Airsickness is a specific form of

motion sickness Motion sickness occurs due to a difference between actual and expected motion. Symptoms commonly include nausea, vomiting, cold sweat, headache, dizziness, tiredness, loss of appetite, and increased salivation. Complications may rarely include de ...

which is induced by air travel and is considered a normal response in healthy individuals. Airsickness occurs when the

central nervous system The central nervous system (CNS) is the part of the nervous system consisting primarily of the brain and spinal cord. The CNS is so named because the brain integrates the received information and coordinates and influences the activity of all p ...

receives conflicting messages from the body (including the

inner ear The inner ear (internal ear, auris interna) is the innermost part of the vertebrate ear. In vertebrates, the inner ear is mainly responsible for sound detection and balance. In mammals, it consists of the bony labyrinth, a hollow cavity in th ...

, eyes and

muscle Skeletal muscles (commonly referred to as muscles) are organs of the vertebrate muscular system and typically are attached by tendons to bones of a skeleton. The muscle cells of skeletal muscles are much longer than in the other types of mus ...

s) affecting

balance Balance or balancing may refer to: Common meanings * Balance (ability) in biomechanics * Balance (accounting) * Balance or weighing scale * Balance as in equality or equilibrium Arts and entertainment Film * ''Balance'' (1983 film), a Bulgaria ...

and equilibrium. Whereas commercial airline passengers may simply feel poorly, the effect of airsickness on military aircrew may lead to a decrement in performance and adversely affect the mission.Samuel, O., & Tal, D. (2015). Airsickness: Etiology, Treatment, and Clinical Importance—A Review. Military medicine, 180(11), 1135-1139. The

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 Spatial disorientation results in a person being unable to determine their position or relative motion, commonly occurring during periods of challenging visibility, since vision is the dominant sense for orientation. The auditory system, vestibul ...

nausea Nausea is a diffuse sensation of unease and discomfort, sometimes perceived as an urge to vomit. While not painful, it can be a debilitating symptom if prolonged and has been described as placing discomfort on the chest, abdomen, or back of th ...

and vomiting.Antunano, Melchor J., M.D
''Medical Facts for Pilots'' (pdf)

Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic ...

, Civil Aerospace Medical Institute. Publication: AM-400-03/1.

Signs and symptoms

Common symptoms of airsickness include: Nausea, vomiting,

vertigo Vertigo is a condition where a person has the sensation of movement or of surrounding objects moving when they are not. Often it feels like a spinning or swaying movement. This may be associated with nausea, vomiting, sweating, or difficulties w ...

, loss of appetite, cold sweating, skin

pallor Pallor is a pale color of the skin that can be caused by illness, emotional shock or stress, stimulant use, or anemia, and is the result of a reduced amount of oxyhaemoglobin and may also be visible as pallor of the conjunctivae of the eyes o ...

, difficulty concentrating, confusion, drowsiness, headache, and increased fatigue. Severe airsickness may cause a person to become completely incapacitated.

Risk factors

The following factors increase some people's susceptibility to airsickness: *

Fatigue Fatigue describes a state of tiredness that does not resolve with rest or sleep. In general usage, fatigue is synonymous with extreme tiredness or exhaustion that normally follows prolonged physical or mental activity. When it does not resolve ...

, stress and anxiety are some factors that can increase susceptibility to motion sickness of any type. * The use of

alcohol Alcohol most commonly refers to: * Alcohol (chemistry), an organic compound in which a hydroxyl group is bound to a carbon atom * Alcohol (drug), an intoxicant found in alcoholic drinks Alcohol may also refer to: Chemicals * Ethanol, one of sev ...

, drugs, and medications may also contribute to airsickness. * Additionally, airsickness is more common in women (especially during

menstruation Menstruation (also known as a period, among other colloquial terms) is the regular discharge of blood and mucosal tissue from the inner lining of the uterus through the vagina. The menstrual cycle is characterized by the rise and fall of ...

pregnancy Pregnancy is the time during which one or more offspring develops ( gestates) inside a woman's uterus (womb). A multiple pregnancy involves more than one offspring, such as with twins. Pregnancy usually occurs by sexual intercourse, but ...

), young children, and individuals prone to other types of motion sickness. * Although airsickness is uncommon among experienced pilots, it does occur with some frequency in student pilots.

Prevention

Travelers who are susceptible to motion sickness can minimize symptoms by: * Choosing a window seat with a view of the ground or of lower clouds, such that motion can be detected. This will not work if the plane is flown in the clouds for a long duration. * Choosing seats with the smoothest ride in regards to pitch (the seats over the wings in an airplane). This may not be sufficient for sensitive individuals who need to see ground movement. * Sitting facing forward while focusing on distant objects rather than trying to read or look at something inside the airplane.

Treatment

Medication

Medications that may alleviate the symptoms of airsickness include: * meclozine * dimenhydrinate *

diphenhydramine Diphenhydramine (DPH) is an antihistamine and sedative mainly used to treat allergies, insomnia, and symptoms of the common cold. It is also less commonly used for tremor in parkinsonism, and nausea. It is taken by mouth, injected into ...

scopolamine Scopolamine, also known as hyoscine, or Devil's Breath, is a natural or synthetically produced tropane alkaloid and anticholinergic drug that is formally used as a medication for treating motion sickness and postoperative nausea and vomi ...

(available in both patch and oral form). Pilots who are susceptible to airsickness are usually advised not to take anti-motion sickness medications ( prescription or

over-the-counter Over-the-counter (OTC) drugs are medicines sold directly to a consumer without a requirement for a prescription from a healthcare professional, as opposed to prescription drugs, which may be supplied only to consumers possessing a valid prescr ...

). These medications can make one drowsy or affect brain functions in other ways.

Non-medication based

A 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. The

US Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Sig ...

and

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

have an Air Sickness Management Program and use a device called a Barany chair to desensitize trainees over 3 days. This combined with progressive relaxation (

diaphragmatic breathing Diaphragmatic breathing, abdominal breathing, belly breathing, or deep breathing, is breathing that is done by contracting the diaphragm, a muscle located horizontally between the thoracic cavity and abdominal cavity. Air enters the lungs as t ...

and muscle tensing) yields a high success rate. The

Italian Air Force , colours = , colours_label = , march = (Ordinance March of the Air Force) by Alberto Di Miniello , mascot = , anniversaries = 28 March ...

also uses a similar spinning chair and psychologic relaxation techniques which yields an 82% long-term success rate, over a 10-day training period. Recently, several devices have been introduced that are intended to reduce motion sickness through stimulation of various body parts (usually the wrist).

Alternative medicine

Alternative treatments include

Ginger Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice and a folk medicine. It is a herbaceous perennial which grows annual pseudostems (false stems made of the rolled bases of ...

and

Acupuncture Acupuncture is a form of alternative medicine and a component of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in which thin needles are inserted into the body. Acupuncture is a pseudoscience; the theories and practices of TCM are not based on scientif ...

, with variable effectiveness.

References

External links

{{Motion sickness Aviation medicine Symptoms and signs: Nervous system Effects of external causes Motion sickness