Family Road Travel

Evidence map

Motion sickness: what the evidence base looks like

25 publications, 11 of them trials and 8 syntheses. This page describes the shape of that literature rather than summarising its conclusions.

Updated 3 min read 25 citations

Passenger cars parked in tight lanes on a ferry's lower vehicle deck
Ulflarsen · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
What the evidence on motion sickness is made of Of 25 publications on this topic, the breakdown by study type: 8 meta-analysis, 11 randomised trial, 6 review. 8116meta-analysis (8)randomised trial (11)review (6)
25 publications, by study type. Volume is not strength — the same count can be a settled question or a pile of commentary, and which one it is depends almost entirely on this breakdown. Harvested from PubMed and Crossref; publication type as recorded by the source.

What this literature is made of

This is a well-developed evidence base: multiple syntheses sitting on a substantial body of trials. Questions here are usually about applicability rather than about whether an effect exists.

The distinction that matters most is between synthesis and primary research. A meta-analysis pools trials and is the closest thing to a settled answer a field produces. A narrative review is one group's reading of the same material and can be selective without being dishonest. Counting them together, which most citation counts do, obscures exactly the thing you want to know.

When the motion sickness literature was published Publication years for the 25 papers on this topic, grouped into bands from before 2015 through to 2023 onwards. Before 201513 papers2015-20195 papers2020-20224 papers2023 onwards3 papers
Still active. The most recent paper here is from 2025, so this is a field where an answer written today may not hold for long. Publication years as recorded by PubMed and Crossref.

How this page is built

Everything above is computed from the citations this site harvested from PubMed and Crossref, not written by hand. When the weekly harvest finds a new paper on this topic, these counts change and the characterisation changes with them. That is the point: a hand-written claim about how strong an evidence base is starts decaying the day it is written.

Publication type is taken as the source records it. That is imperfect — journals label inconsistently, and a paper indexed as a "review" may be a systematic one — so treat the bands as approximate. They are accurate enough to distinguish a trial literature from a commentary literature, which is the distinction that matters.

Compound microscope set up on a university laboratory bench
syed sajidul islam · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

The strongest work on this topic

Ordered by study design first, then recency. The full set is listed in the references below.

  1. Scopolamine for patients with motion sickness: a systematic review and meta-analysis with trial sequential analysis — Zhang YX, Niu XY, Xiao ZY et al., 2024, meta-analysis
  2. Update on PONV-What is new in prophylaxis and treatment of postoperative nausea and vomiting? : Summary of recent consensus recommendations and Cochrane reviews on prophylaxis and treatment of postoperative nausea and vomiting — Kienbaum P, Schaefer MS, Weibel S et al., 2022, meta-analysis
  3. Antihistamines for motion sickness — Karrim N, Byrne R, Magula N et al., 2022, systematic review
  4. Mal de debarquement syndrome: a systematic review — Van Ombergen A, Van Rompaey V, Maes LK et al., 2016, systematic review
  5. Scopolamine (hyoscine) for preventing and treating motion sickness — Spinks A, Wasiak J, 2011, meta-analysis
  6. Scopolamine (hyoscine) for preventing and treating motion sickness — Spinks AB, Wasiak J, Villanueva EV et al., 2007, systematic review
  7. Scopolamine for preventing and treating motion sickness — Spinks AB, Wasiak J, Villanueva EV et al., 2004, systematic review
  8. Statement on motion sickness — Unattributed, 2003, clinical guideline
  9. A comparison of virtual reality and verbal imaginal exposure for childhood anxiety disorders — Biggs BK, Whiteside SPH, Knutson M et al., 2025, randomised controlled trial
  10. Virtual reality application matches the most established treatment for Mal de Debarquement Syndrome: A non-inferiority, randomized, open clinical trial — Schoenmaekers C, De Smet D, Deblieck C et al., 2024, randomised controlled trial
How much research is there on motion sickness?
25 publications are indexed here, of which 11 are trials and 8 are syntheses.
Does more research mean a stronger conclusion?
No. Composition matters more than volume — five randomised trials support a claim far better than fifty commentaries, and citation counts do not distinguish between them.
How current is this?
The most recent paper indexed here is from 2025. The set is refreshed weekly from PubMed and Crossref.
Why does this page not tell me the answer?
Because summarising a literature into a conclusion requires reading it, and doing that automatically is how confident nonsense gets published. This page tells you how much weight a conclusion could bear; the articles on this site do the interpreting.

References

Every citation below links to the original peer-reviewed record on PubMed or via DOI. Nothing here is a substitute for medical advice.

  1. Scopolamine for patients with motion sickness: a systematic review and meta-analysis with trial sequential analysis Zhang YX, Niu XY, Xiao ZY, et al. · Acta oto-laryngologica · 2024 · Meta-analysis DOIPubMed 39225593
  2. Antihistamines for motion sickness Karrim N, Byrne R, Magula N, et al. · The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2022 · Systematic review DOIPubMed 36250781Full text
  3. [Update on PONV-What is new in prophylaxis and treatment of postoperative nausea and vomiting? : Summary of recent consensus recommendations and Cochrane reviews on prophylaxis and treatment of postoperative nausea and vomiting] Kienbaum P, Schaefer MS, Weibel S, et al. · Der Anaesthesist · 2022 · Meta-analysis DOIPubMed 34596699
  4. Mal de debarquement syndrome: a systematic review Van Ombergen A, Van Rompaey V, Maes LK, et al. · Journal of neurology · 2016 · Systematic review DOIPubMed 26559820Full text
  5. Scopolamine (hyoscine) for preventing and treating motion sickness Spinks A, Wasiak J · The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2011 · Meta-analysis DOIPubMed 21678338Full text
  6. Scopolamine (hyoscine) for preventing and treating motion sickness Spinks AB, Wasiak J, Villanueva EV, et al. · The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2007 · Systematic review DOIPubMed 17636710
  7. Scopolamine for preventing and treating motion sickness Spinks AB, Wasiak J, Villanueva EV, et al. · The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2004 · Systematic review DOIPubMed 15266468
  8. Statement on motion sickness Canada communicable disease report = Releve des maladies transmissibles au Canada · 2003 · Clinical guideline PubMed 14655530
  9. A comparison of virtual reality and verbal imaginal exposure for childhood anxiety disorders Biggs BK, Whiteside SPH, Knutson M, et al. · Journal of anxiety disorders · 2025 · Randomised controlled trial DOIPubMed 39879857Full text
  10. Virtual reality application matches the most established treatment for Mal de Debarquement Syndrome: A non-inferiority, randomized, open clinical trial Schoenmaekers C, De Smet D, Deblieck C, et al. · Neurotherapeutics : the journal of the American Society for Experimental NeuroTherapeutics · 2024 · Randomised controlled trial DOIPubMed 38942708Full text
  11. Double-blind randomized N-of-1 trial of transcranial alternating current stimulation for mal de débarquement syndrome Cha YH, Gleghorn D, Doudican BC · PloS one · 2022 · Randomised controlled trial DOIPubMed 35120184Full text
  12. Double-Blind Sham-Controlled Crossover Trial of Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation for Mal de Debarquement Syndrome Cha YH, Deblieck C, Wu AD · Otology & neurotology : official publication of the American Otological Society, American Neurotology Society [and] European Academy of Otology and Neurotology · 2016 · Randomised controlled trial DOIPubMed 27176615Full text
  13. A comparison of cinnarizine and transdermal scopolamine for the prevention of seasickness in naval crew: a double-blind, randomized, crossover study Gil A, Nachum Z, Tal D, et al. · Clinical neuropharmacology · 2012 · Randomised controlled trial DOIPubMed 22139622
  14. Incidence of vomiting in susceptible children under regional analgesia with two different anaesthetic techniques Sarti A, Busoni P, Dell'Oste C, et al. · Paediatric anaesthesia · 2004 · Randomised controlled trial DOIPubMed 14996265
  15. Chlorpheniramine for motion sickness Buckey JC, Alvarenga D, Cole B, et al. · Journal of vestibular research : equilibrium & orientation · 2004 · Randomised controlled trial PubMed 15156097
  16. A comparison of cyclizine, ondansetron and placebo as prophylaxis against postoperative nausea and vomiting in children O'Brien CM, Titley G, Whitehurst P · Anaesthesia · 2003 · Randomised controlled trial DOIPubMed 12886917
  17. Effect of timing of ondansetron administration on incidence of postoperative vomiting in paediatric strabismus surgery Madan R, Perumal T, Subramaniam K, et al. · Anaesthesia and intensive care · 2000 · Randomised controlled trial DOIPubMed 10701032
  18. Prophylactic therapy with combined granisetron and dexamethasone for the prevention of post-operative vomiting in children Fujii Y, Saitoh Y, Tanaka H, et al. · European journal of anaesthesiology · 1999 · Randomised controlled trial DOIPubMed 10434165
  19. Prevention of postoperative vomiting with granisetron in paediatric patients with and without a history of motion sickness Fujii Y, Saitoh Y, Tanaka H, et al. · Paediatric anaesthesia · 1999 · Randomised controlled trial DOIPubMed 10597557
  20. Chronic Dizziness Cha YH · Continuum (Minneapolis, Minn.) · 2021 · Review DOIPubMed 34351113
  21. Advice for travelers The Medical letter on drugs and therapeutics · 2019 · Review PubMed 31599872
  22. The Neurophysiology and Treatment of Motion Sickness Koch A, Cascorbi I, Westhofen M, et al. · Deutsches Arzteblatt international · 2018 · Review DOIPubMed 30406755Full text
  23. Self-driving carsickness Diels C, Bos JE · Applied ergonomics · 2016 · Review DOIPubMed 26446454
  24. [Seasickness] Petersen H · Laeknabladid · 2012 · Review DOIPubMed 23232725
  25. [Kinetoses] Schmäl F, Stoll W · HNO · 2000 · Review DOIPubMed 10872114