Motion Sickness Treatments and Medications

Traveling becomes all the more challenging and stressful when you have to worry about accompanying nausea and dizziness from being in motion. Whether moving by plane, train, boat, or car, motion sickness can hit even the most well-traveled passenger.

Fortunately, there’s a simple way to alleviate these symptoms with medications specifically designed to help prevent that feeling of unease. We’ll take a look at the best motion sickness medicines and treatments, including motion sickness pills, patches, and natural remedies that will help you travel more comfortably.

What is motion sickness?

Motion sickness is an illness that occurs while traveling by car, plane, train, or boat. Common motion sickness symptoms include nausea, dizziness, cold sweats, and vomiting. A disturbance of the inner ear and the conflict between perceived and real motion causes discomfort.

Motion sickness is relatively common, affecting nearly 200,000 people in the U.S. each year. Anyone can get motion sickness, but women (especially pregnant women), children, and people who get migraines are among those most prone to the condition. Certain medications may also increase the risk of feeling ill while traveling.

Early instances of motion sickness are often associated with professional seafarers. In severe cases, as much as 60% of an experienced crew would be affected by seasickness. As traveling has become more accessible in the modern age, the variety of causes for motion sickness has continued to expand to other vehicles. Recently, even video games and virtual reality simulators have induced motion sickness, even though the person isn’t actually in motion.

Unfortunately, motion sickness is not a condition that you can cure. The feeling of unease and nausea typically recedes once the body is no longer in motion. Still, there are many other simple ways to reduce your symptoms for a more comfortable travel experience. These include at-home remedies, simple lifestyle changes before traveling and prescription medications in the form of oral and path medications.

How is motion sickness diagnosed?

Many people learn to adjust to motion sickness and treat it themselves with home remedies. Others may be interested in seeing a doctor for a diagnosis and prescribed treatment method.

If you regularly experience nausea while traveling, your primary care provider (PCP) can help you identify if what you’re experiencing is a case of motion sickness. Then, they can create a treatment plan with you. For more specialized treatment, your doctor may refer you to an internist, psychologist, psychiatrist, or an otolaryngologist (ear, nose, and throat doctor or ENT).

Your doctor will ask about your symptoms and search for the causes of the ill-feeling you experience while traveling. They may ask you about which travel methods typically cause you to experience motion sickness and how severe the symptoms are. It is uncommon to need laboratory tests or imaging for a motion sickness diagnosis.

Motion sickness treatment options

After diagnosing motion sickness, your doctor will discuss all of your treatment options with you. Many people choose to treat this condition with at-home remedies such as eating raw ginger or peppermint. Lifestyle changes such as avoiding overeating, drinking alcohol, or smoking before traveling can also help reduce motion sickness.

If natural remedies don’t help to alleviate your symptoms, over-the-counter medications like antihistamines or prescription medications in the form of pills or patches may be more useful for treatment. Keep in mind there is no cure for motion sickness, but these treatment options can help reduce or prevent your symptoms.

Motion sickness medications

Taking anti-nausea (antiemetic) medication before traveling can help reduce your risk of feeling sick. Antihistamines and anticholinergic drugs are the most common types of medications used for symptomatic treatment.

Antihistamines

Antihistamines are the most common type of medication for motion sickness. Common antihistamines include:

• Dramamine (dimenhydrinate)

• Antivert, Bonine

• Promethegan, Phenergan, Phenergan (promethazine)

• Benadryl (diphenhydramine)

These come in the forms of oral pills or suppositories. The potential adverse effects of antihistamines include drowsiness, dry mouth, and blurred vision, but most find these drugs to manage their condition effectively.

Promethegan use can result in pseudoparkinsonism, acute dystonic reactions, akathisia, and tardive dyskinesia. These symptoms are episodic spastic movement abnormalities, which are rare but very debilitating.

Both prescription and over-the-counter antihistamines are available to treat motion sickness. The sedating effects of antihistamines are what make them an effective treatment method. Non-drowsy antihistamines—Zofran (ondansetron), Allegra (fexofenadine), Zyrtec (cetirizine)—may not be as effective at reducing your symptoms.

Anticholinergics

Anticholinergics work by blocking acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter that causes involuntary bodily functions, including digestion and salivation. The most common anticholinergic used for motion sickness treatment is the scopolamine patch. Scopolamine is a patch that you place behind your ear at least four hours before traveling and can leave on for up to three days. The transdermal system reduces nausea, vomiting, and other symptoms. Common side effects of scopolamine include dry mouth, drowsiness, and blurred vision.

What is the best medication for motion sickness?

There are many different ways you can treat your condition, ranging from home remedies to prescription medications. The best treatment for motion sickness depends on the individual patient. What works best for some may not be as helpful for others. Be sure you discuss all treatment options with your doctor so you can explore what’s best for you based on personal medical advice.

The following table outlines some of the most common medications for motion sickness that patients use to alleviate symptoms of motion sickness.

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Best medications for motion sickness