I’M DREADING THE DRIVE DUE TO CAR SICKNESS

It af fects so many of us but there are things you can do to help

Natural remedies such as ginger and mint may be useful

Q We are due to take our grandchildren away for a long weekend and while I am looking forward to it, I am not looking forward to the car journey itself. I always get sick on long car journeys and know that my ten year old grandson is the same – what actually is car sickness and is there anything that can help? A

I think your question will resonate with lots of us who either experience motion sickness or have to help kids and grandkids and clean up the car! Motion sickness, be it on cars, planes or boats is extremely common and can even occur on a fairground ride! It can af fect anyone but is commoner in women and in children, many of whom seem to grow out of it. The ner ve to the inner ear controls both hearing and balance, and motion sickness occurs when the messages being delivered to the brain from the balance systems and your eyes are conflicting.

Your ear might tell your brain you are moving e.g. going over bumps in the road, but your eyes looking at the horizon seem to suggest you aren’t and these conflicting messages are thought to lead to motion sickness. You may not actually be sick, but can feel nauseous and the symptoms tend to improve when the journey ends.

Motion sickness can’t always be prevented but tips to help include avoid being hungr y as this can worsen nausea, but also avoid eating heavy meals. Sip cold water and open the windows to breathe cool fresh air if possible. If you can, sit in the front of the car or middle of the boat to tr y to decrease how much motion is felt.

Natural remedies and deep, focused breathing may both help.

You may also find sea or travel bands helpful – these are small elasticated wrist cuf fs with a plastic button which stimulates an acupressure point in traditional Chinese medicine on the wrist.