Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Preventing air sickness

Hooray...I am flying again soon!
But, air sickness is a serious problem for me that affects my mood every time I go on an airplane =(
I can throw out everything after drinking a few drops of plain water. It's like hell in the aeroplane. I asked google why it is so unfair that people can eat and read when flying.

Google suggests that follow these steps:

  1. Do not eat a large meal before getting on the plane. Eating a large meal just before your flight increases your chance of getting air sick.
  2. Try to avoid thinking about getting air sick. If you do, you may convince yourself you are sick.
  3. Take medicine such as Dramamine or Bonine before take off and landing. This is the most sick part. Medicines to prevent travel sickness work by preventing the confusing messages being sent to your brain. Note that some medicines require a prescription (such as Scopolamine), although some are available over the counter (OTC).
  4. You can also buy acupressure wristbands at your local pharmacy, although the evidence surrounding acupressures effectiveness is not entirely conclusive.
  5. Try to stay in you seat as much as possible. Sitting down in a chair means that sudden movements by the plane will affect you less. As a result, less confusing messages will be sent to your brain, due to the fact that your body will not notice as much motion.
  6. Avoid reading on the plane if it makes you feel sick. Many people find that reading on the plane makes them feel sick. As a result, you may want to avoid reading while in flight. But for people that are not air sick, reading actually kills boredom.
  7. Try to sit near the wings of the plane. Near the wings the plane is more stable, so there is less shaking to send your brain confusing signals. If there is shaking your brain may receive confusing signals due to the fact that your sight may not show movement, yet you can feel that you are moving.
  8. Get used to motion before the flight. Some people have stated that by taking part in activities such as jumping on a trampoline in the time before the flight, you may get more used to motion, and as a result not be affected by the sickness as much. You will have to perform the motion based activity many times before you notice the effect, however.
  9. Use scopolamine patches. They are little patches you wear behind your ear, however, this is not used for children under 12. Side effects may include drowsiness, dry mouth, and blurry vision.

I have tried step 1-8 and proven they are ineffective. Step 3 is good but the medicine made me drowsy and sleepy for 10 hours.

4 comments:

Janice said...

for me, no oily or fried food before flight.
try to relax on the plane.
take some mint sugar or chewing gum.
get sleep even before the plane take off!

and.... get use to flying.
the more you fly the better the condition can be.

CK said...

Can listen to music (but not rock n roll type - that will make you feel more dizzy). I find it useful.

amelia said...

yeah, soft musics will calm when flying

Iris said...

When are you flying? Where are you flying to?