Last week I wrote a blog about some things that contribute to motion sickness that you might not know about.
Now I’m going to give you some tips to try and avoid them to make travelling easier!
When buying a suitcase try to avoid getting a brightly coloured or patterned one and opt for a plain soft calming colour.
Try to organize your packing and take it slowly. Rather than dumping everything on your bed and trying to work from there take piece by piece out of your drawers and wardrobe and pack them neatly into your case.
Most of our documents are available to download to apps. But apps can be overwhelming, colourful and bright. I like to print out my documents and keep them in a file for travelling. This way I avoid being visually overwhelmed.
Airports & Stations can be noisy, colourful and busy places. My advice is to give yourself plenty of time to get to the airport or station so that you can find a quiet area to organize yourself. Wearing headphones or ear defenders can help reduce the noise and sunglasses can help with the bright bold colours. You can contact your travel provider in advance to ask if they can make any concessions. If you use a sunflower lanyard let them know as you maybe be able to access some quiet areas or be able to board first.
When your travelling you encounter lots of lifts, escalators and travelators. If you are travelling with lots of luggage or you are disabled these can be hard to avoid. It is worth finding out what level you need to be at to travel and try to get as close to that level as possible to avoid too much disorientation where possible.
If you need to get through security give yourself plenty of time. Pack your bags in an order that will help you to remove them for scanning and to put them back once you’re done. Try not to let people rush you when you are repacking or move away and find a quieter area so you can take your time.
Don’t worry, everyone panics that they won’t make it through security even though they have done nothing wrong. This is human nature and adds more stress. So remember if you’ve got nothing to hide you’ll be fine!
If you struggle with motion sickness and are travelling by car try to sit in the front. If you are travelling by train it is a good idea to avoid travelling backwards. Try to book your seats in advance so that you can choose if you will be sitting by the aisle or the window. If flying you can also choose if you want to sit at the front or the back of a row. I prefer being near to the toilet as walking down the aisle puts me off balance and causes me to become dizzy and sick.
When flying you often have to travel by bus to get from the airport to the plane and vice versa. These buses aren’t like normal buses and you tend to get thrown around a lot. If possible it can be a good idea to try and get one of the few seats to keep you balanced. This can be difficult ut it is worth trying or asking about in advance.
Taking off & landing can be difficult. I avoid reading or watching anything during take-off. I keep my eyes close and try to relax. When my ears pop I chew my dog tag Chewigem to help.
Even if you can just use some of these tips it might help to reduce your motion sickness.
You can also ask a doctor or pharmacist for advice on medication to help reduce sickness or take a look at these travel bands.
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