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What to do when motion sickness in transport makes a vacation trip impossible?

 
, medical expert
Last reviewed: 02.07.2025
 
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14 July 2017, 09:00

According to statistics, motion sickness in transport is the most common problem that arises when planning a summer vacation. However, users of various Internet resources have found a solution: everyone has chosen their own remedy for motion sickness, and some of these remedies may be useful for other people. We suggest that you familiarize yourself with the most popular of them.

  • Sliced lemon.

"I remember how my nanny, who prefers to use only natural remedies in life, would cut half a lemon and put it in a plastic bag before a trip," says Stefania Campana. "Every time she felt nauseous, she would open the bag and inhale the lemon aroma. Miraculously, this method really helped! Now I often use this remedy."

  • Ginger or peppermint oil.

"I use a couple of drops of ginger or peppermint oil on a cotton pad. I put the cotton in a bag, and at the first sign of discomfort I open it and breathe in the oily aroma," shares user Norma F. Villasenor.

  • Ginger oil or sugared ginger.

"Motion sickness has haunted me constantly, since childhood. And now my children have the same problems. In such a situation, I use ginger - preferably candied - you can just hold it in your mouth, sucking it little by little, - notes Mary Uzel. "If you have ginger oil on hand, you can moisten the inner surfaces of your earlobes or the inner sides of your wrists - you will feel relief almost immediately."

  • Alcohol wipes.

"The smell of rubbing alcohol helps me," says Kimberly Schnell. "I always have alcohol wipes in the glove compartment of my car that I buy at the drugstore."

  • Gadgets.

“I have two kids and they constantly get uncomfortable when I move,” says Ashley K. Talek. “When they start to get motion sick, I encourage them to play with their phone or watch a cartoon on their iPad. It helps them focus and forget about the discomfort.” Indeed, many people find that listening to music on headphones or watching a movie on a tablet helps them get distracted and get rid of motion sickness.

  • A breath of fresh air.

"I only get motion sickness when I'm on a stuffy bus or in crowded public transport. Often, opening a window and getting some fresh air is enough to relieve the discomfort," explains Kati B. Fernandez.

  • Coca-Cola.

"For me, a cold can of Coke is my salvation. And not light, not Pepsi, but Coke - I don't know why. This drink has saved me for almost fifty years," says Suzanne P. Kerr.

In addition to the above mentioned methods, I would like to draw attention to another method invented by a farmer from England, Tim Flaxman. He once noticed that nausea in transport goes away if you close one eye. It turns out that this really helps to “cheat” and stabilize the vestibular apparatus. Now Tim uses special glasses for travel, in which one of the lenses is opaque. The idea was supported by one of the British companies, which plans to launch such glasses into serial production in the near future.

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