After reviewing Reliefband’s latest-gen wearable therapeutic neuromodulation device for sister publication Aviation Consumer magazine (March 2018), I started thinking more about motion sickness and whether I’ve done enough for the few passengers who lost their airport lunch in my cabin. The idea behind the Reliefband is to electrically stimulate the median nerve in the wrist, normalizing the messages within the central nervous system that travel from the brain to the stomach. While Reliefband’s $175 nerve zapper may work for some, I’m convinced that with airsickness, there’s as much mind game in play as there are physiological troubles. For the pilot in command, the key is awareness and preparedness. Once you recognize the passengers who fit the bill for ruining a new interior, there are things you can do to help and that includes getting into their head.
My grown daughter Ashley who has been flying in small cabins since she was an infant sometimes comes along as a camera hand when we do flight evaluations. If she knows it’s going to be a shakedown flight with stalls, unusual attitudes and riding the edge of Vne in rapid descents, her complexion literally turns a shade of green before even loading the camera gear into the cabin. Clearly, that’s a lot to ask of a passenger. But I’ve learned that once she’s immersed in shooting the footage—which is when her mind is not focused on puking in someone’s airplane—she’s reasonably chill. That tells me one plan of attack should be to keep passengers engaged in the flight. One old saw is to have them help spot traffic, but that won’t always work in IMC and it can also spark more wiggle-in-the-seat anxiety as they contemplate a midair. Instead, hand over an action cam and promise the passenger YouTube stardom. Airsick passengers might also have some things in common.
Recalling the ones that I’ve sickened, all seem to have at least some of the same personality traits: They’re anxious, rigid and generally unaccepting of risk. Moreover, all had motion sickness at one time or another, which likely led to their fear and anxiety of getting sick … again … in a little damned airplane. Interestingly, all were in excellent physical condition, with fast-moving digestion systems toned from intense exercise. An endurance athlete flying around with fewer intestinal organs than I was born with, I wonder if rapid digestion contributes to my general intolerance for aerobatics. I admit to wearing the Reliefband. If any docs care to weigh in on the theory, I’m all ears. So once you’ve identified your next victim, is the Reliefband’s therapeutic neuromodulation approach a sure remedy? Not exactly.
Reliefband says that its FDA-cleared (not FDA-approved—there is a difference) wearable device has an 80 to 85 percent efficacy rate. When I challenged the claims during my research the company lit up my inbox with the results of over 30 clinical studies on the effectiveness of simultaneous transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation. All concluded that motion sickness symptoms can be suppressed by portable acustimulation methods. For an overview of the device’s feature set, check out the evaluation video. Reliefband also pointed out that some of its research was conducted with U.S. military flight crews that drone along for hours and hours in the back of troop haulers, which isn’t exactly a smooth and lux ride.
An early-gen Reliefband has lived in my flight bag since the late 1990s and there haven’t been many flights that it hasn’t worked, but I’ll always wonder if users escape sickness simply because they know they’re wearing it. Few find the device pleasant to wear. My wife finds its nerve pulses less than comfortable and others seem to concur.
“I have to grit my teeth when initially adjusting the device’s shock level. It’s a bit like taking a nasty-tasting medicine, but you do it because you know the medicine will make you feel better,” Karen Durden told me during my research. She uses the device when flying in airliners and in small aircraft cabins and is convinced that its relief benefits outweigh the displeasure of the shock. She has even passed it around to other motion-sick passengers in airline cabins and says it has worked on them. A Bonanza owner at the local airfield told me his wife won’t get in the airplane without the device and has driven the 25 miles back home to get it when she forgot to bring it. My doctor uses it for passengers on his sailboat with success. Is there some placebo in play here? Maybe, and that’s ok.
If you aren’t a believer in shock therapy, there are a few drug-free remedies to try, including the familiar over-the-counter meds that come with side effects. Then there’s the sniffer. I had Sporty’s (which also sells the Reliefband) send me the QueaseEase product, which is a $10 recipe of essential oils including ginger, peppermint, spearmint and lavender. The concoction is stored in a cylinder with a twist cap that releases the scent. QueaseEase says the molecules from the inhaled oil scent travel to the central nervous system where they disrupt the queasiness cycle. It freshens the nostrils, but I’ve found that’s about it. Another remedy that might help, if the airplane is equipped, is breathing supplemental oxygen. And of course, pressurized cabins are the ultimate in civilized passenger comfort.
A good plan is to keep passengers sitting upright in their seats (and seated in the forward-facing seats in club-configured interiors) with barf bags close at hand. I once irresponsibly neglected to equip the cabin with bags and learned a valuable lesson when a passenger lost it in her lap. Since motion sickness is partly sensory overload as the fluids in the ear canal move, slouching over with the head out of the upright position might send a sick passenger over the edge. Years ago while motoring through the busy New York Class B in wicked turbulence, a rear seater tried to fight off motion sickness by resting her head 90 degrees on the aircraft’s sidewall. She soon lost the battle and decorated the Mooney’s new interior with a Subway six-inch.
To me, the surprise of dealing with a motion-sick passenger is a lot like dealing with a cabin door that opens on takeoff. It’s not necessarily a safety of flight issue, but the drama is distracting enough to send your workload off the rails if you let it. Comment if there’s a remedy or plan that’s worked for you so that others can benefit. Motion sickness might not be all about mind games, but with the right mindset and game plan I’m convinced for some it can be easily avoided without strapping on a pricey wearable device.
See the video hereat
https://www.avweb.com/videos/Video-Reliefband-20-230330-1.html
