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Motion sickness makes many people feel dizzy, nauseous and vomiting, dizzy and tired. Photo: Shutterstock. |
“Every time I take a bus, I start to feel dizzy. When I smell the car too much, I feel uncomfortable and nauseous,” Truc Phuong (22 years old, an English teacher in Ho Chi Minh City) shared.
Like Phuong, Tho Tho (21 years old, living in Ho Chi Minh City) suffered from say xe when I was a child. She did not dare to eat or drink and had to wear a mask so as not to smell the car.
“The car was very shaking, the passengers were crowded and noisy, I mightn’t sleep peacefully. Early in the morning when I got home, I felt tired, dizzy and often slept until the followingnoon,” Tho Tho said.
Fasting because of motion sickness
Every year, before he might be happy because he might buy a ticket to go home to celebrate Tet, Tho Tho began to worry when he sat in the car for more than 8 hours. Poetry said that for ordinary people, sitting in a car for 7-8 hours is very tiring, but for people with car sickness, it is no different from “torture”.
“My hometown is in Nha Trang City. On weekdays, I only need to book tickets 3-5 days in advance. But I rarely come back because I have to study and work at the same time. At the end of the year, I want to sleep in the front or middle of the bed. , I have to book at least a month early. The ticket price is regarding 270,000-350,000 VND”, Tho Tho shared.
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When getting in the car, Tho will not eat or drink anything until he gets home. Photo: NVCC. |
Knowing that she has car sickness, before going, Tho will limit eating foods that have a lot of water and cause a heavy stomach. Instead, she chooses to eat dry, frugal food like bread.
“When I got in the car, I just lay still, because light movements like turning around or sitting up also make me dizzy. In addition, I always suck on candy and wear a mask. Every time I smell the smell in the car, I feel sad. vomiting,” Tho said.
Tho often book tickets in the evening so that when getting on the bus, just sleep and do not need to eat. There were many times when Tho was hungry in the middle of the night, but she might only hold it for fear that she would vomit following eating.
In the past, she used to buy medicine and car sickness stickers But you have to eat until you’re full. Therefore, in recent years, she rarely took this drug.
Similar to Tho Tho, Truc Phuong also suffers from motion sickness and refrains from eating too much before sitting in the car.
“Every year, the school gives a very early Tet holiday. But because of the busy schedule of teaching at the center, I usually return to my hometown later, regarding following the 25th New Year. My hometown is in An Giang province, if you book tickets 2-3 weeks early, the price will be cheap. more than only 180,000-200,000 VND,” Phuong said.
She said that at the end of the year, she had to return home as soon as possible because it was easy to get stuck in traffic on the days before Tet. On weekdays, Phuong only takes regarding 6 hours to get home, but on New Year’s Eve, she has to sit in the car for nearly 8 hours.
“Before getting in the car, I will eat just enough, don’t eat greasy and coconut-containing foods. Once, I accidentally drank coconut water before getting in the car, I vomited. During the journey, I just rested and didn’t drink. dare to eat anything,” Phuong shared.
In addition, she always wears a mask and turns off the air conditioner. Phuong said that there are many people suffering from motion sickness like her. Every time she heard them vomit, she had to restrain herself and try to think of other things so as not to be affected.
“When I get in the car, I can only sleep. If I don’t take a nap, I will get more severe motion sickness. I also don’t like to talk or use the phone. Sitting in the car for a long time, I feel dizzy, headache, nausea and muscle pain. It can be very uncomfortable,” Phuong shared.
Try to get enough sleep while riding
According to Dr. Nguyen Huy Hoang, Vietnam – Russia Hyperbaric Oxygen Center (Ministry of Defense), motion sickness is quite common.
The cause of this condition is explained by the conflict between the signals sent to the brain, or because the vestibule is overstimulated. Normally, when the body moves, 3 streams of information are sent to the brain:
– Vision: information regarding objects, far and near, is sent to the brain by the eyes.
– Vestibular: In the inner ear, there is a system of 3 semicircular canals in 3 spatial dimensions. When the body moves, the fluid in these tubes shifts, affecting the tiny hairs lining the lumen. This creates signals regarding movement and sends them to the brain.
– Body sensation: the contact of the foot with the ground and the sensation of the air moving when the body is in motion.
According to Dr. Hoang, when we sit on the train, the car is moving, these 3 signal streams may contradict each other.
– Eyes look at the objects in the train, the car feels like the body is standing still
– The body feels as if it is not moving when the foot is still in contact with the floor, the car and the vestibule perceive the body as moving.
When these conflicts occur, the brain feels confused. It assumes that the body is in a dangerous situation. Therefore, the body reacts with manifestations such as restlessness, anxiety, increased sweating, pale skin, rapid shallow breathing, nausea and vomiting, gastrointestinal spasms, dizziness, headache …
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Eating oranges, tangerines, dried fruits or smelling orange and tangerine essential oils also improves motion sickness. Photo: Shutterstock. |
Several factors increase risk of seasicknessvehicle includes:
– Enclosed space, smell of smoke, smell of gasoline.
– People with migraine, vestibular syndrome.
– Women who are pregnant or taking birth control pills.
– Feelings of stress, anxiety, fear.
Children 5-12 years old and women are at high risk of motion sickness.
The above factors can cause excessive vestibular stimulation, making the body prone to motion sickness. This condition is rare in people over the age of 50.
When jogging, cycling, even motorbikes, these 3 signal streams are basically identical so we don’t get sick.
Drivers of trains and cars also rarely get sick because their eyes must be constantly observed, their hands and feet must be manipulated for driving, so the 3 signal streams sent to the brain are relatively homogeneous. In fact, there are many people who are okay while driving, but sitting in a car driven by someone else is still drunk.
To prevent motion sickness, Dr. Hoang suggested some measures such as:
Don’t eat too full and don’t let your body get too hungry.
– Get enough sleep, keep your mind relaxed. Sleeping on the train, the car also helps to get sick.
– Should eat light and bland, drink a little water, avoid alcoholic beverages.
– Eating oranges, tangerines, cookies, bread, dried fruit or nuts can reduce motion sickness.
– Smelling orange and tangerine essential oils, using fresh ginger and ginger tea also have a good effect.
– Sit in an upper seat, or near a window, looking far into the horizon to help the eye signal align with the vestibular signal.
– Do not read books or look at your phone or computer.
– You can open the window for ventilation, limit the smell of tobacco, the smell of gasoline …
Traveling by train and car a lot can help reduce the discomfort of motion sickness, but it is not always effective.
Dr. Hoang suggested some drugs to help prevent this condition such as:
– Antihistamine group: These are older generation drugs that cause drowsiness but have good anti-motion sickness effects such as diphenhydramine, promethazine, meclizine…can be combined with caffeine.
– Anticholinergic drugs: Often used scopolamine, both tablets and patches behind the ear, long acting.
Antiemetics: When you have nausea or vomiting, these groups of drugs have little effect. Therefore, you need to take serotonin antagonist antiemetics such as ondansetron.
