Preventing Motion Sickness

Dear Pilgrims,

This is a quick update to help you avoid a common traveler's problem: motion sickness. This illness is described as the uncomfortable dizziness, nausea, vomiting, or malaise caused when unaccustomed movement, especially during travel, disturbs one's equilibrium and sense of balance.

Please know that our travel by bus will take us over some very bumpy roads in India, and some very lengthy stretches of switchback turns in mountainous regions.  If you have a history of motion sickness, please take precautions to make your travel pleasant.  We are providing a list below of several different ways you should consider to prevent motion sickness.  Even those pilgrims who have never had motion illness before may want to have one or more of the following preventatives on hand, just in case. An ounce of prevention is better than using an airsickness bag that you brought with you from a plane!

Check with your personal physician to make sure there are no interactions with any other medications you might be taking. Here are several remedies and preventatives for motion sickness:

Ginger Candy or Capsules - for their anti-nausea properties.

Over the Counter Medications - best taken 30 - 60 minutes before travel to prevent motion sickness. Note that the following medicines are all antihistamines and can produce drowsiness. Take only according to package instructions or doctor recommendations.

    * Dramamine (dimenhydranate)
    * Bonin (meclizine HCl)
    * Benedryl (diphenhydramine)

Acupressure - You can press on a spot on your lower arm, near your wrist called the Neiguan point (also called the Pericardium 6 point, located about three finger widths above the wrist, on the inner arm.) Many drugstores sell elastic bracelets with a single plastic bead which are designed to put pressure on this Acupressure point. One brand name for these anti-motion sickness bracelets is "Sea-Bands." If you cannot find them locally, you can purchase them online at http://www.sea-band.com/
We have seen them work well on Balashram Treks, even after the symptoms of motion sickness started.

An electronic version of this solution is also available, a wristwatch sized device that gives a gentle, electrical pulse to the Neiguan acupressure point. (Brand name: Relief Band, available without a prescription, or a related product, Brand name: Reletex, available by prescription only. These electrical devices are NOT recommended for people who have a pacemaker.)

Homeopathic - several homeopathic motion sickness preventatives and anti-nausea remedies are available. Check with your homeopathic healthcare professional.

If you have a history of motion sickness you may wish to discuss solutions with your doctor or healthcare provider.

For more information regarding preventing motion sickness, see

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