Air sickness starting to get Me Down

[Frenchwalker]

Hi everybody my first time posting so be gentle,
had my flight test today and had to stop as my face ended up in a bag from cunderdin to jandakot non stop.

i recently had gromets put into both my ears to clear up fluid behind the ear which i belived to be the root cause for the air sickness.
I had even take Travel Calm before the flight as an added precuation,
i have ben flying for two years and have not had a problem until now,
however after flying the V66 route and then circuits at Cunderdin i was not able to control the feeling any more:(

:yuk::yuk:i have done this route 3 times now and i cant make it past cunderdin:yuk::yuk:

any advice would be great

[cats_five]

Caveat: I'm not a doctor!

Firstly I suspect your ears need to settle down. You don't say how recent 'recent' is, and I don't know how long they take to do whatever they will do, so maybe you need to find out.

Beyond that, being too hot, too cold, tired, stressed (including discomfort), hungry, thirsty, overful - all these things can make motion sickness worse.

I'm not sure Travel Calm is a good idea if it's the same as the UK version (active ingredient is Hyoscine), which has a warning that it might cause drowsyness. Also, my off-shore sailing friends tell me you need to take medication the night before and regularly for it to really help control motion sickness.

A final thought is that Cunderdin is in Oz and I suspect the thermals are really starting to get going now. Flying first thing (as early as possible) in the morning might help if that is the cause or part of it. I do know Cunderdin has a gliding club!

Gliding Club of WA (http://www.glidingwa.com.au/)

[AnthonyGA]

Normally the best treatment for motion sickness is exposure to whatever causes the motion sickness—the more you are exposed to it, the more resistant you become.

However, you say that you've had no problems for two years, and yet now you have a problem. Clearly, this isn't a case of not being used to it … something has changed.

The problem with fluid in your ears or the grommets themselves may be making you more vulnerable to motion sickness. Since it hasn't always been this way, it would be best to discuss this with your doctor. You know that it didn't bother you before, and now it does, so something is obviously wrong, and the sooner you get that fixed, the sooner you'll be back to normal. See your doctor and make sure that he works out the problem for you. There's no reason to suffer.

The good news is that you already know that you can normally fly without motion sickness, so you also know that it should be possible to fly without problems again. This is different from someone who has always had motion sickness and just cannot adapt.

Taking medication is not a good idea unless your doctor recommends it and it isn't prohibited by aviation authorities. It might make you feel better but it could have side effects that actually put you at risk just as much as the motion sickness would. Being free of nausea won't help you if you fall asleep in the cockpit.

[Frenchwalker]

Hi Cats and Anthony,

I have had a long standing relationship with my ENT as young a 6
there was surgery that would have to be done as an adult that has taken place in the past 1 year or so and have provided great relief and has not affected my flying experience.

I discovered the problem with my ears on the first attempt to Cunderdin both ears were blocked but they later cleared up and this is what I though caused the motion sickness "I was suffering from some allergies that week"

Second flight no allergies felt fit as a fiddle both ears blocked but my left ear was blocked for at least a couple of days after and hurt like hell until I was able to visit the ENT.
Had the grommets installed and nearly instant Relief that was on the 17th October Ent said I should be good to go in 2 weeks my flight test was yesterday the 12th November.
I must admit i am not too keen on the hot weather although it was a nice cool 24 deg yesterday. my poor instructor is the one that’s always cold and I am always hot lol, and thermals I think definitely didn’t help although I have experienced worse during my summer flight training
I made sure that I had a good breakfast and well hydrated I took 3 Travel Calm Tablets as directed 1/2 hour before flight as directed only active ingredient that was displayed was "Zingiber officinale (ginger) powder, i took a cold bottle of water with me and one in the bag.
I wrote everything down last night so that I could describe it to the ent


Departed Jandakt Felt Discomfort @ 2500 through V66 "controlled airspace" feeling woozy approaching Cunderdin but focusing on my entry Performed some real crappy circuits at Cunderdin as I am fighting the nausea
on the last circuit, departed the area felt like my head was catching up to my body Vomited instructor took over and landed at Cunderdin cleaned up had a 15 Min break and some water departed Cunderdin and started climbed to 3500 started throwing up again instructor took control I vomited for about 1 hour consistently on the way back instructor climbed to 4500 I think in an attempt to alleviate what could only be described as the worst opera ever but this did not work. approaching Mount Dale my feet and fingers a tingling like crazy and I am feeling really sleepy instructor landed I crawled out of the aircraft and staggered back to the flight schools and slept for an hour or so and I still feel like crap today
Iin my previous two flights I have been able to fly and land the aircraft back at jandakot but not this time


i will try and catch up with my ENT doctor next week and see whats happening. but im definetly going to try and do my next flight test whenever it may be as early as possible and yes i think cunderdin has a gliding club ...well i have seen them on the runway .

[Frenchwalker]

Hi guys just an update, and again thank you for the replies,
the ENT says that i have a imbalance brought on by a virus in my inner ear.
i have been pescribed Stemetil and i am actually starting to feel much better
but this is only the first day so i will see how i go for a couple of days im going to have a chat to my Aviation GP tommorow to see what other options as i dont think this drug will be appropriate for flying...

which is screwed .. i have heard that this virus can hang around for months :ugh: or even up to a year

[cats_five]

I think you are right that Stematil is not suitable for aviators:

Warning!

This medicine may cause drowsiness. If affected do not drive or operate machinery.
It is recommended that you avoid drinking alcohol while having treatment with this medicine because it may enhance drowsiness.
This medicine can occasionally cause your blood pressure to drop when you move from a lying down or sitting position to sitting or standing, especially when you first start taking the medicine. This may make you feel dizzy or unsteady. To avoid this try getting up slowly. If you do feel dizzy, sit or lie down until the symptoms pass.
This medicine may make your skin more sensitive to sunlight than it usually is, so you should avoid exposing your skin to direct sunlight or sunlamps until you know how your skin reacts. If you can't avoid strong sunlight you should use a sunscreen lotion or make sure your skin is protected with clothing.It's presumably being prescribed because of it's anti-emetic properties.

[davidash]

As an ex-inner ear problem person, my ENT explained that the circulation to the inner ear is particularly poor (he described it as "poor design") and in addition to medication he recommended physiotherapy to assist the circulation in the area of the neck. I found the physio particularly helpful.

[Frenchwalker]

Wow thanks David thats sounds like a good idea, i do have a physio that i go to , did you always have problems with motion sickness or did it just rear its ugly head ?

[southernskyz]

Hi Frenchwalker, I use to get air sickness quite often when i started flying, so i'm quite familiar with it.
I tried this product called "seabands" and it really worked for me.
They're called seabands in chemists and it's worn just below the wrist area. It looks like a wrist sweater,similar to what tennis players wear.

The more you get use to flying the less reliant you become on any product.

Other things that can help reduce air sickness include, fly in a bigger aircraft like a warrior instead of a two seater, do balance exercises by standing on each foot as long as you can, don't play sports such as tennis.

You'll find the "seabands" could be assist you, talk to your chemist in Perth.
That's all i want to say about this topic.

[cats_five]

<snip>
don't play sports such as tennis.
<snip>


Why on earth not?

[southernskyz]

Tennis?

It's a question my instructor asked me and the reason is, that people that play tennis can be more prone to motion sickness than the average person, due to the continuous jumping motion on the court, having an effect on unsettling a person's balance system.
During certain flight manouvers or the onset of some turbulence, a person that has a tendency to get airsick, will become airsick sooner due to the tennis exposure.

Whether you agree with the tennis theory or not, my instructor in those days heard about this theory from others and he was quite experienced.

[cats_five]

Utterly bizarre. How long ago was this? Sounds like the Dark Ages!

[southernskyz]

Around 10 years ago.
Obviously the instructor has heard about it from somewhere
and thought it would be a useful question to use.

Airsickness can occur due to an upsetting manouver, cabin carpet smell, increase in workload, fear from a manouver eg.stalling,
consistent turbulence, simulating IFR conditions under the hood.
A person will become airsick sooner in a two seater aircraft than compared
to a four seater.

People that go on adventure rides at amusement parks, don't get airsick
at all. That could be a method for a person to increase their resistance
to motion sickness, by going on rides at amusement centres that they're most comfortable with.

[davidash]

I had not had a problem and I think it was after a bout of 'flu. The physio really helped. I was given a drug called Stugeron to prevent the nausea.

[cats_five]

Stugeron is yet another drug with a 'may cause drowsiness' warning.

[Bus429]

Air sickness must be horrible but something I've never experienced (other than being ill on board with stomach upset). However, get me on a boat or ship and I have to be outside looking at the horizon.