Contents
Although many of us enjoy hassle-free travel by car, train or bus, it is less so with more unusual means of transport – boat or plane. Only 30% of people around the world have a complete, innate natural immunity to motion sickness. Others, to varying degrees, have problems with overcoming long distances. Unfortunately, this is an incurable condition – however, we have ways to deal with it symptomatically, temporarily.
Where is the problem?
Throughout our lives, our brain has to work and receive various types of stimuli. In order to work properly, however, it had to develop a number of systems that facilitate perception and allow us to determine our state in various conditions. When we feel discomfort while traveling, it is caused by a conflict of received stimuli. The impulses that come from the eyes, inner ear, and nerve endings in the joints usually work together to maintain balance. Under physiological conditions, when we walk straight, we perceive our movement with our eyes and the labyrinth located in the inner ear. This allows us to move forward efficiently. The labyrinth itself is something like a spirit level – each tilt of the head causes the flow of liquid, irritating the receptors of the semicircular canals, which inform the brain about the position we are in, even when our eyes are closed. When the eyes tell us something completely different than the labyrinth, the balance is disturbed, resulting in the familiar nausea, drowsiness and yawning, cold sweat, pale skin and vomiting.
The reason for the drastic symptoms
It is easy to understand that dissonance between perceived stimuli can lead to impaired concentration and nausea, but it is not entirely clear why we vomit. Scientists believe that this is related to specific neurotransmitters that irritate the vomiting center in our brain due to adaptations developed in our ancestors. Before the development of civilization, at the very beginning of our evolutionary period, our main source of food and all other resources was gathering. Many plants, fungi and even some animals defended themselves and their population by producing all kinds of harmful substances. Among them, there are also those that, due to their effects, we can call hallucinogenic or simply causing dizziness. Over time, natural selection meant that among the first people, only those who managed to remove the harmful substance in time passed their genes on to the next generations. Removing it, of course, was the shortest way, i.e. regurgitation.
A journey without obstacles
Today, we already have many ways to temporarily prevent the unwanted symptoms of motion sickness. Since preventing embarrassment is just as important, remember to choose the front seat over the back seat for passengers with these types of problems. The family, in the rush of duties and rush, often forgets about this simple procedure, which, fortunately, is almost always used on kindergarten and school trips. This is related to the ability to visually perceive the movement of objects relative to us, which harmonizes with the labyrinth. Sitting in the back, the field of vision is limited, and the buildings and trees passed quickly only intensify the dizziness and deterioration of well-being caused by the impression of apparent body movement. The idea of closing the eyes of such people comes to mind, but this is inadvisable – the best way is to focus attention on a distant point. Of course, this is limited when traveling by ship or plane, so you should always have the right medication and an emergency plastic bag with you.
What to give travelers?
The main neurotransmitter that stimulates the vomiting center in the brain is histamine. In order to inhibit its secretion, appropriate substances are needed that will inhibit its action. One of the most effective active substances is dimenhydramine, which very quickly has antihistamine effect and determines the action of aviomarin – a popular over-the-counter drug. It should be borne in mind that Aviomarin for children also has a high dose of active substance and therefore we do not use it in children under 6 years of age. Before use, it is worth visiting the website http://aviomarin.com.pl/, where you can find all information about the dosage and contraindications for people with allergies.
The above problem is, unfortunately, one of the examples of imperfections in the functioning of our body – but why be surprised, vehicles have not been with us for millions of years, and poisoning during mushroom picking still happens. However, no one wants to spend an unexpected holiday with their head in a plastic bag – so always be prepared for any eventuality.