Suffer from travel sickness? These remedies might help
24.7.2025
Translation: Katherine Martin
Does travel sickness kill the mood when you’re heading off on holiday? Then it’s time to find a remedy. From Vomex to ginger, there’s a wide range of treatments available – and new research has come up with a novel one.
The summer holidays have arrived at last! High time to set off on that long-awaited vacation. However, while some travellers get to spend their journey gazing out of the window, dreamily picturing the sea and sand, others are left battling with a queasy stomach, cold sweats and the anxiety-inducing question of whether they’re about to throw up. Welcome to the world of travel sickness, also known as kinetosis. The good news? Science has found some helpful new remedies in recent years. The bad news? «Grin and bear it» isn’t a clinically recommended strategy.
What causes travel sickness anyway?
Kinetosis arises when your brain receives contradictory information (linked page in German). Picture this. You’re sitting comfortably in the car, reading your favourite book. Your eyes are saying, «I’m not moving». But your inner ear – the balance organ – is shouting: «Err, yes you are. In fact, you’re wobbling like crazy!» Your brain then goes, «What the hell?» and reacts the way evolution has taught it to. It thinks, «This could be poison» and decides it’d be best to empty the stomach. All of a sudden, you feel sick.
Science calls this a «sensory conflict». It happens on car and coach journeys, ships, planes and even during VR gaming sessions. In a particularly nasty twist of events, you can even suffer a bout of travel sickness in a reversing electric car. The acceleration on modern EVs is so smooth that it can make you dizzy.
Who’s most affected?
Travel sickness is most likely to affect children between the ages of two and 12. However, adults with a tendency to suffer migraines or dizzy spells, or who were simply unlucky in the genetic lottery are susceptible too. Fun fact: car drivers themselves tend not to get travel sick, as the motion of the vehicle matches up to what they’re seeing.
Medication: tried and tested, but comes with side effects
Time to address the most important question. What can you do to break free of travel-sickness misery? Well, there’s a whole host of medicines that have been proven to help with nausea (article in German). Here’s a selection of them:
Dimenhydrinate (e.g. Vomex): This classic anti-sickness drug blocks histamine receptors in the vomiting centre of the brain, putting the brakes on that feeling of rising nausea. Dimenhydrinate is available over the counter and is effective, but it often makes you feel tired. As a result, it can slow down your reaction time.
Meclizine (e.g. Bonine): Meclizine works in a similar way to dimenhydrinate, in the sense that it inhibits histamine receptors. However, it’s also less likely to cause lightheadedness. Not only is it suitable for longer distances, it’s also available without a prescription.
Scopolamine patches: These patches inhibit nerve signals in the vomiting centre of your brain, protecting against severe nausea for up to 72 hours. They’re only available on prescription.
Cinnarizine: This drug stabilises the vestibular system by blocking histamine and calcium channels. Taken in combination with dimenhydrinate, it’s very effective for treating dizziness. On the flipside, it does make you feel a little tired.
The way travel sickness feels and what helps combat it will be personal to you. Figure out which remedy works for you, but keep an eye on possible side effects. If in doubt or if you have a pre-existing medical condition, it’s worth arranging a quick check-up with your doctor.
Home remedies and clever tricks
If you only want to take medication in an emergency or if you’re travelling with young children, there are also gentler options. Take ginger, for example. Studies have repeatedly shown that fresh ginger or ginger capsules help to prevent nausea – not only during pregnancy, but also on the high seas or on a coach. You can take it prophylactically, but also after nausea has set in.
Other non-pharmaceutical solutions
- If you’re on a bus or in a car, sit at the front. This is where the vehicle’s least wobbly.
- Look at the horizon, not your phone.
- Open the windows or turn on the air conditioning. Fresh air works wonders.
- Eat small snacks. Travelling on an empty stomach is a bad idea, but gorging yourself at a service station buffet before hitting the motorway is even worse.
- For many people, peppermint oil has a calming effect.
- Although acupressure bracelets are scientifically disputed, some people report that they’re effective (this might be partly down to the placebo effect).
The latest research: acoustic vibrations could help with nausea
Science has just come up with a brand-new way to fight travel sickness. In a study conducted earlier this year, researchers from Japan demonstrated that a 100-hertz tone (a tiny acoustic vibration) alleviated motion sickness in some participants. The idea behind it? The tone stimulates the otoliths – small calcium carbonate bodies the inner ear – that are associated with balance. In the future, perhaps travel coaches will play anti-nausea sounds that’ll save passengers from having to take travel sickness medication.
Until then, if you take some sensible precautions (put your phone away, open the window, keep your eyes on the horizon), you’ll hopefully make things a little easier for yourself.
Header image: Velimir Zeland/Shutterstock
Anna Sandner
Senior Editor
Anna.Sandner@galaxus.deScience editor and biologist. I love animals and am fascinated by plants, their abilities and everything you can do with them. That's why my favourite place is always outside - somewhere in nature, preferably in my wild garden.
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