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Does ginger help motion sickness?

Maybe a little, but the evidence is thin and mixed. In 80 naval cadets at sea, 1 g of powdered ginger root cut vomiting and cold sweats compared with a placebo, yet in a lab trial of 28 volunteers ginger gave no protection while a scopolamine pill did (grade C). Antihistamines and scopolamine have stronger evidence. Ginger can upset the stomach and cause heartburn.

Last reviewed

How we grade evidenceEditorial policy

What the studies found

  • Grade C. Two small trials found a benefit. In 80 naval cadets in heavy seas, 1 g of powdered ginger root reduced vomiting and cold sweating over 4 hours compared with a placebo, though nausea and dizziness were not clearly better. In a lab study of 13 volunteers who tended to get motion sick, ginger reduced nausea. (Grøntved 1988, Lien 2003)
  • Grade C. Two other lab trials found none. In 28 volunteers in a spinning chair, ginger powder or fresh root gave no protection, while a scopolamine pill let people tolerate far more motion; another trial found ginger did not change how the balance system reacts to motion. (Stewart 1991, Holtmann 1989)
  • Grade B. For comparison, antihistamines such as dimenhydrinate probably work: in 3 trials of real travel (240 people), 40% stayed symptom-free on an antihistamine against 25% on placebo. Our database grades ginger B on the cadet trial alone; counting the negative trials as well, we grade it C here. (Karrim 2022)

Who should be careful

  • Ginger can cause stomach discomfort, heartburn, diarrhea and mouth or throat irritation. If you take any medicine, check with your pharmacist first (NCCIH).
  • Antihistamines for travel sickness can make you drowsy: don't drive after taking one.
  • Pregnant or breastfeeding, or under 18: ask a clinician first.
  • See a doctor if dizziness or nausea happens without motion, comes with a severe headache, weakness or trouble speaking, or keeps coming back.

Try first

  • A medicine taken before you travel. Scopolamine (often a skin patch, by prescription) worked better than placebo in a Cochrane review of 14 studies (1,025 people), with dry mouth as a common side effect. (Spinks 2011)
  • Look at the horizon, avoid reading or screens, and keep your head still. The CDC travel guide lists these as shown to reduce motion sickness, calls repeated gradual exposure (habituation) the most effective step, and rates the evidence for ginger and other supplements as weak and contradictory.

Sources

  1. Grøntved A, et al. Ginger root against seasickness. A controlled trial on the open sea. Acta Otolaryngol. 1988. PubMed 3277342 · doi:10.3109/00016488809119444
  2. Lien HC, et al. Effects of ginger on motion sickness and gastric slow-wave dysrhythmias induced by circular vection. Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol. 2003. PubMed 12576305 · doi:10.1152/ajpgi.00164.2002
  3. Stewart JJ, et al. Effects of ginger on motion sickness susceptibility and gastric function. Pharmacology. 1991. PubMed 2062873 · doi:10.1159/000138781
  4. Holtmann S, et al. The anti-motion sickness mechanism of ginger. A comparative study with placebo and dimenhydrinate. Acta Otolaryngol. 1989. PubMed 2683568 · doi:10.3109/00016488909125515
  5. Karrim N, et al. Antihistamines for motion sickness. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2022. PubMed 36250781 · doi:10.1002/14651858.CD012715.pub2
  6. Spinks A, et al. Scopolamine (hyoscine) for preventing and treating motion sickness. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2011. PubMed 21678338 · doi:10.1002/14651858.CD002851.pub4