The series' host, Thomas P. Campbell, MD, is chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine at The Western Pennsylvania Hospital. Motion Sickness Motion sickness is nausea and sometimes vomiting that occurs with movement, such as traveling in cars, airplanes, boats, trains, and some amusement park rides. Although motion sickness is usually only a minor inconvenience, some people can be incapacitated by it. A few even suffer symptoms for several days after travel.
Motion sickness is related to our sense of balance.
It occurs when the brain receives conflicting messages from motion sensors located in the eyes, inner ear, skin, muscles, and joints. For example, if you are riding in an amusement park ride that is turning loops, your eyes are looking at the inside of the amusement ride that is not moving, but your body is feeling the motion of looping. Avoid reading during travel. For example, in a car, sit in the front seat and look at the scenery ahead of you in the distance. This way, your eyes will see the same motion that your inner ear and body are feeling.