Sunrise host Nat Barr reveals health condition as new device promises relief for millions of sufferers

Sunrise host Nat Barr has revealed she suffers from motion sickness, joining millions of other Australians also dealing with the often-debilitating condition.

But a new device could provide relief to millions of people.

Motion sickness, also known as travel sickness or sea sickness, is the feeling of being unwell while on moving transport, according to Health Direct.

Symptoms can include severe nausea, vomiting, dizziness, or cold sweats, among many others. The symptoms usually subside after the person leaves the moving mode of transport.

A new pair of glasses claims to cure motion sickness by tricking the brain into thinking the head is level, using a blue-coloured liquid in the rims.

Speaking about the glasses on Wednesday with Sunrise co-host Matt Shirvington and regular guest Dr Ginni Mansberg, Barr revealed: “I’ve had motion sickness all my life.”

Mansberg explained the condition was still somewhat of a mystery.

She said the glasses could have an effect on the body’s balance centre.

“What we think is going on is, you know you have those rings full of fluid in the balance centre in your ear that go off when you’ve got vertigo,” Mansberg said.

“The (glasses) seem to be responding to you going up and down and around corners but your eyes, particularly on your phone or reading a book, are looking at one thing and it doesn’t like the mismatch between the evenness of what you’re looking at and what your ears are feeling.

“That’s what we think is causing the nausea, but we know it’s worse in people who get migraines, women around certain hormonal changes, smokers, so it’s interesting.

“We still don’t know exactly what causes it.”

Mansberg said it was difficult to work out what is a “myth” and has “never been studied” in terms of relieving motion sickness symptoms.

“Some people will swear by ginger (as a relief),” she said.

“Do you remember the magnet things that go on your wrist? They were never studied but they are still (used) — lots of alternative therapies.”

Last year, Apple also released a Vehicle Motion Cue feature, which places animated dots on the edges of the screen which represent changes in vehicle motion.

The feature is meant to help reduce sensory conflict.

“They did a study with 10 people so we are firmly on the ‘I don’t know fence’ for that one,” Mansberg said.

“Basically, they’ve got some kind of markers on the side of your screen that are meant to stay in tune with what’s happening in your ears so they’re going up and down with the vehicle as you’re turning and that’s meant to keep your eyes and inner ear in sync.”

Mansberg didn’t give a verdict on the glasses but she did say they could help.

“(The glasses) are kind of doing the same as the bubbles on your iPhone and again keeping the horizon kind of in sync with your inner ear,” Mansberg said.

“No studies, surprise surprise.

“But I saw them on Amazon for, like, $10 and I thought they wouldn’t interact with any medications and if you don’t like them, it’s landfill — which isn’t great — but otherwise no side-effects.

“I would say, if you get sick don’t look at your phone in the car. How about we play I Spy?”