Genealogy Chat

Please see below

I have suffered badly from motion sickness since being a small child. It hasn't improved in adulthood. As a child, I always had to use travel sickness pills and some were more helpful than others. Travel was generally a miserable experience. As an adult I just accepted my limitations and have never attempted trips that I know would make me ill. I'm fine on trains and on motorways (to a point) as long as I'm in the front passenger seat and never take my eyes off the road ahead. It's windy roads and changes of direction which present a problem. It sounds crazy, I know, but microfilm readers present a similar problem. If I wind the film fast (or sometimes even slowly) I start to feel sick as I see it move past. On one occasion I had to leave the building I felt so ill. Apparently it's to do with the balance of the liquid in the inner ear and the brain doesn't process the change of direction in real time. I have asked the archivists at the record centre if I can look at the original documents instead of the film readers and although sympathetic, they don't want to get the originals out for obvious reasons. They asked if I could take travel sickness pills before going, but I really don't want to as the ones I had as a child made me really groggy.It was suggested that if I get a letter from my GP stating the problem, they would TRY to let me see the originals where possible. I would feel foolish going to my GP to ask her to write a letter saying I have an illness that I haven't received medication for in nearly 30 years, and even then from a different GP, just so that I can view original archives. It sounds unbelievable even to me! If I really have to I will, but I was wondering if anyone else has experienced this and can offer any more natural remedies. Someone suggested ginger, but I tried drinking ginger ale and eating chrytalised ginger, but it didn't help. I know this sounds barmy, but any suggestions would be gratefully received. Amanda

Hi Amanda, This is more common than you think,,,,,have you tried adjusting the chair to full ,so as your eyes are not staring straight ahead,, Travel pills now are much improved,,,,,,,,,,perhaps a childs one could suit you,

Have you tried the travel bands - our daughter, now 25, still suffers from travel sickness, although not as bad as before. When she was younger she used to wear travel bands, and they did seem to help a lot.

Hi Sorry I didn't get back sooner: I'm at work. Thanks for those suggestions.Elizabeth, what are bands? Amanda

They can be purchased from any chemist.......they fit on one's wrists, and work by using pressure points. I got mine from Boots. Reg

My daughter still has her bands - they are slightly elastic and have little metal studs which put pressure on the inside of your wrist. Hers are turquoise. They just look like fabric bracelets, but you have to wear them quite tight for them to be effective. (I too should be working - I work from home and do my research between bouts of work - I start off a search and then look at the results 10 minutes later!)

As Kay says, this is more common than you might think. I find it best to start with very short sessions - 10 minutes, or as soon as I feel queasy, then get up and walk about. If you wear spex, make sure they are in exactly the right position - I wear varifocals and have no problems anywhere else, but find I have to have them in EXACTLY the correct position otherwisw I feel odd. Also, when winding on film,I look away, rather than trying to follow the film with my eyes. I have to say though, that I find microfiche and microfilm research absolute torture. It does get better with practice. OC

Hi Amanda You're definitely not alone with this problem. I too suffer terrible bouts of 'vertigo' - this is the term given to the sensation of feeling dizzy/sick/off-balance etc (not fear of heights as so many people seem to think). Lots of things trigger it off, too. The usual travel sickness tablets will make you very tired (they knock me out) but if you go to your GP and have your illness diagnosed properly (you don't have to tell them your reasons about wanting to search archives manually!) there are other tablets they can prescribe which are specifically for inner ear imbalance. I take SERC-16 as soon as I feel the dizziness beginning. You can only get these on prescription, though. At its worst I'm unable to even stand up - if I try, I end up falling flat on the floor! I've had the same problems as you when using the microfiche reader at the library. What I try to do is look away from the screen as I'm scrolling back and forth. You do get used to doing it this way eventually and it does help alleviate the problem a bit. Regards - Athena

hI I suffer the same problem with readers, i find the hand wind ones are the worse.& i feel very sick. The electronic button one i find much better, when i'm winding on i tend to look away from the screen, i also go outside in the freshair every 15 - 20 mins. sandra

Not a cure but it helps.... Visit your local health food shop and ask for something Ginger based you can suck to help with nausea. It might help in keeping any queezyness (sp?) at bay or under control. Chris

Hi everyone Sorry I haven't replied earlier as I work until 8.00 on Tuesdays. Thank you for your very useful suggestions. I will try them out. I have even felt sick when standing at the kerb waiting to cross the road and having to watch the traffic going past at speed! lol .It seems ridiculous to those who've never experienced it, but I'm glad some of you understand what I mean. I didn't realise it was so common. Thanks a lot Regards Amanda