway, I just buy them from the shopkeepers. Every second shopkeeper on the Indian national highway sells these.
- Inhale / Exhale
This has saved me more than a dozen times. I may look stupid to others when I do this but I couldn’t care less if it makes me feel better. You always know when you start to feel pukish or uneasy. It is in these times that I simply inhale from my nose and release that air from the mouth. I do this for a minute or two until I overcome that feeling.
P.S. I haven’t figured out how and why this works for me. I think its got to do with distracting my mind. Try it and let me know, if this works for you 🙂
- Stick your head out of the bus window or move about frequently
If you are fortunate to have a window seat in a bus, you could stick your head out for a few seconds. You need no saying but I shall still make obvious that sticking your head out of a moving bus needs cautiousness. The gushing breeze from a moving bus helps make you feel better and less claustrophobic. For they don’t use the phrase “I need a breath of fresh air” just like that!
If you have an aisle seat or if you are traveling in a train or by air, you should try to move about frequently. The blood circulation logic comes into play here which when seated for long hours may have opposite effects on your body.
Bear in mind, there can be no such thing that pleases, applies or goes down well with everybody. So there are chances that not all of my tips may go down well with each one. Just like how some other person’s way of dealing with travel sickness may not necessarily suit me. For example, It amazes me how one can read a book/magazine while traveling in a bus. I have tried this and it makes me sicker. Also drinking water is a good thing and helps to some extent but how much would one drink. And again that makes you want to frequent the loo more than often, so a fail for me.
Warning: Do not think that you will feel better automatically or give yourself time to feel better and do nothing about your uneasiness. You come with no super powers. So if you feel sick, it is best to deal with it in its premature stage, before you feel worse and embarrass yourself and become a nuisance for others.
On the other hand, remember, just because you suffer from travel sickness, DOES NOT mean you stop traveling!!
(Note: I do not own the picture displayed in this blog. It has been added for Pictorial representation sake. All text can get boring to read sometimes)
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