Seeing Your Doctor About Motion Sickness -- Diagnosis
Motion sickness is especially common in children, and it is more common in women than in men. However, anyone can get motion sickness and most people have experienced it at one time or another.
Evidence suggests that motion sickness affects as many as:
- 33%-50% of passengers on a plane flight with heavy turbulence
- 100% of cruise ship passengers in rough seas
- Approximately 28% of passengers traveling by bus
Most people visit their healthcare provider to seek ways to prevent future bouts of motion sickness, rather than to seek treatment during an acute attack.
There are no specific lab tests to diagnose motion sickness. Instead, your healthcare provider will rely on you to describe your condition and symptoms in order to arrive at a diagnosis. Here are some questions your healthcare provider is likely to ask:
- What are your symptoms?
- What triggers your symptoms?
- How long do your symptoms last?
- What measures have you taken to relieve your symptoms?
- Did these self-care measures help?
- Do you have other medical conditions?
- Have you recently been ill?
- What other medications are you taking, if any?
- Are you allergic to any medications?
He or she also may ask you questions about your risk factors before prescribing a course of treatment.
