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Airsickness
Airsickness is a sensation which is induced by air travel. It is a specific form of motion sickness, and is considered a normal response in healthy individuals. Airsickness occurs when the central nervous system receives conflicting messages from the body (including the inner ear, eyes and muscles) affecting balance and equilibrium. The inner ear is particularly important in the maintenance of balance and equilibrium because it contains sensors for both angular (rotational) and linear motion. Airsickness is usually a combination of spatial disorientation, nausea and vomiting.[1] Experimentally, airsickness can be eliminated in monkeys by removing part of the cerebellum, namely the nodulus of the vermis.[2] Additional recommended knowledge
Signs & SymptomsCommon signs and symptoms of airsickness include: Nausea, vomiting, vertigo, loss of appetite, cold sweating, skin pallor, difficulty concentrating, confusion, drowsiness, headache, and increased fatigue. Severe airsickness may cause a person to become completely incapacitated.[1] Susceptibility to AirsicknessThe following factors increase some people's susceptibility to airsickness:
Avoiding Airsickness
Travelers who are susceptible to motion sickness can minimize symptoms by:
Treatment of AirsicknessMedicationMedications that may alleviate the symptoms of airsickness include:
Pilots who are susceptible to airsickness should not take anti-motion sickness medications (prescription or over-the-counter).[1] These medications can make one drowsy or affect brain functions in other ways. NonPharmacologic RemediesA method to increase pilot resistance to airsickness consists of repetitive exposure to the flying conditions that initially resulted in airsickness. In other words, repeated exposure to the flight environment decreases an individual’s susceptibility to subsequent airsickness. Recently, several devices have been introduced that are intended to reduce motion sickness through stimulation of various body parts (usually the wrist). There is no clinical evidence of the effectiveness of these products, marketed under the names “Sea Bands", "Relief Band", and others. Natural RemediesThere are numerous alternative remedies for motion sickness. The most popular are ginger derivatives, such as ginger tea or powdered ginger capsules. When the hosts of the popular American television program Mythbusters tested motion sickness remedies, they found that ginger was one of the most effective non-prescription remedies; however, the clinical study was inconclusive as the sample size was only two, and efficacy over placebo was not proven. See also
References
Categories: Aviation medicine | Neurological disorders |
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This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Airsickness". A list of authors is available in Wikipedia. |