Seasickness is a feeling of nausea and “sickness” due to monotonous vibrations (for the first time people encountered this phenomenon during sea voyages, hence the name). Seasickness can appear not only on water transport, but also in a car, train, moreover, the strength of the manifestation of the disease depends on the strength of motion sickness.
Most susceptible to this disease are children aged 5 to 12 years, as well as the elderly.
Causes of sea sickness
The disease occurs due to sensory conflict, when the inner ear, eyes, and other parts of the body send conflicting signals to the brain. In this case, one part of the vestibular apparatus detects that the body is in motion, while the other part does not recognize this. For example, if you are in the cockpit of a moving ship, then your inner ear “feels” big waves, but your eyes do not see the movement. This leads to general malaise.
Susceptibility to sea sickness is markedly increased by some external factors:
- A state of anxiety or fear
- Character of the duck
- Working at the chart table, or reading
- Stormy weather and associated stressors
- Fatigue
- Smell or process of eating
The main symptoms of sea sickness
The body, perceiving internal conflict as some kind of pathology, increases the production of free histamine, which, first of all, causes nausea, sweat, dehydration, dizziness, low blood sugar, low blood pressure, anxiety, confusion, depression, and ultimately, shock. up to a complete loss of performance.
Sea sickness treatment
Once you have symptoms of motion sickness, you can reduce their severity by assuming a horizontal position and closing your eyes. This softens the confusion of the sensors, and helps to get used to the state of constant pitching. If you are on an airplane, then sit near the wings, on board the ship, stay in the cockpit.
Prevention of sea sickness
Already two weeks before departure on the expedition, you need to stop taking alcoholic drinks, drinks containing coffee, and fatty foods.
If you know about your predisposition to sea sickness, the day before the start you need to start taking selected medications and try to get a good night’s sleep. Sleep helps reduce the amount of histamine in the bloodstream.
You should not drink a lot of fluids in the morning. At the same time, you need to drink at least 2 liters of fluid every day throughout the day. Usually this happens if you drink a liter bottle of clean water in addition to the traditional norm.
During the entire journey, the food that a person suffering from seasickness consumes must be easily digestible by the body.
Adapt to fluctuating movements