10 October 2002: More than three in four travellers says they have suffered from carsickness, according to a survey conducted by the RAC. And the study found that significant numbers of 'forgotten' fellow travellers are going to extreme lengths to avoid the journey into nausea.

There are several things they can do to avoid the trauma. Medical opinion estimates that motion sickness affects up to 80% of people at some time. This is most common when people are travelling by car, air or sea.

And passengers are far more likely to have experienced nausea than drivers, with only 20% of the latter feeling queasy behind the wheel.

Those surveyed revealed they have been so severely affected they have resorted to strange methods to cope.

These include:
*Travelling 450 miles in the winter with the car windows wide open;
*Avoiding journeys on motorways so they could stop every 10 minutes;
*Never travelling anywhere that involved using bendy roads;
*Always wearing sunglasses - even in rain and snow;
*Fasting for 24 hours before journeys, chewing liquorice or sucking sticks of celery, or breathing through a handkerchief soaked in lavender water.

For many people the comfort and convenience of car travel is diminished by the dreadful nausea that they can experience, according to Sue Nicholson, head of campaigns for the RAC Foundation.

Dr Tony Lavelle, the RAC Foundation's consultation general practitioner, says the worst scenario for suffering travel sickness is when the passenger experiences the combination of increased vehicle movement with restricted forward vision - a bendy road sitting in the back of a car.

“So it's best to always look out of the car, preferably forwards, to allow the eyes to focus into the distance to help stabilise the balance mechanism,” he says

He added that acupressure such as using bands on the wrist or arm has been shown in research to decrease the symptoms of motion sickness and stomach contractions. “This is very effective compared with oral medication which can cause drowsiness in susceptible people.”