Upset Stomach Prevention and Recovery

One of the benefits of being a pilot is never again having to deal with motion sickness.

Well, that's what I thought would happen when I was thinking about learning to fly. In reality, motion sickness can strike any of us without warning — even seasoned vets.

• Over 25% of airline pilots have experienced motion sickness.
• Heck, 50% of all astronauts vomit upon arrival in orbit.

Motion sickness begins with faster breathing, cold sweats, dizziness—I won’t go on because we all know what happens in the final act. Symptoms progress rapidly. And as if being green around the gills isn’t bad enough, fear and anxiety set in, aggravating the condition. It can be risky if you’re the pilot in command.

Sure, you'll gradually adjust to the motion that triggered the symptoms and start feeling better, just like you did as a student pilot. But even high-hour pilots can't fend off all nausea, headaches, or discomfort during every long, hot, bumpy flight in a Cherokee performing its rendition of NASA’s Vomit Comet.

So, what’s a pilot to do?  

Unfortunately, most medications marketed for motion sickness are off the table. They contain depressants prohibited by the FAA.

But AOPA lists several preflight steps you can take.

• Drink ginger tea.
• Wear a Sea Band™ to put light pressure on the median nerve in your wrist. Or you can opt for a Relief Band™, which uses an imperceptible electrical current instead of pressure.
• Don’t starve yourself before flying. Hunger can become a risk factor, and contrary to popular belief, having something in your stomach doesn't cause motion sickness. You might want to be particular about what and how much you eat, but don't skip a meal altogether.

However, if all the tea and wristbands in the world don't stop the onset of motion sickness, there are a few ways to prevent it from becoming a more significant risk factor on the flight deck.

Understand and tell yourself what’s happening. 
When you get motion sickness, an ancient part of your brain is unhappy because your inner ear is sending signals that conflict with what your eyes are telling you. For some reason, your brain decides to punish your stomach for this. Being conscious of that mechanism can help minimize its effects.

Take several slow breaths.
Deep breaths might not be a great idea if you’re on the edge of a technicolor yawn, but slow, regular breaths will calm your mind and body, bringing you back from the brink.

Focus on the tasks at hand.
Distract your mind from your queasy quagmire with your responsibilities as PIC. But maybe slow those flows down a tad.

Open the vents, and throw on an oxygen mask/cannula if you have one. 
Sorry for saying “throw.”

There’s also a specific maneuver that abates nagging nausea nearly 100% of the time. It’s called “landing," and you're allowed to do it at an alternate if you think it's the right call.

You’re human. Even if you’ve racked up thousands of hours flying an Ercoupe through monsoons, sometimes you can’t fly clear of a popup chunder-storm (sorry). An occasional bout of motion sickness goes with being a pilot. Accordingly, so does having a plan when it rears its ugly head.

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