How To Stop Motion Sickness When Traveling

Ok, I have to start out by saying that today is such a weird post for me, but I feel it’s something I must share. I’m not sure if I’ve ever mentioned it on here, but I get motion sickness very easily. Like annoyingly easy. Cars, boats, planes, rollercoasters, and so on… it all causes me nausea. It sucks. A few weeks ago when I traveled to North Carolina it hit me like a ton of bricks on the way in & it stuck with me for a few days… I did everything wrong on that trip. I didn’t follow any of my golden rules & immediately regretted it all. So, fast forward to this week when I’m traveling to North Carolina again I decided to stick to my golden rules & test out my theory of how I keep my nausea subdued & thank goodness… it worked! I was able to enjoy my trip to the crystal coast of North Carolina this weekend with Hunter Fan Company while flying in a plane, boating, & long drives in the car. I know I’m not the only one who struggles with this so I couldn’t keep these tips to myself. I know traveling can cause anxiety & nausea can ruin a perfectly good trip so I hope these tips help some of you who struggle with this like I do…

-Hydrate- I always make this mistake. I forget to drink water for days. I know, it’s terrible & a completely bad habit of a working woman who is always on the go. I’ll remember to drink a coffee, but forget the water.. go figure. I have found in my short 29 year that water can cure just about anything. Being hydrated before a flight makes your body feel so much better & really keeps those nauseous inducing headaches away.

-Don’t overeat. For my anxious flyers like me out there this is a no brainer. I’m always so nervous I can’t eat before a flight, but you need to eat a little something. Hydrate and eat some healthy protein filled snacks before a flight so your body can work properly. Carry snacks with you to nibble on during the flight when you start feeling nauseous [salty snacks work great]. My go to is a water bottle & some salted peanuts. Simple but does the job.

-Sea bands. These little guys are a life saver. Not the most fashion forward, but the claim on the sea bands is that you wear them on your wrist and the little ball that is attached to the band hits a pressure point in your wrist that helps keep nausea at bay. You can see them & read more about them [HERE] Honestly I don’t know if it’s a placebo affect, but these little babies actually work for me after I doubted them. I’ve used them many times & have been impressed that they work. Some of those times when I’m already nauseous and some when I’m preparing for things like plane or boat travel. You can find them [HERE] or at your local Target or pharmacy.

-gum. I believe it’s your inner ear that causes nausea and motion sickness, at least that’s what I have read as someone who as suffered from nausea and motion sickness my whole life. & when your ears pop on plains [that’s what I call it at least] it can set your head into total spinning mode. So, pop some gum in your mouth for your whole flight to keep your jaw moving so that your ears remain normal for the flight. If the gum isn’t working & my ears clog I usually try opening my mouth really wide over and over or yawning & that usually does the trick.

-Bonine/ Dramamine. I’m going to preface this one with saying it’s my least favorite one, but I know these medicines work different for everyone. These are anti-nausea medicines [affiliate links HERE & HERE] that when taken an hour before the activity that might make you nauseous can really keep all those feelings away. The only problem for me is that this one makes me have terrible dry mouth & even the non-drowsy makes me so tired that I feel sick. BUT I know these work for other people so I wanted to include it in this list as an option. I still keep these on me when traveling just in case, but not my go-to right away unless all else fails. & if I had to pick one over the other I would pick Bonine for sure.

-Ibuprofen. Nausea and headaches seem to go hand in hand for me when traveling. Once a headache comes on I’m nauseous so Ibuprofen is my go to for headaches because it doesn’t upset my stomach and makes those annoying little headaches go away so there isn’t any unnecessary nausea.

-Pepto. This is my new favorite one. I always thought pepto was for when you had the flu, but seriously the instant I start feeling a nauseous belly coming on I take pepto and it’s been a miracle worker for me. I prefer the chewable tablets [HERE], but it does come in a liquid form as well. Again, medicines work different for everyone, but this one has been a wonderful friend of mine lately when flying.

-Don’t read. Listen to books/podcast/movies. Really just don’t look at a screen. Funny story, I’m actually typing this to you while on the plane home right now & I’m actually thinking I should wrap it up because I’m feeling a little dizzy looking at the screen. This one is probably different for everyone, but I feel like it’s. a safer option for me to not read.

-close your eyes and try to get some zzz’s- This one is on and off for me as well, but sometimes I feel like it’s best for me to just sleep on the plane to pass the time, not think about the flight, calm my nerves, and I think that being rested is best for keeping nausea away. The only side note to this is I don’t know about you, but sometimes naps can make me nauseas or brain on neck cramps etc. so this one sometimes backfires, but hey… at least you gots some shut eye!

-Talk It Out. On the last plane I was on before this one it was so turbulent & it was one of those prop planes where I kept losing my stomach. It could have been bad, but I met the sweetest lady who sat next to me and we got into a really deep conversation & I was so focused on her that when I started to feel sick it almost went away because I didn’t start to panic about feeling sick. Focusing on conversation, music, or anything other than your nausea can truly help get rid of that “nausea panic” that always makes it worse.

-Breathe. Don’t forget to breathe & relax. Sometimes I get so worked up about my travel plans and the anxiety just brings on tons of nausea which makes me so mad because the nausea starts before we even take off. So, breathe, relax, & try not to think about the travel or what might happen.

Now with doing all this I still felt moments of dizziness like when I was climbing up 207 steps up a spiral staircase in the lighthouse this weekend or when I was on a really rough flight on a prop plane, BUT it wasn’t unbearable and I felt like I was in control of it which is very important. I hope some of these tips help you guys & for all my nauseous travelers, you are not alone! If you have any helpful tips please share them below for me & everyone else who struggles with this to read. I will be doing a whole re-cap of my trip soon, but I had to quick share all this with you guys today. Thank you SO MUCH for visiting my little blog today & safe travels!

Some anti-nausea meds I love & want to try…

*There are some affiliate links in this post, but as always all opinions are my very own.