Doctor claims ‘most powerful’ method stops travel sickness

Millions of Brits face the age-old struggle of motion sickness when travelling. Up to one in three people in the UK is classed as ‘highly susceptible’ to the condition. However, a TV doctor claims one method is the ‘most effective’ way to end it without medication.

During today’s (July 10) episode of BBC Morning Live, Dr Punam explained that motion sickness is triggered when the brain is confused by signals from the eyes and inner ear. She said: “At any given point in time, your brain is trying to figure out where your body is in space.

“The way it works is the brain is getting signals and gathering information from your eyes and your inner ear (balance centre), and it’s putting all of this together, and usually, all these signals are in agreement with one another, so your brain knows how your body is moving.”

The issues start to creep in when your mind gets conflicting signals, she says. So your eyes could be telling your brain that you’re sitting still, but your delicate inner ear is sensing the movement of “every bump and bend” on your ride.

Dr Punam said: “Some people are just more prone to it, we don’t know why. It can run in families, it’s more common in children because their balance centres are still developing, it’s also more common in people who are pregnant or on their period.”

How to reduce travel sickness symptoms

Dr Punam said that controlled breathing is “by far one of the most effective things you can do when feeling sick”. Trying to get breathing under control will help reduce some of the things that send nausea into overdrive, including quicker heart rates, feeling tense and being flooded with stress hormones.

The GP claims that this technique also helps with people who are not just nauseous, but those who struggle with travel anxiety. It helps the body calm down and stop stress responses.

Aside from breathing techniques and traditional remedies, like medications or pressure point wristbands, where you sit in the car matters, says Dr Punamn. The medic said: “It does make a difference, and the aim of this is to sit somewhere where there’s the least amount of movement, and you can get a view of what’s happening ahead.

“For example, sitting in the car, the best place to sit is the front passenger seat. For buses or coaches, try sitting near the front with a window seat. If you are on a train, try sitting facing forward instead of backwards.”

Dr Punam advises that people flying on planes should try to select a seat near the wing with a window. Boat travellers should aim to stay as close to the middle as possible and try to find seats on the upper deck.

The practising GP said that combining your position with other techniques all work together to reduce symptoms of nausea induced by travelling. She suggested traditional methods like over-the-counter medications or motion-sickness wristbands.

What should I avoid

Dr Punamn said that, even with all the techniques, there are certain things that people who are prone to motion sickness should avoid. She said that lots of common things that can make the problem worse include things like eating a heavy meal before travelling or using screens and devices.

She said that, if people need to use their phones, Apple have an accessibility feature on iPhone (and iPad) devices called Vehicle Motion Cues. When the device senses you are in a vehicle, having this enabled will bring up tiny dots to your screen that move with the car, helping your brain match what you see with what you feel.

To turn on Vehicle Motion Cues:

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Tap Accessibility.
3. Tap Motion.
4. Tap Vehicle Motion Cues.
5. Select On to keep them active at all times. Enabling the Automatic setting will turn them on only when the device detects you are in a moving vehicle.