As a child, I travelled a lot in the passenger seat of a car with my dad. I was a reader. Head down, pages turning and literally the world away from the lonely road as the miles flew by. It got to the point that my parents had to stop buying me books for long road trips as I was flying through these. So I’m sure you can understand the horror of developing an allergy to travel and suffering from travel sickness. Aka- motion sickness, travel illness (read a terrible ailment that I wouldn’t wish upon anyone). Over the years I’ve developed a few personal methods for managing this most terrible ailment. Here are a few cheap and easy tips and tricks to manage any potential travel illness.
The first time.
I can still remember the first time I got smacked in the face by motion sickness. We were on our way to the snow fields and it was my first snow experience. The car ride up the mountain was horrid. Stop-start motion. Hairpin turns. Even just thinking of this makes me a little bit queasy. After 45mins of horror, we finally arrived and I fell out of the car face first onto the icey carpark floor. Unbeknownst, to me it would take hours for my body to recover. Even a day at minus -2c wasn’t enough to kick my body back to normal.
From here it was only downhill. Long car rides – car sick. Short, mountain car rides – car sick. I’m sure you get the picture here without me boring you with more details. The pinnacle of my fears came when we were road tripping around Scotland. I was bouncing between fine and throwing up. Really not the way that you want to spend your first family road trip in a foreign country. And to make things worse I get horridly cranky and irritable when I’m car sick. Ok I’ll be honest I turn into an A Class bitch.
I knew that I couldn’t keep going like this. I’m a fully grown woman damn it. Who makes powerful business decisions. This travel sickness was ruining my fun times. So I researched. I trialled. I tested things. Potions. Stuff. Spent a fair amount of money and time curled up wishing I could crawl into a hole and hide from the world.
Some of the over the counter drugs knocked me off my feet. Others made me hallucinate. I’ll never forget those fairies! So finally after years of trial and tribulation here’s my simple three tips and tricks to manage motion sickness.
Prevention is better than the cure.
An oldie but a goodie. I now travel with TravelCalm natural. These little pills contain ginger, dried root extract and root powder. These have literally been a life saver for me. Take 1 30mins before travel. They seem to calm the stomach and stop nausea before it hits.
The bigger pills – electrolyte/ Berocca.
I’m not sure what exactly is in these. Maybes it’s a mixture of the sugars and salts. Maybes it’s a placebo? But one of these in a bottle of water or chewed on does aid in the management of motion sickness for me.
The water helps keep me hydrated which is always an issue when on the road.
Snacks
Snack time! Other then this being perhaps my second favourite time of the day plain salted snacks have been a life saver. Plain potato crisps or even banana/vegetable crisps when we’ve been travelling in Asia have really helped. I always find a light snack like this does help calm the stomach down. Some people say don’t eat a thing but that for me was worse. An empty nauseous stomach was horrid. At least slow, mild snacks keep your tummy full and doesn’t allow the stomach acids to build up and slap you about.
Image via Flickr – Pseph
The wonderful thing about the above is that these are all things that can easily be taken from one country to another. There’s no need for a prescription. Nor do you need to take out a bank loan to pay for these. And they can fit into your handbag or carry on. So simple and so easy. Also rather inoffensive. I did try chewing on raw ginger, crystallised ginger and some of those funky armbands. No luck at all.
Do you suffer from travel sickness like me? Have any handy tips or tricks? Let me know in the comments below.
Disclaimer – this information is based on my personal experience. I have little to no medical or scientific training. For medical assistance, and prior to trying any pharmaceutical products, please speak to your doctor.
Jeanette
Founder, Principal Blogger & Coffee Drinker
Coffee Lover | Travel Blogger | Horse Rider | Adventure Racer | Donut Dame. Generally nice lady-enjoys wine, indie movies & random dance parties in my tent.
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Prevention versus a cure is truly the way to go! I suffer from horrible motion sickness that even has me feeling crippled in a ten minute taxi ride! My dad used to always have a plastic bag for me in the car at all times. That being said, anti-nausea pills are my jam and I always carry it in my purse, along with a mint smelling stick that I first found in Thailand and it changed my life! Snacking while sick is always a bad idea for me though 😛
Wow I have found another serious traveller that suffers like me with travel sickness. I have suffered since I was little with travel sickness and people are so surprised that I still travel so much. I find most travel sickness tablets make me drowsy which is ideal for long trips however not when you are taking lots of short trips and then seeing places as a tour or just making a 20 min journey down the road. I always have mints in my bag, always eat something light before I travel (I too feel worse on an empty stomach) and always try and get the front seat on a bus or at least be next to an opening window.
I will have a look into Berocca and see if it also works for me. Thank you
Berocca is my life savour!! I hate getting sick whilst we travel but I often find sugary drinks, fruit smoothies and lots of water is always the cure! Thanks for sharing!
Touch wood I haven’t ever suffered travel or motion sickness! Unless you count that one time I was violently sick after riding the same rollercoaster one too many times? These are some fab tips, and I know a few friends who suffer so will pass them on to them!
Urgh. I totally feel you! As an avid traveler from a young age with car journeys to the lake district a practically weekly occurrence when I was growing up in the UK, to discover in my early 20s that I suffered from motion sickness was both irritating and sickening (literally!) – and now I am a big fan of prevention rather than cure. Especially on boats. Damn it, I hate the boats!
I had a really bad instance of car sickness on my recent trip to Montreal. I was in a double decker bus on the upper floor, and it was a mix of the bumpy road, the smell of tuna (what monster brings tuna on a bus?!) and the wind pushing the vehicle from side to side that did me in. This would’ve definitely helped prevent my almost instantaneous nausea on that trip! Thanks for all the recommendations!
I think I am one of the lucky ones because I don’t get motion or travel sickness. However, my husband has gotten it a couple of times. You have some great tips and I am always wanting to snack 🙂 I never leave home without Berocca though, as I love the stuff but I use it for vitamins and energy.
I can only imagine how awful you have felt. I have difficulty going on swings because my stomach gets a bit upset. I definitely agree with your sentiments about eating snacks. Even at work if I have some nausea, I keep crackers and soup broth nearby.
These are great tips. I’m grateful I don’t suffer from motion sickness. I do wear those wristbands on ocean cruises when the waves get really rocky, and those seem to help a lot.
I guess I’m lucky I’ve never suffered motion sickness even in huge seas crossing Bass Strait to Tasmania – the waves were crashing on our cabin window!! I loved it. I can only imagine what it must be like you poor thing.
I usually get crazy headaches and resort to zero food, lots of juice and water and an ayurvedic tablet from India. Dint know there was an equivalent pill available which could be such a savior. Thanks for the tips 🙂
I think it all goes away with practice, at least it reaches a level where you can complete the trip. However, I never read, or even like to check the phone while on a moving car or a bus or even a plane. Nothing happens on the trains though. That is why I love trains.
Oh no I wish it did! As an adult it’s gotten worse for me
For sure I get travel sick easily, as soon as the car or boat starts turning I get motion sickness. Tablets is what I take and fresh air is what really helps, looking at the horizon as well. Mine are so strong I get really sleepy but it is worth it.
Oh which ones are you using? The ones I had here in Australia gave me hallucinations 😂
Hey, you forgot the best cure against motion sickness: Not to travel. You can’t get motion sick if you stay stationary, right? Though, on the flipside, you might get cabin fever.
Whilst my memory might be on the way out in my old age I can say that thankfully I didn’t forget to add that as a cure. 🙄
I used to get travel sickness when I was younger. I used motion sickness bands but never tried the tablets. Something I will keep in mind for the future for sure
Im quite fortunate and don’t suffer with motion/travel sickness but i think if i did i would defo take a tablet to prevent it.
oh that sounds awful, I have a friend who gets really bad motion sickness, will pass this on as some good tips.I never would have thought of crisps as a remedy! Thanks for sharing this is a really useful list of things to try.
Pretty helpful post. Thankfully I don’t get travel sickness. I usually eat less, drink more water and take much rest. Always works.
Oh you’re so lucky! The worst thing about travel sickness is you usually get it when you’re on the road
I suffer really badly from sea sickness, so never attempt any boat ride without taking a tablet! I never thought about eating something beforehand, but it makes complete sense! I don’t think this version of Berocca is available everywhere, will look for an alternative
I remember the first time I got motion sickness. I had never had it before and it was horrible. Now I get it from time to time so these tips will come in handy:)