What are motion sickness glasses?
They’re googly-eyed glasses with two holes for looking out of and two holes on the sides of each eye. The holes on the sides keep the wearer’s peripheral vision from becoming sensitive to motion, which is often what causes dizziness and sickness. However, these motion sickness glasses do not have lenses. They instead use a leveling liquid to resynchronize their eyes as they move.
They aren’t gaining popularity on social media for being fashionable, but they are extremely useful items to keep in the car at all times.
The goggles, like any good pair of glasses, came with a storage pouch for safe travel. They’re pleasantly bendy, which makes sense given that they’re design to stretch and fit most adults, teens, and even children. After a few minutes of fiddling with them, I found the perfect fit.
How motion sickness glasses work
The ridiculous shape of these glasses has a scientific explanation. “The liquid in the bottom of the rings will move with the motion of the vehicle, so it should make the eyes and ears ‘agree’ regarding sensory input,” says Dr. Fiorito. The shifting liquid at the bottom of the lenses creates a moving horizon line rather than a stable one like a phone screen or part of the vehicle.
Furthermore, according to Dr. Fiorito, there are two lenses in front and one on each side, which accounts for peripheral and central vision. You must be able to see the artificial horizon line for this to work. When you wear the glasses, the bottom of the lenses is just in your field of vision, giving you the unpleasant sensation that you have a smear in your glasses that you can’t clean.
How we put the motion sickness glasses to the test
I tried two things to put these specs to the test: preventing motion sickness while riding in a car and preventing dizziness and nausea while reading in a car. Fortunately, I had a two-hour road trip planned, so I knew I’d have plenty of opportunities to test them out.
I threw on my eccentric goggles and relaxed—though it was difficult to truly relax as my road trip companions laughed at how ridiculous I looked.
It was time to put the glasses through their paces while reading and browsing my phone after a solid 30 minutes of resting in the car. While I don’t get motion sickness from riding in a car or boat, any time I pull out a book, it’s game over, so I knew this would be the ultimate test.
How Motion Sickness Glasses Are Effective?
Although the Citroen website claims that its motion sickness glasses have cured up to 95 percent of cases in preliminary tests, there is no published research to back up those claims at this time.
However, there is some evidence that prism glasses, which are specially design to correct double vision in people, may be effective against motion sickness.
According to one study conducted in 1998, an unexpected side effect of the prism glasses was that children who are normally sensitive to motion felt less sick and threw up less when they wore them. The children’s symptoms returned as soon as they removed the glasses.
However, as with many remedies for seasickness and motion sickness, what works for one person may not work for another. It’s also possible that the glasses will work for land travel but will be less effective on a ship.
What Causes Motion Sickness?
Motion is detected in your body via the nervous system’s various pathways. These pathways include your inner ear, eyes, and body tissue. When you intentionally move, such as walking or running, your inner ear, eyes, and other pathways all work together.
Motion sickness occurs when your central nervous system receives contradictory messages from your sensory systems. These systems include the inner ear, eyes, skin pressure receptors, and muscle and joint receptors.
When you’re driving, your ears may detect movement from the car (such as up, down, left, or right), but your eyes see a static image as if they’re not moving. Motion sickness, according to experts, is cause by these competing senses.
How to Treatment of Motion Sickness?
It is estimated that one out of every three people has experienced motion sickness at some point in their lives. In the last five years, up to 46% of passengers have reported some level of car sickness while driving.
Nonmedical remedies such as acupressure bands or ginger candies. As well as choosing your destination when traveling, are good first line of defense. According to Dr. Natascha Tuznik, an infectious disease specialist at the University of California, Davis.
Tuznik stated, “Location is important.” “For example, if you’re on a boat, they recommend avoiding the upper decks. Try sitting in the front seat of a car. If you’re flying, look for a seat that’s over the front edge of the wing.
Acupressure bands help some of Kornrich’s patients, while Dramamine, a popular over-the-counter motion sickness medication, helps others. (The generic name for Dramamine is dimenhydrinate.) However, Dramamine is an antihistamine that frequently causes drowsiness, even in this “less drowsy” formulation (I can confirm). He has also prescribed a scopolamine-containing skin patch that can be worn for up to 72 hours. But it may cause skin irritation, headaches, and dizziness.
In general, if you go the medicinal route while taking other medications, you must be cautious of drug interactions.
Motion sickness is unquestionably an ailment that requires more effective treatment, but medical treatments have advantages and disadvantages. Could these car sickness glasses be the cure-all?
What is the best way to avoid motion sickness?
There is no permanent cure for motion sickness. But you can alleviate its symptoms or eliminate them entirely with the help of your doctor, according to Dr. Lee.
If you want to avoid wearing glasses, there are several alternatives. The most effective of which are medications such as scopolamine patches or antihistamines. “In general, medications are most helpful for those who have prominent symptoms,” Dr. Strachan says.
Scopolamine skin patches, which require a prescription from your doctor, are applied behind your ear at least four hours before travel. Over-the-counter antihistamines, such as dimenhydrinate (Dramamine) or meclizine, are also effective treatments. These should be taken 30 minutes to an hour before departure. However, both scopolamine and antihistamines can cause drowsiness and sedation. According to Dr. Strachan, so it’s best to avoid these options if you’re driving or traveling alone for extended periods of time.
The bottom line
Motion sickness is a common reaction to traveling in a moving vehicle, such as a boat, train, airplane, or automobile. Typical symptoms include dizziness, nausea, vomiting, and excessive sweating.
Eyeglasses designed to prevent motion sickness have recently hit the market. They claim to be able to create a false horizon using liquid-filled tubes in the glasses’ rims or strobing lights embedded in the lenses.
There hasn’t been any published research to back up the effectiveness of these glasses.
OTC medications, scopolamine patches, ginger, and vitamin C supplements are also options for motion sickness.
Sitting in the front seat, facing forward, and not reading while driving may also help reduce the gap between your eyes and brain, and thus your motion sickness symptoms.
