Motion sickness and acupressure

Motion sickness


Introduction:

Motion sickness is a normal response to real, perceived, or even anticipated movement. People tend to get motion sickness on a moving boat, train, airplane, car, or amusement park rides. Although this condition is fairly common and often only a minor nuisance, it may be incapacitating for people who travel frequently -- although the more you travel, the more you get used to the motion.
Signs and Symptoms:

The most common signs and symptoms of motion sickness include:

* Nausea
* Paleness of the skin
* Cold sweats
* Vomiting
* Dizziness
* Headache
* Increased salivation
* Fatigue

Causes:

Motion sickness occurs when the body, the inner ear, and the eyes send conflicting signals to the brain. This most often happens when a person is in a moving vehicle such as a car, boat, or airplane, but it may also happen on flight simulators or amusement park rides. From inside a ship's cabin, the inner ear may sense rolling motions that the eyes cannot see, and, conversely, the eyes may see movement on a "virtual reality" simulation ride that the body does not feel. Interestingly, once a person gets used to the movement and the motion stops, symptoms may return (although usually only briefly). Sometimes just anticipating movement can cause anxiety and symptoms of motion sickness. For example, a person who had previously had motion sickness might become nauseous on an airplane before take-off.

Acupressure

Some studies suggest that acupressure may help reduce symptoms of motion sickness in the same way as acupuncture, although the evidence is not clear. An acupressure practitioner works with the same points used in acupuncture, but stimulates these healing sites with finger pressure, rather than inserting fine needles.

The acupuncture point known as Pericardium 6, traditionally has been said to help relieve nausea. It is located on the inside of the wrist, about the length of 2 fingernails up the arm from the center of the wrist crease. Many travel stores sell wrist bands with built in buttons designed to apply acupressure to this point.

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