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Motion sickness

Last reviewed: 7 Sep 2025
Last updated: 02 Jan 2025

Summary

Definition

History and exam

Key diagnostic factors

  • motion stimulus for symptoms
  • epigastric discomfort
  • nausea
  • headache
  • vomiting
Full details

Other diagnostic factors

  • cold sweating
  • dry mouth
  • dizziness
  • yawning and sleepiness
  • pallor
  • unsteadiness and incoordination
Full details

Risk factors

  • childhood age
  • female sex
  • Asian ancestry
  • family history of motion sickness
  • history of migraine
  • vestibulopathy
  • visual disorder
  • smoking
  • spatial disorientation and space-motion discomfort syndromes
  • hormonal factors
  • unpleasant odors/sight or smell of vomit
  • conflicting sensory inputs (e.g., reading in car, tilting trains)
  • psychological factors
  • spatially loaded concurrent tasks
  • neurologic disorder
Full details

Diagnostic tests

1st tests to order

  • clinical diagnosis
Full details

Treatment algorithm

ACUTE

anticipated motion sickness

unanticipated motion sickness

ONGOING

known susceptibility

Contributors

Authors

Amir Kheradmand, MD

Associate Professor

Department of Neurology, Neuroscience, Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, and Laboratory for Computational Sensing and Robotics (LCSR)

John Hopkins University School of Medicine

Baltimore

MD

Declarações

AK is the author of references cited in this topic.

Qadeer Arshad, PhD

Associate Professor

inAmind Laboratory, College of Life Sciences

University of Leicester

UK

Declarações

QA is the author of references cited in this topic.

Agradecimentos

Dr Amir Kheradmand and Dr Qadeer Arshad would like to gratefully acknowledge Dr Kenneth L. Koch and Dr Michael A. Gresty, the previous contributors to this topic.

Declarações

KLK and MAG are authors of several references cited in this topic.

Revisores

Alan J. Benson, MB, ChB

Visiting Consultant to the Royal Air Force Centre for Aviation Medicine

Royal Air Force Henlow

UK

Declarações

AJB declares that he has no competing interests.

David Andrew Green, PhD

Lecturer in Human Cardiorespiratory and Aerospace Physiology

Division of Applied Biomedical Research

Department of Physiology

King's College London

London

UK

Declarações

DAG declares that he has no competing interests.

Michael von Brevern, MD, PhD

Department of Neurology

Park-Klinik Weissensee

Berlin

Germany

Declarações

MVB declares that he has no competing interests.

Richard Lewis, MD

Associate Professor

Otolaryngology and Neurology

Harvard Medical School

Boston

MA

Declarações

RL declares that he has no competing interests.

Peer reviewer acknowledgements

BMJ Best Practice topics are updated on a rolling basis in line with developments in evidence and guidance. The peer reviewers listed here have reviewed the content at least once during the history of the topic.

Disclosures

Peer reviewer affiliations and disclosures pertain to the time of the review.

Referências

Nossas equipes internas de editoria e de evidências trabalham em conjunto com colaboradores internacionais especializados e pares revisores para garantir que forneçamos acesso às informações o mais clinicamente relevantes possível.

Principais artigos

Cha YH, Golding JF, Keshavarz B, et al. Motion sickness diagnostic criteria: consensus document of the Classification Committee of the Bárány Society. J Vestib Res. 2021;31(5):327-44.Texto completo  Resumo

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. CDC Yellow Book 2024: health information for international travel. Section 8: Travel by air, land & sea - motion sickness. May 2023 [internet publication].Texto completo

Spinks AB, Wasiak J. Scopolamine (hyoscine) for preventing and treating motion sickness. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2011;(6):CD002851.Texto completo  Resumo

Artigos de referência

Uma lista completa das fontes referenciadas neste tópico está disponível para os usuários com acesso total ao BMJ Best Practice.
  • Diagnósticos diferenciais

    • Migraine
    • Food poisoning
    • Acute vestibular disorder
    Mais Diagnósticos diferenciais
  • Diretrizes

    • CDC Yellow Book: health information for international travel - motion sickness
    • Motion sickness diagnostic criteria: consensus document of the Classification Committee of the Bárány Society
    Mais Diretrizes
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