What causes motion sickness? Four factors that cause motion sickness

In medicine, motion sickness, seasickness and airplane sickness are all classified as a disease called motion sickness. Although this disease is not a serious disease and does not threaten human life, it is really very uncomfortable. What exactly causes motion sickness?

1. Motion sickness is related to the vestibular balance receptors in the human inner ear

An interesting phenomenon is that people who suffer from motion sickness can drive a car but cannot ride in a car. This is because motion sickness is mainly caused by excessive stimulation of the vestibular nervous system, so the excitement of the vestibular nervous system is the key. The vestibular nervous system belongs to the lower central nervous system, which is affected by the higher central nervous system in the cerebral cortex. The higher central nervous system has an inhibitory effect on the lower central nervous system. When a person who suffers from motion sickness drives a car, his mind is in a highly concentrated state, and the high excitement of the higher central nervous system in the cerebral cortex has an inhibitory effect on the vestibular system, so he will naturally not suffer from motion sickness. However, when riding in a car as a passenger, this effect does not exist. Similarly, when the battle alarm sounds, the marines who were originally seasick can immediately join the battle with high morale.

2. Why do some people who used to suffer from motion sickness no longer suffer from motion sickness after developing vertigo?

Good vestibular function in the inner ear is one of the basic conditions for motion sickness (seasickness, motion sickness, and airsickness). If the vestibular function is lost, the human body will lose the ability to accept various acceleration (deceleration) motion stimuli, that is, various adverse or excessive stimuli that cause motion sickness will lose their effect on the human body. Therefore, some people who used to suffer from motion sickness will no longer suffer from motion sickness after they develop vertigo, including those with bilateral vestibular loss (ototoxic drug poisoning, bilateral labyrinthectomy, repeated vertigo attacks, etc.).

3. People who suffer from motion sickness are more likely to suffer from motion sickness the higher the grade of the vehicle they are riding in.

Although the vestibular function of the inner ear is good and can accept various acceleration (deceleration) motion stimulation, which is one of the basic conditions for motion sickness (seasickness, motion sickness, and airsickness), the acceleration (deceleration) motion stimulation that is suitable for motion sickness has a certain range. Those high-frequency turbulence (generated by ordinary vehicles) are not suitable stimulations for it, and the surging acceleration shaking generated by vehicles with better stability performance during operation is most suitable for the vestibular taste. Therefore, the more advanced the vehicle, the easier it is to get motion sickness.

4. Gasoline smell can cause motion sickness

Motion sickness is caused by excessive stimulation of the vestibule of the inner ear. The smell of gasoline may aggravate the nausea of ​​some people who suffer from motion sickness, but it is not the cause of motion sickness. Imagine, will you get motion sickness if you smell gasoline while staying at home? As for some people who are allergic to gasoline, that is another matter.