Children usually feel sick in the stomach when
travelling in a car, airplane, boat or train. This
sickness is known as motion sickness. This sickness is
caused by reception of wrong signals by eyes, muscles,
skin receptors, and inner ears.
While travelling, different body parts send different
signals to the brain. Eyes see things around and it
sends signals about the direction of movement while in
motion. The joint sensory receptors and muscles send
signals about the movement of the muscles and the
position in which the body is. The skin receptors send
signals about the parts of the body which are in contact
with the ground. The inner ears have a fluid in the
semicircular canals. This fluid senses motion and the
direction of motion like forward, backward, up, down,
circular, or to and fro. When the brain gets timely
reports from the various body parts, it tries to find a
relation between all the signals and then sketches a
picture about the body’s movement and position at a
particular instant. But when the brain isn’t able to
find a link and isn’t able to draw a picture out of the
received signals, the condition called motion sickness
is experienced.
For example, if a child is riding in a car and reading
something at the same time, the eyes will see stationary
book. But the skin receptors and the inner ears will
sense the body moving in a forward direction. The eyes
and the muscle receptors will send signals that the body
is not moving. This confuses the brain and everything is
jumbled up in the head. This makes the child dizzy, sick
in the stomach and even tired. There is a possibility of
the child throwing up, so it is recommended that the
parents carry a sick bag each time they are travelling
with kids. And if the child is feeling anxious or
scared, the condition can deteriorate further.
Although there are medicines available over the counter
to deal with motion sickness, some measures should be
taken to avoid medicine and also motion sickness. The
child should always be made to sit facing in the forward
direction. He/she should not face or sit backwards, nor
should he be made to sit in a seat facing backwards.
This helps the ears and the eyes to send similar kind of
signal. It is good if the kid isn’t involved in some
kind of activity like reading, playing video games or
something which is stationary. He/she must be asked to
look outside, especially at things which are located at
a distance. The same applies when travelling in an
airplane. When travelling in a boat, the child can go to
the upper deck and look at the horizon. Basically, the
child must be made to concentrate at things which are
located at a distance and are in motion. When looking at
something stationary, the eyes get confused and send
wrong signals.
It also helps to sit in a place which is moving the
least. Usually, it is the center point of the body, so
the more close the child sits to the center, the better.
Like when in an airplane, it is good to sit in seats in
the middle aisle and not in those which are located near
the wings. If the child is sitting in the center of the
boat, instead of the front or the side, the lesser
seasick the child will feel. In spite of all these
measures if the child is still feeling sick a doctor
should be consulted. The doctor checks the inner ears
for any defect. He will also check other body parts
which are responsible for sensing motion. Apart from
medicine, pressure bracelets are also available at the
local pharmacy. And along with carrying a sick bag or
any other plastic bag, the car can be pulled over and
the child should be walked out a bit to feel better.
