Do you suffer with motion sickness? Getting nausea in cars, on boats and during flights is really annoying, but this hack could cure it.
Forget travel tablets, ginger biscuits and anti-sickness bands, all you need is a pair of “clown glasses,” but be warned – you will look like a minion.
Crazy hack for motion sickness
The crazy hack involves wearing a pair of motion sickness glasses, strange white goggles that look like the contraption you wear while getting your eyes tested by an optometrist.
You can get them at most online retailers like Amazon and eBay, and they are made up of four circular tubes which are all filled with a bright blue liquid.
The glasses have gone viral on TikTok this week after a woman shared a video of herself wearing them on a car journey with her partner.
“When the glasses are a fashion crime but they cure my car sickness within seconds,” she wrote on the screen.
Everyone was fascinated in the comments, with one person writing: “Literally how does this work I need someone to explain the physics or whatever.”
“I need to know how those help because that’s so cool!” said another.
Glasses approved by doctor
NHS doctor Dr. Karan Rajan responded to the video on TikTok and explained how they really can stop you from feeling sick.
“Motion sickness happens because of a software glitch in your brain. Your eyes and ears receive different sensory inputs,” he said.
When you’re in a moving vehicle, your ears sense motion, but your eyes see your body and internal environment staying still. Your brain receives conflicting signals from both organ systems, which results in feelings of nausea.
The glasses combat this with four liquid-filled rims that create an “artificial moving horizon” to match the motion of the vehicle you are in.
“This artificial movement in the eye line should make the eyes resynchronize their sense of balance and now ‘agree’ with the signals from the ears,” the doctor explained.
It might not work for everyone, but the glasses are a non-drug, low-risk intervention that could be worth trying if you suffer from motion sickness. However, Dr. Raj joked that you will have to put up with looking like a “psychedelic minion”.
More motion sickness tips
If you’re not keen on wearing the crazy glasses during a flight or boat trip, there are more things you can do to reduce motion sickness.
The NHS recommends always sitting in the front of a car or in the middle of a boat to reduce motion, and facing the direction that the vehicle is moving. While travelling, look straight ahead at a fixed point, such as the horizon and breathe fresh air if possible, for example by opening a car window.
If you feel sick, close your eyes and breathe slowly while focusing on your breathing, and try to distract yourself by talking or singing.
Don’t read, watch films or use electronic devices as this often makes nausea worse, and don’t look eat moving objects such as passing cars. It’s a good idea not to eat any heavy meals, spicy foods or drink alcohol shortly before or during travel either.
Dr. Karan Rangarajan (MRCS MBBS BSc), known online as Dr. Karan Rajan, is an NHS surgeon who gained his medical degree from Imperial College London. He is also a lecturer at the University of Sunderland.
