How to Prevent Air Sickness

Feeling sick on board a plane is a form of motion sickness and if you experience turbulence during the flight, this can make feelings of nausea even worse.

Some people suffer more acutely from air sickness than others – but it can be a real worry if you have a holiday coming up and you are afraid you might be sick en route.

Here are some tips to prepare you for your plane journey – and some steps you can take to help prevent air sickness.

• Anti-sickness medications are available over-the-counter – including the anti-sickness drug Motilium (domperidone) or Kwells (hyoscine hydrobromide). However, some anti-sickness drugs can also make you drowsy or even sleepy, so it is best to speak to your pharmacist if you are traveling alone or need to stay alert.
• You can also be prescribed a Scopoderm TTS skin patch for motion sickness by your GP, which also contains hyoscine, which lasts for three days, but must be applied five hours before you travel – the skin patch is for use by adults and children aged 10 and over.
• Wristbands are available to treat air sickness and motion sickness and these use acupressure on point P6 to prevent sickness, so can be used by children, pregnant women, or those on existing medication.
• Remember to eat only a very light meal before flying and during a flight – a sandwich made with wholemeal bread, chicken, and the salad contains complex carbohydrates and proteins to sustain energy levels without overloading your digestive system.
• Sipping water on your flight is much better than gulping down drinks – and steer clear of alcohol or tea and coffee.
• Ginger tea can be made using ginger capsules from a health food store, but ginger cannot be used with blood-thinning drugs like Warfarin. Licorice can also treat sickness, so take a small bag of licorice or stem ginger to chew during the flight. Peppermint can actually cause vomiting, so eat mints sparingly or you could feel worse.
• Using a solid menthol stick for headaches on the tip of your nose can also help nausea – these sticks need to be used sparingly as noses are tender, but they work in a similar way to smelling salts if you use them on your nose and the effect is long-lasting.
• Try and sit as still as possible during a flight – tell check-in you need to sit by the window so you will not be getting up and down for others all the time, as the motion of this can cause you to feel dizzy and even more nauseous.
• Wear flight socks on a fight so that you will not have to exercise so much in the cabin – take one trip up and down the aisle to the loo when you feel able to, and then remain in your seat if you need to.
• Sleeping can also help with air sickness as the brain is not trying to cope with the varying signals it is receiving if you go to sleep.
• Avoid reading, watching TV, or turning your head in conversation if you suffer from air sickness.

Whilst in the air, if an accident occurs such as hot spillages on you, or luggage falling from the overhead bins, it’s possible to make a holiday accident claim for compensation.