Do you or a family member struggle with severe motion sickness or car sickness? Symptoms may include nausea, vomiting, headaches, drowsiness and cold sweating. Extreme and/or reoccuring car sickness can prevent a person from performing the regular duties of the day. It is extremely uncomfortable and inconvenient. There are cases where chronic car sickness can be related to vision problems.

Vision Problems and Car Sickness

If you are unconsiously experiencing functional visual problems–such as difficulty with eye teaming, eye focusing or eye movement–your brain will receive incorrect visual signals. The mind’s ability to orient itself is governed by three systems. Proprioception (neurons in the body), the vestibular system (balancing instruments in the inner ear), and vision all combine to give your mind a sense of position. The problem is that often times when inside a moving car, there is a mismatch between what our vision and vestibular systems are telling the brain. This disparity confuses the brain and so in response, it makes us feel nauseated. By making us feel sick to our stomach, the brain hopes that we’ll lay down so it can get control of the situation.

How Can Vision Therapy Combat Car Sickness?

Amazingly, vision therapy teaches the brain how to better cope with these issues that cause car sickness. Similar to how physical therapy trains and strengthens muscles in the body, vision therapy uses exercises and activities to train the muscles in the eye and brain. This training can help recallibrate the senses and prevent conflicting information in the brain.

Children, Vision Problems and Car Sickness

Children that struggle with car sickness can experience extreme nausea and even throw up as a result of even short bouts in a car. This can prevent a family from traveling or taking their child to regular activities. Vision therapy is great for children because the exercises often resemble games and challenges that they enjoy. Young patients have shown extreme decline in car sickness after only a few weeks of vision therapy. This can be life changing for a family.

Strengthening the coordination between your vision and your other two balancing systems can potentially “heal” you or a loved one from the tendency to get motion sick. If this sounds like you or someone you love, give us a call. We’d love to explore how vision therapy can help your family.