motion sickness

[cliff]

So I have been racing for 25-30 years and never had a motion sickness issue...until this weekend. It hit me out of the blue 15 minutes into a race...no other traffic or cars around, I was just pounding out laps. I had the same result trying a high end simulator a few years ago, made it about 2 laps and had to get up immediately. Anyone have that happen and then what did you do...? Does over-the-counter stuff work?
I am hoping this was just some allergy side effect but I am really at a loss as to what happened. Any input appreciated. Thank You!

[DaveW]

I've never had motion sickness, but I have had infrequent dizziness/balance issues as a result of plugged-up ear canals due to allergies. Did your ears or hearing feel strange?

[DanW]

With such a sudden change like that, consider talking to your doc. He may recommend an ear, nose, throat specialist.

[Purple Frog]

Did you relax a bit and rest your head on the headrest? That can do it. Also, dehydration... Just saying.
New helmet, with different visor?
Wouldn't hurt to get an eye checkup. But like Dave said, could be blocked ear canals.

Simulators are a different beast. The physical feedback to your body may not match what you are seeing on the screen, causing sub-concious confusion. OBTW, I didn't sleep in a Holiday Inn last night.

[EYERACE]

Hmmmm............
Complex issue you bring up. What RX meds do you take?....OTC meds?...OTC supplements?....what time of day was it? ...how well had you slept? ...do you take anything to help you sleep? ...had you eaten breakfast? ....drank what with breakfast? ....on track how soon after last meal? ...how much alcohol did you have the night before? ....how's your blood pressure? .....were you tying that proverbial string around your bladder but went out on track anyway (because that in and of itself can mess with your BP) ......did you check your pulse when this was happening? ....when was the last time your blood sugar was checked? Ok, it happened this weekend.....when was the last time you were out on track?
Here we go...........
Sorry........................can't resist.................if you were dizzy.......are you blonde?

[E1pix]

I couldn’t agree more with what Dave and Purple Frog said above.


I’m not a doctor, but have done a lifetime of research on practical physiology, and self-healing in dozens of cases. Many of those were 30 miles from the car in the mountains, though my racing has been limited to lots of karting.


I see the effects of altitude sickness as pretty tightly connected with lots of daily health afflictions, with its primary trigger to be dehydration mixed with blood sugar levels, salt levels, and even sleep quality the night before. The correlation to what you described is simply that less oxygen magnifies symptoms as compared to sea level.

Some triggers I’ve experienced high or low...

1). Was it hotter than you’re used to, did you feel absolutely 100% on the pregrid?
— dehydration, for me I can diagnose that when the center of my vision almost looks like faint, “rotating capsules” Did your vision do that on-track?


2). Any sense at all of a tight neck or shoulders, had you slept with your normal pillows?
— It’s amazing how blood flow to the brain can be impinged by even unnoticeable neck tightness. Chiropractic is the easy fix.


3). Did you eat anything that was hard to digest?
— heavy foods, including meat or bread, can overtax digestion when that energy is needed for circulatory efficiency under racing stresses, though mostly inconsequential with a normal heart rate out of the car


4). Was the dizziness like whiting out somewhat (possible dehydration or lack of salt), or as if your vision was turning to one side or another?
— vertigo, if so see “Epley’s Maneuver.” If me, I’d do the Maneuver anyway to rule out vertigo... if you do have trapped salt crystals in an inner ear, the Maneuver will make you dizzy but only when head is turned to one side.


5). Is your normal heart rate “within spec” for your age, are you generally fit and active?
— even if so, any lengthy and substantial rise in heart rate can starve you of oxygen when the body’s stressed, even if otherwise perfectly healthy.


Personally, I would consider and eliminate all of the above way before I’d ask a doctor to pretend he knows you better than you do. Drugs would be my last option, I’m no test dummy.


Best of Luck!

[douglap1]

So I have been racing for 25-30 years and never had a motion sickness issue...until this weekend. It hit me out of the blue 15 minutes into a race...no other traffic or cars around, I was just pounding out laps. I had the same result trying a high end simulator a few years ago, made it about 2 laps and had to get up immediately. Anyone have that happen and then what did you do...? Does over-the-counter stuff work?
I am hoping this was just some allergy side effect but I am really at a loss as to what happened. Any input appreciated. Thank You!

All good advice by others here. I will add one potential cause that has a large effect on me: If I try to drive or fly anything on a completely empty stomach, I get a very quezzy (not dizzy, just a quezzy sick feeling). So, I always try to eat something light within an hour or so of driving or flying, and that works every time with me. Hope that helps...

[Brian Graham]

I never had any issue with motion sickness over a span of a few decades or more.....then one day when just lapping in my street car I felt car sick a few laps in. I had not been in a car in quite some time and a year later went to the Glen for a vintage FF race, my first race in years and about 3 laps in, same thing. When I talked to my friend, he said it was something he had been dealing with for years and simply takes some gravol about an hour before driving and it took any motion sickness away. Now, there is some non drowsiness gravol that I keep in with me for race weekends and don't have an issue. Everyone is different but I wanted to share what I experienced as maybe it will help someone.

Brian.

[Extreme1]

I get it sometimes and wear the wristbands. Amazon has them for $7.

[DaveW]

... When I talked to my friend, he said it was something he had been dealing with for years and simply takes some gravel about an hour before driving and it took any motion sickness away. Now, there is some non drowsiness gravel that I keep in with me for race weekends and don't have an issue...

What's "gravel" in this context? Here it's small stones one puts on roads or driveways.

[John Nesbitt]

What's "gravel" in this context? Here it's small stones one puts on roads or driveways.

Gravol

[DaveW]

Gravol

AHA...I never heard of it before.

[FVRacer21]

AHA...I never heard of it before.

Bet you have:

"What is Gravol called in the US?
Dimenhydrinate (marketed as Gravol in Canada and Dramamine in the United Kingdom and the United States) is an over-the-counter (OTC) antihistamine indicated for the prevention and relief of nausea and vomiting from a number of causes. It is an H1 receptor antagonist that demonstrates anticholinergic activity."

I have been fighting this for a few weeks and my doctor thinks it is an allergic reaction to the pollen falling out of the sky like a blizzard here in NE.

They have me on meclizine (Antivert) which seems to have calmed it down. Some drowsiness at times but not bad. Still, I am going to head to the local indoor kart track before I hit the racetrack. I want no surprises.

Also making a appt with my eye doctor - noticed my prescriptions are not right for reading and computers anymore (did change to a new larger monitor - typing on a little laptop (or phone ) doesn't help anything.

I like all the items listed by E1pix as it seems never to be just one thing. One doctor I saw was not a fan of the "maneuvers" but did admit it helped some people. She said to try sleeping in a chair for a few days.

Yes you can get dehydrated in the winter - especially up north with the heat blasting.

For Cliff the suddenness is a concern. Hope it is nothing, but seeing a doctor is prudent.

ChrisZ

[Farrout48]

Had motion sickness as a kid but it started showing up when I instructed in right seat in my 50s. Then it got worse in my DSR/P2. Simple solution was good hydration and Dramamine. Took one pill the night before being on track and then one in the morning. If it reappeared in the morning sessions, took another pill at noon.

[mark elder]

Lets assume that a visit to a professional rules out anything serious.

Then one option is to ask a Rally driver co-pilot what they do. They have to read a map and look up and down yet have no steering wheel to hold. How any of them do their job for hours at a time beggars believe.

The other is this
https://paihiapharmacy.co.nz/paihia-bombs/
The actual recipe is on the link; everyone out of New Zealand will have to do some homework to reproduce it. This stuff has been worked out over the last 20 years for sea sickness and motion sickness. Its what our rally drivers use. I have used it. It is magic.

The other option is ginger; see Mythbusters episode 43. If it was me, I would use the standardised ginger tablets from Pharmacy's.

Just my 2 cents worth.

[pacratt]

So many possible causes or contributing factors.
For me there are several...the primary being visual...I actually get sick in simulated-motion rides where the primary cue is video.
At "roller coaster" tracks like Grattan, I do a steady intake of Bonine (1/2 pill every 4-6 hours) the entire weekend.
Hydration is also crucial but must be water. Excessive sports drinks can OVERLOAD you with sodium & electrolytes which will actually lead to DEHYDRATION.
All of that said, because yours came on suddenly & unexpected, I would consult your physician and try piecing together everything from that day/weekend that could have contributed.
Best to you.
Glenn

[EYERACE]

Yo Cliff.........PM me........I'm sure you'd rather not discuss your Med. history in Public

[Charles Warner]

BONINE.

Take one pill the day before the event, and one pill the morning of each race day.

You my simply be getting older.

[E1pix]

Yo Cliff.........PM me........I'm sure you'd rather not discuss your Med. history in Public

Except nobody asked him to.

Instead, comrades with collective centuries of living answered a stranger asking for practical experiences. Maybe the best use of the web with no BS, no profit, no conflicts of interest — and we obviously all wish Cliff the best.

[cliff]

i assume this is no big deal, aging, possibly not enough water, alergies or something like that. Driving around a track with nothing to do or look at or condentrate on as no other cars in the class or cars running similar times...the ol' mind can wander. Doing this for 30+ years off and on with food poisoning, sun-burned, hung over, belly full of chili dogs, no sleep etc, you name it and nothing like this has ever happened. I will get with my Dr and see if something draws his attention. Thanks for the input all!

[Jim Edmonds]

A decade or two ago the BMW Club driving schools used to teach passengers not to use a linear change in their eye's focus. Instead to focus on one spot, then shift focus to another spot around the track, and then again shift . . . . etc.
i.e. Don't "sweep" your focus.

The hypothesis was that the smooth movement of the eyes, along with harsh change in g forces, confuses the mind's interpretation of the ear's balance. I've recommended the shifting focus tactic and have seen it work many, many times . . . . for passengers.

I've never seen it work on simulators.

Additionally, as we age it is common to have temporary dizziness if the ear is "upset". I've had that and was told to wait a few weeks and it would heal. That worked. I wouldn't have driven a race car or race bike with that condition. Of course, everyone's driving on the Phoenix freeways is crazy, so one's erratic driving with the condition, wouldn't have been noticed here.

YMMV,

Have fun,

Jim Edmonds
Phoenix, AZ

[Steve Demeter]

I used to get terribly seasick whenever I went on a dive boat.

This is great stuff but be darn careful of the side effects.

Report from Cleveland Clinic


https://my.clevelandclinic.org/healt...e-skin-patches


You need a prescription from your DR.

[Scotty Segers]

Bifocal-progressive glasses will cause motion sickness. Got single vison glasses now no issue.
don’t know if you are wearing glasses these days it thought I would throw it out there

[EYERACE]

Bifocal-progressive glasses will cause motion sickness. Got single vison glasses now no issue.
don’t know if you are wearing glasses these days it thought I would throw it out there

Good point Scotty - happens to people with such lenses by just walking much less in a car at speed.