THE BASIC CONCEPTS OF ALLERGIES: CAR SICKNESS

Apr 28 2009

It is a common observation that automobile passengers are far less likely to become sick if they ride in the front rather than in the rear of the passenger compartment. In fact, moving to the front seat is the traditional “cure” for car sickness. But why is that?

One reason is that the rear passengers are exposed to more air pollution than those in the front. If the rear windows or station-wagon “gate” are open even a crack, exhaust fumes from the car will enter the rear seating area. This is because a car in motion creates a vacuum behind it, and the vacuum sucks exhausts into the passenger compartment. The location of the exhaust pipe to the side of some cars helps the problem but does not solve it. It should be noted that car sickness is not the same as motion sickness. This is shown by the fact that many people become sick while riding in cars who are not affected by trips in other conveyances, such as electrically propelled busses or trains.

Other forms of car-induced problems include “driver hypnosis.” This is the onset of fatigue and overpowering sleepiness which occurs after several hours of driving. Often the physical fatigue of driving and of staring at the road is heightened by the more subtle effect of exhaust fumes. People driving under the influence of fumes may find their ability to make quick decisions diminished and their tolerance for other drivers decreased, which can result in extremely hostile and violent behavior. If the driver is a “food-a-holic,” frequent stops at junk-food dispensaries along the highway will not improve his behavior.

In addition, massive exposures to chemicals commonly encountered along the road can result in immediate, acute symptoms. These include fresh road tar, car exhausts, pesticide sprays, and airport pollution. This usually involves some impairment in muscle coordination, nervousness, tenseness, blurring of vision, and so forth. The afflicted driver rarely understands the cause of his “attack of nerves.” Sometimes chemical reactions progress to the point of apparent “drunkenness,” although the driver has not had anything inebriating to drink.

Alcoholics may be unable to tell the location of their feet unless they first look at them. Drivers in the “drunken” stage of chemical reactivity similarly cannot tell how much force they are applying to either the gas or the brake pedal unless they look. And looking, of course, adds to the danger, since now the driver’s eyes are not on the road. Some patients, such as Ida Koller (Chap. 1), have been pulled off the road in such a condition and forced to take a breath test by the police, only to pass it, to the confusion and consternation of the officers. Some drivers may realize that something is going wrong and turn the wheel over to someone else or pull over to the side of the road. Some victims smash up their cars and those of others, never knowing the true cause of their bizarre behavior. One wonders how many of the thousands of “unexplained” automobile accidents are helped along by acute reactions to pollution.

What has been said about drivers also applies to pedestrians. A person on foot, wading through a blanket of smog, may temporarily become thoroughly confused and lose all perception of danger. Stand at a busy intersection sometime during a smog alert and watch the pedestrians. Seemingly normal people often walk like zombies in such situations, impervious to danger. In fact, in smoggy situations a driver cannot assume a normal degree of perception and awareness on the part of any pedestrian. I once saw one of my patients trying to cross a downtown street: he began to cross with the light, got half-way across, stopped, and then crossed back again in a daze. Further investigation showed that he was not simply lost, but was benumbed by the outdoor air pollution.

The automobile has been called the focus of our civilization, and has certainly transformed our lives, making transportation both more convenient and more pleasant, in many cases. But we are also discovering many drawbacks to this mode of transportation, including unsuspected acute and chronic health problems. The added load which the automobile adds to our chemical-susceptibility problem is certainly one of its major deficits.