Does anybody have advice for motion-sickness, mainly going on a plane flight for the first time?

Question

Does anybody have advice for motion-sickness, mainly going on a plane flight for the first time?

Answer 1

Ginger capsules....can be found at a health food store.  Take 2 a couple of hours before your flight.  Ginger works great on motion sickness, as well as other stomach issues.  And, it doesn't have the nasty, drowsy....down right sleepy side effects of Draminine.

Answer 2

I suffer from terrible motion sickness, can't take drives more than a couple of hours at a time :(

But i've been travelling a lot by air and never even once had motion sickness.

And i know many people like me.. so i think you'll be just fine.

Answer 3

dramamine

Answer 4

I went on my 1st plane ride back in the fall and I didn't have any sickness. I'm normally terrified of heights and thought I'd freak out but by the end of the ride, I was leaning over the window to see out. You might take some Dramamine just in case but you'll probably do fine. Have fun.

Answer 5

if you really think you'll need it take dramamine. the only part that may make you sick is taking of and landing. the time in the air you don't even feel like you are moving even though you are going 500 mile an hour. i was afraid of getting sick  so i took dramamine but the next time i didn't and i have been fine on planes since. and the turbulance shouldn't make you sick either it just feels like you are going over a bumpy road.

Answer 6

Motion sickness is caused by a conflict between the body's sense of vision and its sense of equilibrium and may worsen during turbulence. It can be eased by keeping your eyes fixed on a non-moving object.

If you suffer from motion sickness, try to obtain a window seat since being able to focus on the ground, sea or horizon can sometimes help. The middle of the aircraft near the wings is also usually preferable.

Answer 7

Go to sleep...

Answer 8

An alternative to Dramamine (which makes you really drowsy) is Bonine - works the same way, only it causes MUCH less drowsiness. Take it one hour before your flight takes off and you'll be good to go.

Chewing gum also helps me when I'm flying - make sure you can keep your ears popping.

Answer 9

I get terrible motion sickness and never had any problems flying...until I got a job as a Flight Attendant! That was another story. I was nearly fired (logical, right?) but I did get a handle on it fast.

This is how I saved my job;

-I never boarded hungry. That made it much, much worse. Too full is also bad but don't have a growling stomach.

-I kept myself hydrated.

-Take off and landing, I breathed and look forward

-Turbulence, I stayed put! I would never bend down. No digging in your bag or looking for something. If it gets rocky, sit still, breath and stare in front of you. No turning your head to look back, nada. Keep your head steady and facing forward.

-Here's the most obvious one but I will mention, please don't overdo the alcohol.

Actually, the inside of the plane is pressurized to 10,000ft. That's pretty high, like if you go skiing. Alcohol has a much faster, stronger affect at altitude so my advice would be to not drink at all. I've seen passengers, upright citizens, not college kids or louts, get really, really sick from drinking on board (not on purpose!)

Obviously I didn't drink on the job but I've been to almost 60 countries and flown on over 40 airlines and I never have more than one drink a flight. Usually beer or wine, with food.

If you are up when turbulence hits, evaluate whether it's best to get back to your seat. Your options are to stay put, try to grab an empty seat or even sit on the floor if it's really rough. Don't try to get back to your seat until it's reasonable to do so. The Flight Attendants might give your instructions too.

Most people get ill on landing, especially kids (5-9 years seemed to be the real age it affects). If your flight is put in a HOLDING PATTERN, this is a term for when you can't land and the aircraft has to fly in circles, this is deadly for air sickness. We had to prepare the cabin and I warned people to look out the window and keep breathing.

If you are concerned, make sure you buy a bottle of water after security (can't take it through so get it after), a baggie and a change of clothes. At least bring a T-shirt but I doubt you'll need it if you follow the above tips. I was later even able to fly in the early stages of two of my pregnancies without incident.

You may want to consult a doctor before flying too. Have him check your ears and make sure you don't have any balance problems which cause this or make motion sickness worse. I doubt you have anything "wrong". I didn't. Some of us are simply more prone to motion sickness than others. Ask him/her about meds. I second the recommendation for Bonine. Dramamine did work but makes me loopy. Yuk. Who needs that??

Since apples don't fall far from the trees, I was not surprised when my own children got sick in the car too. While they're virtual volcanos in the car, we have actually only had one incident in the air. A couple of times my children have thrown up on the way to the airport, only to board the plane and do fine on the flight. Bonine works great for them but I only give it to the really bad one.

I never found the ginger and the wrist bands to help but I had passengers who swore by them. Since these don't have side effects, it might not hurt to try them.

Give yourself plenty of time to check-in and get to the gate. Not only is it your first time but you don't want to be all stressed and tired. This will make motion sickness worse. Get a good nights' sleep too.

I flew for the first time when I was 8 weeks old so I never had a real "first flight" that I remembered. I'm a little jealous! In all my flights, nothing remotely scary ever happened to me and I flew for a living for 13 years. Not only that, it was super rare that anything happened to coworkers. Even anything remotely interesting, and they ended up having to recount it 10,000 times every time they flew.

Have a great trip!

Answer 10

You may not get sick on the flight, I have horrible car sickness..even when I drive :( , but being on a flight, I had no problems. Just in case though, Dramamine would be good.

Answer 11

Dramamine.  Take it with food and water, and don't be surprised if you're really sleepy afterwards.  I don't get airsick but it works great for me for seasickness.