Travel health
This page aims to provide you with information and advice about staying well whilst you are travelling abroad or at home.
Motion sickness - often call car sickness, sea sickness, or travel sickness or even plane sickness can affect anyone at any age and is caused by the brain receiving different messages from your eyes and the balance sensors in your ears.
Symptoms of motion sickness may include:
- dizziness
- nausea and occasionally vomiting
- fatigue
- pallor (loss of color).
Motion sickness can be prevented or treated by following some simple tips below:
- face forward and looking outside a car, ship, plane
- staying busy and occupied with an activity that distracts the mind from the swaying of the vehicle may help
- staring at some distant fixed object like the horizon as soon as queasiness sets in may help
- avoid alcohol, smoking and greasy foods
- don't read while moving
- fresh air may help, open a window or on a ship the open deck
- seeking areas of lesser movement on the ship may help reduce symptoms
- a cold compresses applied to the eyes and neck may help.
If none of these help you can buy over the counter remedies from your chemist which should be taken according to the instructions provided.
Travel sickness bands can also be bought from larger chemists which use acupressure to prevent sickness. The Pharmacist can advise you.
Travelling abroad can raise a number of health issues from avoiding Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) on long flights to preventing the spread of infections and diseases. Your GP can tell you if need to have any medicine before you go on holiday.
The Travel health website also offers in depth information about staying well whilst you are travelling.