6 Motion Sickness Remedies: Prevention, Medications, and Natural Aids

While the nausea and unease that occurs when you’re rocking in the backseat of a car or on a boat can be uncomfortable, know that it’s a common phenomenon and usually one without lasting or serious effects. And know that there are several expert-approved tips, remedies, and medications available to quell your queasiness.

When it comes to preventing or stopping motion sickness, options include home remedies, over-the-counter medications, and motion sickness patches and wristbands.

1. Look Toward the Horizon

“If you’re down below deck on a boat, get up so you can see the horizon,” he advises. “If you’re reading in a car, sit up and look out the windows so you can see the motion of the car. Then what you see and what your inner ear motion sensor tells you will be in agreement.”

One of the main factors that contributed to car sickness was a visual activity like reading, writing, using a device, or watching a video, while riding in a car.

2. Cool Down

Hot, stagnant air can aggravate motion sickness, so a cool breeze can be helpful for preventing and easing it, Dr. Viirre says. You can also place a cool cloth on the back of your neck or on your forehead.

“I use that in my clinic all the time,” says Viirre, who notes that this directly affects the vagus nerve.

3. Avoid Unpleasant Smells

“The smell of gasoline will set people’s motion sickness off, as will the smell of vomit,” Viirre says. This is another way a cool breeze can minimize motion sickness, Virre adds — by keeping smells away.

4. Eat Some Ginger

“Ginger is a popular natural remedy for nausea, and some people find that ginger tea, chews, or supplements help with motion sickness,” says Michael Genovese, MD, a diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology and the chief medical adviser of Ascendant, a drug and alcohol treatment center in New York City. Dr. Genovese helps patients manage neurological and physiological symptoms, particularly those involving the brain’s response to external stimuli, including stress, sensory input, and balance.

But if you want to try ginger for motion sickness and opt for ginger ale, don’t drink it too quickly. “A lot of cold liquid in your belly is another aggravator of motion sickness, so you want to just have gentle sips,” Viirre says.

5. Try Over-the-Counter Motion Sickness Remedies

Over-the-counter scopolamine patches, which are placed behind your ear, are commonly used for long trips and can stop nausea before it even starts, Genovese says.

“Over-the-counter medications like meclizine (Bonine) and dimenhydrinate (Dramamine) are also effective for prevention, though they can cause drowsiness,” Genovese adds.

“Some people swear by them, but the scientific evidence on their effectiveness is mixed,” Genovese says.

6. Talk to Your Doctor About Prescription Medications

“Some people do well with simple remedies, while others need more potent medications to prevent symptoms from interfering with travel or daily life,” Genovese says. “Talking to a doctor about the best approach is always a good idea, especially if motion sickness is a recurring issue.”

Our eyes, inner ear sensors, and other sensors in our body all send signals to the brain about what's happening around us. “Our brain puts all of this information together and comes up with an estimate of what motion our body is in,” Viirre says.

But when those signals send contradictory messages that the brain can’t make sense of, we feel sick.

For instance, when you’re in the backseat of a moving car but you're reading with your head down, you see the still cabin of the car, but you feel the turns at stoplights or the rolling of the car up and down hills, Viirre says. This is the same reason why motion sickness occurs on boats when you’re below deck: You feel the boat moving up and down with the waves, but you see the stationary walls and floor of the boat.

“Your brain struggles to make sense of the conflicting information,” Genovese says. “This sensory mismatch confuses the brain, triggering nausea, dizziness, and sometimes vomiting.”

“About 1 in 6 people have migraine, which is extremely common and runs in families,” he explains. “One of the diagnostic features of migraine is motion sensitivity and tendency to motion sickness.”

If your motion sickness just crops up once in a while (like when you’re looking at your phone in the passenger seat of a car), it’s likely nothing to worry about, Genovese says.

If it happens frequently, lasts long after you have stopped moving, or interferes with daily life, tell your doctor about it, he says. Other red flags that you should see your doctor include severe nausea that leads to dehydration, dizziness that lasts for days, or difficulty with balance outside of travel situations like standing on a boat, Genovese adds.

You can start by visiting your primary care doctor, but if symptoms are persistent or severe, a neurologist or ENT (ear, nose, and throat) specialist may need to look into potential inner ear issues, Genovese says.

• Motion sickness occurs when your brain receives conflicting messages from your body, eyes, and inner ear about balance and movement.
• You can help prevent or treat motion sickness by looking toward the horizon while you're in a moving vehicle, avoiding unpleasant smells, taking over-the-counter medicine like dimenhydrinate (Dramamine), and trying natural remedies like ginger or acupressure wristbands.
• Occasional motion sickness is nothing to worry about, but if you experience frequent bouts or it becomes so severe that it interferes with your daily life, talk to your doctor.