If you have ever traveled long distances by air, land, or water, you may have experienced headaches during your journey. Although this condition is not typically dangerous, it can be uncomfortable. To find out what causes headaches while traveling, please read the following review.

Causes of eadaches on travel

Headaches during travel or travel headaches are usually experienced when traveling by air, but this condition can also occur when you travel by land or sea. Generally, this headache problem can be experienced when you travel long distances. The causes of headaches can vary, some are only temporary and will heal after arriving at your destination, but there are some conditions that require special treatment.

Causes of travel headaches include:

Changes in air pressure

According to Health, changes in air pressure during takeoff or landing can trigger headaches. Research shows two possible causes: changes in cabin pressure causing brain blood vessels to dilate, thereby reducing blood pressure in the brain, or changes in air pressure causing pressure on the tissue, triggering sinus barotrauma.

Motion sickness

Travel sickness is a common cause of headaches that occurs when the brain receives conflicting stimuli from the five senses. For instance, when you're traveling, your eyes may perceive the surrounding scenery as moving, while your body remains still. This difference in perception can lead to headaches.

Apart from headaches, motion sickness is also characterized by nausea, vomiting, dizziness, cold sweat, and restlessness. Travel sickness will usually subside when you arrive at your destination.

Read more: Is It True That Eating MSG Too Much Can Cause Headaches?

Stress 

During vacation, you can also face small stresses such as adjusting time to travel plans, busy packing clothes and luggage, or when travel plans do not match reality. This condition can also trigger headaches.

Dehydration

Headaches during travel can also be caused by dehydration. Headaches can occur on a mild or severe scale. For those of you who travel by air, low humidity in the aircraft cabin can also cause dehydration. This condition can immediately subside after you drink enough water.

Tension headaches

Sitting for a long time during a trip can trigger tension headaches. The headaches you experience usually involve dull pain, tightness, or pressure that feels like something is pressing on your skull.

Changed sleep schedule

When traveling long distances, you may experience changes in your sleep schedule due to changes in time zones. This headache can be felt during the trip or when you arrive at your destination.

Read more: Head Of Cluster Pain, What Causes It?

Overcoming headaches during travel

Headaches during travel will usually subside by themselves after the end of the trip. The best way to deal with headaches while traveling can be adjusted to the cause. If the cause is motion sickness, then several things you can do include:

• Sleeping or reducing body movements
• Focus only looks at one point
• Facing in the direction of the vehicle's speed
• Take medication for motion sickness
• Ensure the body remains hydrated

Meanwhile, if the cause of your headache is stress, you should do relaxation exercises such as breathing exercises or meditation and light stretching.

The causes of headaches while traveling can vary. If you need medical advice or consultation, you can either visit a doctor or make use of the consultation features that are available in the Ai Care application by downloading the Ai Care application from the App Store or Play Store.

Looking for more information about other diseases? Click here!