Why do you get motion sickness in the back seat of a car?

What to do if you get motion sickness in a car?

Motion sickness in the car is a problem that millions of passengers periodically face. The probability of developing symptoms of a disease called “kinetosis” or “sea sickness” in a child is about 58%, in an adult it is within 5-10 percent. In order to help them, you can use special drugs and techniques that allow you to partially or completely get rid of motion sickness.

Why do you get motion sickness in the car?

The main reason for motion sickness in a car is the uncoordinated functioning of the vision and vestibular apparatus. A person in a moving vehicle feels movement, but does not see it - or, conversely, feels that he remains motionless, but his eyes tell him that the car is moving. Therefore, kinetosis occurs regardless of whether the passenger is looking out the window or not.

With the increase in the number of electronic gadgets, another reason has been added to the main reason for the deterioration of the well-being of a person in a car. While getting into the car, passengers, especially those sitting in the rear seats (where they are more likely to feel sick), read, play or surf the Internet on smartphones, laptops or tablets. Using these gadgets requires constantly tilting your head and constantly looking at the screen, and this increases the risk of motion sickness.

Video: What to do if you get motion sickness

Prevention of the problem

There are many ways to cope with nausea that has already arisen, if you get motion sickness, or to prevent its occurrence. These include:

Passenger seating in the front of the vehicle - for a passenger car this is a seat next to the driver. For seven- or eight-seat models, you can also use the second row of seats.
Gaze forward - so as to look out the windshield.
The right attitude towards your health - before a long journey, it is advisable to get enough sleep, not eat fatty foods (especially at night) and not drink coffee.
Refusal to use electronic gadgets - laptops and tablets are contraindicated for a person suffering from motion sickness in a car. During the trip, he can only use his smartphone for communication.

If signs of nausea appear, the passenger should ask the driver to drive smoothly, avoiding potholes, bumps, sharp turns, acceleration and braking. The smooth ride of the car reduces the likelihood of motion sickness and further saves fuel. In addition, it is advisable to turn off the recirculation mode of the air conditioner and rest your head on the headrest. In summer, you can open the side window of the car.

Popular remedies for motion sickness

Anti-sickness bracelet for children

If none of the methods help, you should use special tools or accessories:

bracelets that should be worn during the trip. The principle of their action is to massage the active points of the body, thanks to which both dizziness and nausea are eliminated;
herbal tinctures, which include ginger and mint;
homeopathic medicines for motion sickness called “Avia-More” and “Vertihogel”. The first medicine is produced in the form of regular granules or caramel specially designed for children;
Dramamine tablets, which are recommended to be used as a preventive measure against motion sickness in cars, but not together with sleeping pills, alcohol and antidepressants.

Preparing for the appearance of kinetosis should begin in childhood. For a child who suffers from nausea while traveling by car, sign up for swimming, basketball, volleyball or gymnastics. Exercises that include rotations, twists and bends of the body are also suitable for this. And adults can train the vestibular apparatus using special devices.

Motion sickness in the car: why and what to do?

Motion sickness in vehicles is a fairly common problem that affects people of any age. Nausea and dizziness can ruin the experience of any trip, even the shortest one. Why do these symptoms occur, and what to do if you get carsick?

Why do you get motion sickness in the car?

Regular motion sickness in the car can indicate a variety of problems in the body. However, most often the pathology is caused by a malfunction of the vestibular apparatus. Thus, the most common causes of motion sickness are:

discrepancy between the information the brain receives from sensory and visual organs. In simple words, a person sees movement outside the window and is aware of the fact of moving in space, but the muscle tissue is at rest, which causes a mismatch in the general data in the brain. The nervous system begins to “panic”, sending impulses to the body. As a result, a person experiences breathing problems, his heart rate increases, sweat appears and a feeling of nausea appears;
hereditary factors. Often the cause of motion sickness lies in a hereditary predisposition. If the child’s parents suffered from this pathology in childhood, then there is a high probability that the baby will experience similar problems. Usually in this case, motion sickness goes away on its own by the age of 12-13, but sometimes a problem with the vestibular system bothers a person throughout his life.

In addition, motion sickness in transport is observed in people with a poor sense of balance. In this case, you can cope with the problem through special training. In addition, there are a number of predisposing factors. These include:

sudden vibrations while the car is moving - this includes sudden braking and acceleration, as well as driving on an uneven surface;
eating disorders - fatty foods, alcohol or soda drunk shortly before the trip can cause the problem;
chronic diseases - pathologies such as gastritis, stomach ulcers or cholelithiasis cause an increase in receptor sensitivity. People with such diagnoses may experience symptoms of motion sickness even with minor changes in the movement of the car;
disturbances in the functioning of the central nervous system - in this case, the situation can be stabilized by taking certain medications;
optical disturbances - a rapid change of picture outside the window leads to overexcitation of the nervous system, as a result, the perception of information in the brain is impaired and the person experiences characteristic symptoms;
pregnancy - in this case, symptoms of motion sickness can appear both throughout pregnancy and at its individual stages. Usually, after childbirth, a woman’s condition quickly stabilizes.

In addition to the above, very often people with psycho-emotional disorders suffer from motion sickness. In any case, if you have this pathology, you need to see a doctor who will prescribe adequate treatment to eliminate the pathology.

What to do if you get motion sickness in the car

To cope with embarrassment and prevent motion sickness in vehicles, you can use the following tips:

if you are a passenger, try to take a seat next to the driver. Looking at the road through the windshield will reduce the likelihood of motion sickness;
if you feel nauseous, try to distract yourself, for example, you can sing a song or start a conversation with other passengers;
Drink as much clean drinking water as possible. Under no circumstances take food or alcohol with you on your trip;
try to fix your head in one position. Special horseshoe-shaped pillows are very suitable for this purpose;
Try not to look out the side window. If you cannot control yourself, hang curtains on the windows;
Make sure that the car is not stuffy. If necessary, turn on the air conditioner or open the windows slightly;
try to sleep. This is one of the most effective ways, of course, if you are not a driver. During sleep, your vestibular system will “rest” with you;
stop reading and watching movies or videos on your phone or tablet. Constantly flashing a picture before your eyes will speed up the process of motion sickness;
bring candy with you. In addition to candies and caramel, pickled cucumbers or a slice of lemon are a great way to cope with motion sickness. They need to be sucked during the trip.

To avoid motion sickness, listen to your body. In addition to the methods listed above, you can use medications. For example, tablets that are taken 30-40 minutes before the expected trip will relieve you of nausea and dizziness for several hours.

What to do if you get sick in the car and feel sick

In order to neutralize the feeling of nausea and dizziness, it is necessary to coordinate the work of all nodes of the vestibular apparatus. For example, to neutralize the constant flickering of a picture before your eyes, you can use a special mask or curtains on the windows. It is very important to understand what exactly causes an attack of motion sickness. If the provoking factor lies in a strong or unpleasant odor, you can ask the driver to open the window slightly.

If the feeling of nausea takes you by surprise, you can try the following tips:

Take ascorbic acid. If you know you are prone to motion sickness, carry it with you at all times. If there is none, then you can replace it with lemon, green tea or apples;
Eat gingerbread cookies. Ginger is an excellent remedy for motion sickness. You can take it not only in the form of cookies, but also as tea, as well as in the form of marshmallows. However, this remedy is not suitable for people with individual intolerance;
Move your feet. Since the main cause of motion sickness lies in the inconsistency of the information received by the brain, at the first urge to feel sick, you can try to depict movement. To do this, start moving your legs and moving your body back and forth.

If none of the listed methods helps and the symptoms intensify, then you need to stop the car and get out onto solid ground. This is the only thing that will help in a difficult situation.

Why doesn't the driver of a car get motion sickness, unlike the passengers?

Kinetosis, or motion sickness, occurs when the brain receives different information from the senses - the eyes and the inner ear, in which the vestibular apparatus is located. The organs of vision capture flickering objects, but the muscles are at rest. As a result, the brain does not understand what is really happening. This causes unpleasant symptoms: dizziness, headache, weakness, nausea, vomiting, increased heart rate, feeling of lack of air, increased blood pressure.

Many have noticed that the driver of a car almost never gets motion sickness, despite the fact that the same person can experience kinetosis while in the passenger seat. What does this depend on?

Firstly, problems associated with motion sickness occur mainly in rear seat passengers. According to statistics, half of them had problems disappear as soon as they sat forward. The fact is that, being in the front seat, a person has good visibility and the ability to look into the distance. This creates a feeling of control of movement.

Secondly, unlike a passenger, who usually takes a comfortable, relaxed position, the driver is constantly forced to control the position of his body in space.

Thirdly, if for the passenger shaking is an external influence, then the driver himself organizes the movement. His brain gives commands to control the car and can predict its maneuvers. Thus, the driver prepares for movement subconsciously much earlier than the passenger.

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Why do you get motion sickness in the car?

Motion sickness in a car is a fairly common and very unpleasant symptom, which, however, worries a large number of people.

More children than adults suffer from motion sickness, but it is worth noting that some people suffer from the unpleasant symptom throughout their lives. And medicine has long given an answer to the question of why this happens.

Motion sickness is a physiological reaction

Nausea and vomiting when driving in a car, and sometimes when using other types of transport, is a phenomenon that is associated primarily with the functioning of the vestibular apparatus. This is called “sea sickness”, and on the water, during sea and river travel, the symptom manifests itself much more clearly, and in a much larger number of people.

This is due to pitching - when traveling at sea during waves or storms, the manifestation of seasickness is observed in two thirds of people. And in the car, nausea, vomiting and other similar problems are also associated with shaking and pitching - which is why those passengers who are in the rear seats are hit the hardest. Sometimes it is enough to move to the seat next to the driver to stop the troubles .

An interesting trend: many children suffer greatly from motion sickness on land, but easily tolerate motion sickness on water or in the air. With adults, everything is observed exactly the opposite.

How does this happen?

If a person is driving in a car and begins to feel motion sick, it means that the vestibular apparatus of his body has begun to malfunction. Or it may indicate problems in one of the parts of the nervous system. The vestibular apparatus must maintain the body in a strictly certain position, and a variety of organs are involved in controlling its position in space. The state of affairs is controlled by the eyes, receptors of the musculoskeletal system, and the cochlea of the middle ear. Signals from all organs must match.

However, when driving in a car, it happens that landscapes fly by and change through the windows, while no special sensations of movement are received by other senses, and the body does not know how to react to such a situation. A failure occurs. At the same time, it also happens differently - a person sees in front of him an unchanged interior environment, while other senses indicate shaking, which indicates movement. And again, problems arise in receiving contradictory information; the body does not know how to react to it.

In this case, a person may experience not only nausea or vomiting, but also panic attacks and other unpleasant symptoms, indicating that the brain cannot understand the situation and make a decision regarding what is happening.

What can cause motion sickness?

Among the phenomena that can provoke an attack of motion sickness, it is worth noting not only shaking in transport, but also others:

Apathy or emotional overstrain that occurred the day before;
The smell of gasoline, other unpleasant odors in the cabin;
Heat;
Alcohol;

Motion sickness is not as harmless as it may seem. In fact, these symptoms may hide more serious problems. If these symptoms are experienced by an elderly person or a patient with hypertension, it is necessary to consult a doctor . After all, before a stroke and in the initial stages of other diseases, the same symptoms may occur.

How to avoid motion sickness?

There are a number of techniques that can reduce the symptoms of motion sickness, or even completely eliminate it. The methods are individual, it is worth trying them - each one helps. You can take mints on a trip and suck on them, do not drink alcohol or eat fatty foods before the trip. You can also gradually accustom yourself to motion sickness, train the vestibular apparatus - it can really get used to this and stop reacting sharply. You can regulate your breathing, give up books, a phone or a tablet while traveling.

I noticed that I often get motion sickness in the back seat of a car, as well as in minibuses.
Fortunately, I don’t often travel on public transport, but from time to time I have to be a passenger in a car. If I sit in front, next to the driver, this does not happen.
Why?

I noticed that when you stare at something that shakes, such as a book or interior items, then you get motion sickness.
When looking at the landscape outside the window - no. And also, when I noticed that I was getting motion sick (it wasn’t always like this), I stopped eating altogether before the trip. It helped.

Well, I never eat on the road, especially if I’m traveling far, so that something might happen along the way.

Motion sickness is a consequence of the coincidence of the vibration frequency of the vehicle with the vibration frequency of your body. The phenomenon of resonance occurs, and this is undesirable for the body, so it “sicks” - a signal to stop the effect on the body. Life in general is an oscillatory process. If it is not possible to stop the process, you need to minimize it - move to another place where the amplitude of vibrations is smaller, and do not burden the body with food. because The body's forces will be directed towards digestion, rather than stabilizing the organs of balance. Or take special medications that reduce the sensitivity of the balance organ.

Well, the fact that the Gazelle gets motion sickness in the back is not surprising, considering that it was originally designed as a truck. And all other body versions - all-metal van, double cab, passenger and others were created later. The suspension still remained cargo. The difference in feel between the front and rear is huge.

——————
What is impossible? It’s impossible to put pants on over your head, but everything else would be up to you.

And in a passenger car, why does it make you feel sick in the back seat, but not in the front?

Thank you, Boris Vasilich, I didn’t know this.

Vasilich bent something painfully cleverly.
Frequency, resonance.
I wish I could remember empirio-criticism.

Everything is simpler - the senses have nothing to rely on in search of a fulcrum.
You need to look out the window where there are stable objects.
The main one is the fixed horizon.
When the signals entering the mosch from the vestibular apparatus
coincide with the visual assessment of changes in the position of the body
in space, nausea will disappear.

What kind of skyline can there be outside the window in the city?
When I get motion sick, a protective reaction is triggered and I start to fall asleep.

quote: Originally posted by goust:
What kind of horizon can there be outside the window in the city?

It’s like in that same story - alternating current, it flows in a sinusoid, how does it fit into a straight wire?

But I just get sick from a hangover, and it can just make me rock to sleep in bed (it’s true that I haven’t experienced such joys for a long time)

-Doctor, when my wife and I have sex, she moves very energetically.
-That's good!
-Yes, but I get seasick!

——————
What is impossible? It’s impossible to put pants on over your head, but everything else would be up to you.

Motion sickness - it comes in different forms. For example, I get motion sickness when I concentrate on any objects. I need to close my eyes, or better yet, look “at nothing”, i.e. when the eyes are open, but “upset” (once I had fun moving my eyes and learned ).
And for some, on the contrary, it is necessary to “hold on” to stable objects.

And I get sick when it smells bad. And this happens on buses and trains. At the same time, in the car (my own, unsmoked one) I don’t get motion sickness anywhere. It doesn’t make you sick on planes, it doesn’t make you sick on ships.

The phenomenon of motion sickness in the back seat is most likely due to the fact that, sitting there, you look out the side window, in which everything is rushing at high speed. Sitting in front, you look at the approaching landscape, which does not “shake” so much.

quote: Originally posted by VASILICH:

Motion sickness is a consequence of the coincidence of the vibration frequency of the vehicle with the vibration frequency of your body.

Hm.
And using the example of a steamship. Probably the frequency will also be found! I am a follower of the old theory about the vestibular apparatus.

And the right answers already exist.

quote: Originally posted by goust:
I noticed that I often get motion sickness in the back seat of a car, as well as in minibuses.
Fortunately, I don’t often travel on public transport, but from time to time I have to be a passenger in a car. If I sit in front, next to the driver, this does not happen.
Why?

The usual thing.
The motion sickness always gets worse from behind. Valerie, you should have warned earlier.
I would have insisted, the last time we met, that you sit in the front seat. I know that in my car the angle of the rear seats is not very good (by the way, another minus of the Opel Astra). My wife and child suffer from this, so I am aware of such nuances. Well, or he would have been a couple of orders of magnitude more careful. Again, because of my family, I’m used to changing my driving style depending on the passenger. And I always like to sit in the back seat. Well, my vestibular apparatus is made of iron. When we go hunting in someone else’s car, I don’t care where to sit, but in the back seat I can turn on the MP-3 player and disconnect from what’s happening.

I thought I wouldn't get seasick. When we were driving with Angly I felt fine.

I have some kind of critical tilt in the rear seats. Contraindicated for those who suffer from motion sickness.

quote: Originally posted by GSR:

Well, the fact that the Gazelle gets motion sickness in the back is not surprising

Just amazing. Rigid spring suspension. You'll soon bite your tongue.

quote: Originally posted by Witaly:

When we go hunting in someone else’s car, I don’t care where to sit, but in the back seat you can turn on the MP-3 player and disconnect from what is happening.

In my opinion, when going hunting you need to be involved in what is happening as much as possible. So as not to waste precious hunting time on this process.

quote: Just amazing.
rigid spring suspension probably just resonates with the springs

——————
What is impossible? It’s impossible to put pants on over your head, but everything else would be up to you.

quote: Originally posted by GSR:

Valera probably just resonates with the springs

Not otherwise.)))

Can I ask a question for the sake of statistics and a reasonable answer? Did you have your appendix cut out? I promise to show up later

Is that really the point?

Yeah, the seat belt is pressing, phantom pain and all that.

quote: Originally posted by Shniperson:

In my opinion, when going hunting you need to be involved in what is happening as much as possible. So as not to waste precious hunting time on this process.

You're right. I expressed myself incorrectly. Not to hunt, but from the hunt. And if no one was shot.

quote: Originally posted by Lapa:

Can I ask a question for the sake of statistics and a reasonable answer?
Did you have your appendix cut out? I promise to show up later

It was cut out a long time ago

quote: Originally posted by goust:

Cut out a long time ago

Here. The balance has been disrupted. Shifted the center of gravity. Now the head is outweighed. To restore balance, you need to cut off at least one ear.

I carry change in my right pocket for balance.

I don't know then. We need to train the vestibule apparatus.

quote: Originally posted by VASILICH:
Motion sickness is a consequence of the coincidence of the vibration frequency of the vehicle with the vibration frequency of your body. The phenomenon of resonance occurs, and this is undesirable for the body, so it “sicks” - a signal to stop the effect on the body. Life in general is an oscillatory process. If it is not possible to stop the process, you need to minimize it - move to another place where the amplitude of vibrations is smaller, and do not burden the body with food. because The body's forces will be directed towards digestion, rather than stabilizing the organs of balance. Or take special medications that reduce the sensitivity of the balance organ.

Let me disagree.
Spent more than 20 years in the seas. And everything happened. And the pitching happened with different frequencies. I felt seasick. The best medicine is hard physical labor, which does not require mental work. It’s just stupid to carry iron and swing a sledgehammer.
It’s not very easy when you’re thrown 15-20 degrees, or even more, in different directions. But, after such exercises, you usually forget about motion sickness, a brutal appetite appears , and you no longer run to “feed the fish,” but to feed yourself.
For me, the effect of motion sickness usually appeared during the first storm after a long vacation, during which I drank a lot. Having overcome these first attacks, sometimes through a donkey, I didn’t have motion sickness for the entire flight. And they hit us in the head and legs more than once.

Well, at sea as a sailor it’s probably a completely different story.

quote: Originally posted by dikiy:

the effect of motion sickness appeared during the first storm after a long vacation, during which I drank a lot.

Comrade Ministry of Health warned that drinking is harmful!

quote: Originally posted by goust:

Well, at sea as a sailor it’s probably a completely different story

Nope. The same harmonic vibrations, only with a larger amplitude.

🙂 about motion sickness - yesterday I literally crossed paths with a friend, Dima Petrov, he works in Vesti, went to the North Pole, where a boat floated up.
He told me how we surfaced in a force 4 storm. Great, the feeling is unforgettable. Since there are no external landmarks in the boat, it simply flops around in this iron pipe. I told the ship's commander that he was getting motion sickness. Is he getting motion sick right now?? Yes, this is bullshit.. so we surfaced in a force 7 storm and stuck around like that for a week.. EVERYONE vomited. Even those who have never vomited before. - Why were you at the top for so long?
— We carried out a combat mission.

From theory. The driver's seat in a passenger car is in the comfort zone (there is such a thing). Almost in its center. Angular fluctuations there are minimal. The rear seat hangs over the wheels. Accordingly, the amplitude of vibrations there is several times higher. Everything else was written by VASILICH.

Why did I ask this? It’s just that my little one was always very seasick. After the appendix was removed, the situation improved. I have no idea whether this is somehow connected or not, but there was an assumption

Only one thing is clear about motion sickness. It goes away on its own. My son, until he was 13 years old, was constantly getting seasick from behind. Now it's normal. It stopped. And there’s a similar point about food. It is recommended to eat a very heavy meal before your aerobatics flight. Then there will be no cloudiness and the cabin will not have to be washed. Tested by generations of pilots. Motion sickness is the same thing. Failure of the vestibular apparatus due to multidirectional movements.

It is necessary to simply train the vestibular apparatus. At least with head rotations. This is how I got rid of motion sickness on public transport at the age of eighteen.

And you don’t get carsick while driving.

quote: Originally posted by goust:

But you don’t get motion sickness while driving.

And the body’s attention is focused on driving the car and signals from the balance organs are suppressed in the brain. Well, the driver’s location is in the comfort zone.