I have spent most of my life having to deal with the struggle of coping with travel sickness.

It really is shitty and makes the actual act of travelling something I often dread. You see it doesn’t always last just for the duration of the journey, I will invariably feel sick and dizzy for hours afterwards. I will, on occasion, even feel fine during the actual journey and then be horrifically sick once I’ve reached my accommodation.

Coping With Travel Sickness

What is Travel Sickness?

Motion sickness is caused by repeated movements when travelling, like going over bumps in a car, the vibrations on a train or moving up and down in a boat. The inner ear sends different signals to your brain from those your eyes are seeing. It’s these confusing messages that ultimately cause you to feel unwell.

My Experiences With Travel Sickness

My earliest travel memories nearly all involve being violently sick.

I’ve lost count of the number of car journeys that resulted in stopping part way for me to throw my breakfast/lunch/dinner into a hedgerow.

I once spent half of a 30 minute train journey sitting on the floor with my head between my knees. 

My first ever plane journey (at the age of 22) found me sitting with my eyes clamped shut and deep-breathing, praying that I wouldn’t hurl over the person in front.

My trip to Dublin the year after was actually nausea free… until I reached my hotel room, where I then spent 30 minutes with my head in the toilet.

Coping With Travel Sickness

Over the years I have found a number of things that assist and impede my issues with travel sickness. Hopefully they’ll help you too:

Do

• Stick to plain food before you’re due to travel and stick to drinking water
• Sleep for as much of the journey as possible
• If you are awake, look straight ahead at a fixed point, such as the horizon
• Breathe fresh air if possible – for example, by opening a car window
• Close your eyes and breathe slowly while focusing on your breathing
• Break up long journeys to get some fresh air, drink water or take a walk

Don’t

• Read, watch films or use electronic devices
• Look at moving objects, such as passing cars or rolling waves
• Eat heavy meals, spicy foods or drink alcohol shortly before or during travel

In addition you can buy medication from pharmacies to prevent motion sickness, including:

• Tablets – dissolvable tablets are available for children
• Patches – can be used by adults and children over 10
• Acupuncture Bands – mainly for use by adults

I used to use the tablets as a child, but then we realised that they actually were making me feel sick and causing extreme drowsiness.

I’ve never tried the patches so please let me know if you have.

I’ve been using the wrist bands for nearly 20 years. I have no idea how they work, but they do so I’m not questioning it.

Tips

There are other ways to try and make your journeys stress and vomit free:

• Plan your routes: If you tend to feel worse on a bus then look for an alternative route, maybe take a train instead.
• Keep hydrated: Drink enough water to keep your fluid intake up, but not too much that you’ll need the toilet at inconvenient times. 
• Don’t Stress: As hard as it is, try not to think about it, the stress and  anxiety of being travel sick can make the situation worse.

Despite everything mentioned in this post, sometime travel sickness is just part and parcel of going on a journey and as difficult as it can be, just don’t let it put you off travelling. It might just be worth the hassle.

Do you suffer from travel sickness? How do you overcome it?

Let me know in the comments.

Please Note: I am in no way a medical professional.

This post is not designed to provide medical assistance. 

If you are experiencing any form of extreme travel sickness please seek professional medical advice.