Mal de debarquement

Mal de debarquement (or Mal de débarquement) syndrome (MdDS, or common name disembarkment syndrome) is a rare neurological condition usually occurring after a cruise, aircraft flight, or other sustained motion event. The phrase "mal de débarquement" is French for "Sickness from Disembarkation". MdDS is typically diagnosed by a Neurologist or an Ear Nose & Throat Specialist when a person reports a persistent rocking, swaying, or bobbing feeling (though they are not necessarily rocking). This usually follows a cruise or other motion experience. Because most vestibule testing proves to be negative, doctors may be baffled as they attempt to diagnose this rare neurological syndrome. A major diagnostic indicator is that most patients feel better while driving or riding in a car or while in passive motion. The syndrome has recently received increased attention due to the number of people presenting with the condition and more scientific research has commenced now for a number of years to determine what triggers MdDs and how to cure it.

Symptoms most frequently reported include a persistent sensation of motion usually described as rocking, swaying, or bobbing; difficulty maintaining balance. Sufferers can become fatigued quickly with minimal exertion. Difficulty concentrating, other common symptoms include visual disturbances such as seeing motion, blurred vision, inability to focus etc., headaches and/or migraine headaches, the feeling of pressure in the brain and confusion, fluctuations in temperature also affect suffers in particular heat. May have Photosensitivity and find it more difficult to walk in the dark as well as other sensitivities to chemicals and their smells. Cognitive impairment ("brain fog") includes an inability to recall words, short term memory loss, and an inability to multi-task, misspelling and mispronunciation of words, unable to use a computer for any length of time due to the visual over stimulation and some MdDS sufferers report they are even unable to watch television, the symptoms are extremely debilitating and fluctuate high and low on a daily basis. Excessive sleeping, MdDS sufferers can sleep up to 12 or more hours a day, depending on their symptom levels. Research reveals MdDS is not migraine related and many sufferers have never had migraine symptoms prior to the onset of the disorder.

Mal De Debarquement greatly effects the working capacity of sufferers with many having to relinquish work, it also limits most other daily and social activities. Interestingly, the condition is masked by a return to motion such as in a car, train, plane, or boat, however once the motion ceases, the symptoms return often at much higher levels than when the journey first commenced. Symptoms can be increased by stress, lack of sleep, crowds, flickering lights, loud sounds, fast or sudden movements, enclosed areas or busy patterns.

MdDS is unexplained by structural brain or inner ear pathology and is thought to be perhaps a neurological syndrome most often corresponding with a motion trigger, but can occur spontaneously. Recent research some cases of MdDS is related to OKN. This differs from the very common condition of "land sickness" that most people feel for a short time after a motion event such as a boat cruise, aircraft ride, or even a treadmill routine.

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