Bewegingsziekten in beweging

• Motion sickness is not a disorder, but a normal response to a non-normal situation in which movement plays a central role, such as car travel, sailing, flying, or virtual reality.
• Almost anyone can suffer from motion sickness, as long as at least one of the organs of balance functions. If neither of the organs of balance functions the individual will not suffer from carsickness, seasickness, airsickness, nor from cybersickness.
• ‘Cybersickness’ is a form of motion sickness that is stimulated by artificial moving images such as in videogames. Because we are now exposed more often and for longer periods of time to increasingly realistic artificial images, doctors will also encounter cases of motion sickness more often.
• The basis for motion sickness is the vestibular system, which can be modulated by visual-vestibular conflicts, i.e. when the movements seen by the eyes are not the same as those experienced by the organs of balance.
• Antihistamines can be effective against motion sickness in everyday situations such as car travel if taken before departure, but the effectiveness of medication for motion sickness is limited.

Conflict of interest and financial support: potential conflicts of interest have been reported for this article. ICMJE forms provided by the authors are available online along with the full text of this article.