Dealing with Seasickness on Your Family Vacations

Prevent Nausea with Acupuncture

by Cindy Rosenberg

Travelling with the family is something we all look forward to - well all of us who don't get car-sick, sea-sick and air-sick. For people who do get a little queasy the minute things get moving, the whole experience can be a nightmare.

As a kid, I was one of those people who dreaded a road trip. I did okay on airplanes, but boats and cars did me in! I can remember many winding roads where my head was spinning, my stomach churning. My defense mechanism became a profound ability to fall asleep the minute I got in a moving vehicle. This drove my parents crazy, especially when, at 14, they took me to Europe and I slept my way across many countries.

The main symptom of motion sickness is nausea, a symptom for which acupuncture has been proven to be very effective. I had a unique opportunity to put acupuncture to the test for motion sickness when I got a job as an acupuncturist on the high seas. Aboard a 2,000 passenger cruise ship, I treated guests with acupuncture and herbal medicine six days a week. After pain, the most common complaint we saw was, not surprisingly, sea-sickness. I will admit, the first time someone came to the on-board clinic with that greenish hue, complaining of being nauseated, I really did not have all that much confidence. But after six months on board, it was obvious that acupuncture and herbs really helped. Every single patient felt significantly better following the treatment and completely well by the following day, even in a storm off the coast of Baja! Many patients came in reluctantly, driven to acupuncture out of sheer desperation. But after the wonderful results, a number of them returned later in the cruise to get treatments for other complaints.

One memorable patient was a 12-year-old boy who came in after his mother had come to see me. She had come in for her back pain, but she told me that their family vacation was really being compromised because one of her kids was suffering horrible sea-sickness. I told her to bring him in. This boy had a long history of sea-sickness, and it really was upsetting to him because his favorite activity of all time was to go fishing with his dad. His parents would give him Dramamine, but he would become so drowsy that they would have to cut the day short. I treated this child three times on his 7-day trip. We also discussed some dietary changes, and I prescribed herbs. I received an email from his mother several weeks later saying that since the treatments, his car-sickness was better too, and that he had been able to go fishing with his dad and have a fun, full day.

I realize most of you do not tend to take an acupuncturist along with you on vacation (maybe you should think about it - we love to travel!). However, getting treatment before you go can sometimes be just as effective. The Chinese method of balancing the body with acupuncture, herbs, diet and lifestyle changes can be an effective preventive measure against many irritating and uncomfortable health conditions.