Why Can Certain Smells Make Motion Sickness Feel Worse?

Motion sickness can turn an otherwise enjoyable trip into an uncomfortable experience. Whether you’re riding in a car, flying on an airplane, traveling by boat, or taking a bus through winding roads, symptoms such as nausea, dizziness, sweating, and stomach discomfort can quickly become distracting. While movement itself is the primary trigger, travelers may notice that certain smells seem to make their symptoms feel even worse.

Strong perfume, gasoline fumes, food odors, air fresheners, cigarette smoke, and other noticeable scents can be especially unpleasant when you’re already beginning to feel nauseated. The smell may not be what originally caused the motion sickness, but it can add another uncomfortable sensation to an already sensitive situation.

Understanding the connection between smells and nausea can help you create a more comfortable environment the next time you travel.

Motion Sickness Starts With Conflicting Sensory Information

Motion sickness is commonly associated with a mismatch between the sensory information your brain receives.

Your inner ear plays an important role in detecting movement and maintaining balance. Your eyes also provide information about whether you are moving. When these signals don’t agree, your brain can have difficulty interpreting what is happening.

Imagine looking down at your phone while riding on a winding road. Your eyes see a screen that appears stationary, but your inner ear detects every curve, bump, acceleration, and stop. That conflicting information can contribute to motion sickness.

Once nausea begins, other environmental factors, including strong odors, may make the experience feel even more unpleasant.

Your Sense of Smell Is Closely Connected to Nausea

Smell has a powerful connection to the way we experience food, environments, memories, and physical sensations. When you’re already nauseated, odors that wouldn’t normally bother you can suddenly become difficult to tolerate.

Think about the difference between smelling a strong meal when you’re hungry and encountering that same smell when your stomach already feels unsettled. The odor hasn’t necessarily changed, but your reaction to it can be completely different.

During motion sickness, this heightened sensitivity can make enclosed vehicles particularly uncomfortable. A scent that seems mild to one passenger may feel overwhelming to someone who is already struggling with nausea.

Food Odors Can Become Overwhelming

Eating during a road trip is common, but strongly scented foods may not be ideal when someone in the vehicle is prone to motion sickness.

Greasy takeout, heavily seasoned snacks, fast food, and other foods with lingering aromas can fill a car quickly. Because the passenger can’t easily move away from the smell, it may become increasingly unpleasant as the trip continues.

This doesn’t mean travelers need to avoid eating altogether. Instead, consider lighter foods with relatively mild aromas if strong food smells tend to bother you. Eating before the trip rather than bringing a strongly scented meal into the vehicle can also help keep the environment more comfortable.

Perfume and Air Fresheners May Feel Stronger in a Vehicle

A fragrance that smells pleasant in an open room can seem much stronger inside a car.

Perfumes, colognes, scented lotions, hanging air fresheners, and fragrance sprays can accumulate in a relatively small enclosed space. If someone is already beginning to feel motion sick, those smells may become another source of discomfort.

Before a long drive, consider keeping fragrances relatively light, particularly if you know someone traveling with you is sensitive to motion sickness.

You don’t necessarily need the car to smell like anything. A clean, neutral environment may be much easier to tolerate.

Gasoline and Exhaust Odors Can Be Particularly Unpleasant

Fuel and exhaust smells are another concern during travel.

The brief smell of gasoline at a filling station may be enough to make someone with an unsettled stomach feel worse. If unusual fuel or exhaust odors persist inside a vehicle, however, they shouldn’t simply be treated as a motion sickness issue. Move to fresh air when safe and have the vehicle inspected, because persistent fumes can indicate a mechanical or exhaust problem.

Keeping the passenger area properly ventilated can help maintain a more comfortable environment during ordinary travel.

Fresh Air May Make the Ride Feel More Comfortable

When strong smells are contributing to discomfort, fresh air can be welcome.

Opening a window slightly when conditions allow or adjusting the vehicle’s ventilation can help move stale air and lingering odors out of the passenger compartment. Maintaining a comfortable temperature may also help, since a hot, stuffy vehicle can feel especially unpleasant when you’re nauseated.

If you’re on a longer road trip, taking occasional breaks can give everyone a chance to step outside, stretch, breathe fresh air, and recover before continuing.

Pay Attention to Your Personal Triggers

Not everyone responds to the same smells.

One person might be particularly bothered by perfume, while someone else finds food smells much more difficult to tolerate. Another traveler may notice that gasoline is the smell most likely to make an unsettled stomach feel worse.

If you frequently experience motion sickness, pay attention to what is happening when symptoms become more noticeable. Were you reading? Looking at your phone? Sitting in the back seat? Was the vehicle particularly warm? Did someone begin eating strongly scented food?

Identifying patterns can make it easier to prepare for future trips.

Reduce Multiple Triggers at the Same Time

One of the best ways to approach motion sickness is to think about the entire travel environment rather than focusing on a single factor.

If winding roads are already challenging for you, try not to combine them with several other potential sources of discomfort. Put away your phone, look toward the road ahead, keep the vehicle comfortably cool, minimize strong fragrances, and avoid unnecessary head movement.

You may not be able to control every curve in the road, but you can control many of the conditions inside the vehicle.

Prepare Before Your Trip Begins

If you already know that you are susceptible to motion sickness, planning ahead can be easier than waiting until symptoms become uncomfortable.

Jet-Avert® contains meclizine HCl 25 mg and is labeled for the prevention and treatment of nausea, vomiting, or dizziness associated with motion sickness. For adults and children 12 years and older, the product directions state that the first dose should be taken one hour before starting the activity. Always read and follow the complete Drug Facts label, including its directions and warnings.

Combining appropriate preparation with a comfortable travel environment can help you spend more time enjoying your trip and less time worrying about how you’ll feel along the way.

Make Your Next Trip More Comfortable

Certain smells aren’t necessarily the underlying cause of motion sickness, but they can make an already unsettled traveler feel considerably worse. Strong food aromas, perfumes, air fresheners, gasoline, smoke, and other noticeable odors may become especially unpleasant once nausea begins.

Keeping your travel environment fresh, cool, and relatively free of strong smells is a simple way to make the journey more comfortable. Pair that with looking ahead, limiting screen time, taking breaks when needed, and preparing for motion sickness before departure.

With a little planning, and Jet-Avert® when appropriate, you can focus less on what’s happening in your stomach and more on where the trip is taking you.