Car Sick

[chach]

We have a 30 hour car trip ahead of us in a couple of
weeks. I was wondering what I can bring with me
(medicine/food/etc.) to eliminate any car sickness that
my children might get ?
thanks

 

[bogdigg]

dramamine.

http://www.dramamine.com/

Good luck.

 

[kilee]

Just be warned that in some people dramamine really acts almost as a deep sedative. I personally don't care for the "zombie" type state it puts a child in. At least this is our expierence with it.
We try to seat my son in the middle of the back seat. Then he can see straight ahead. Also, he does keep a bottle of ginger ale with him. We also give him frequent, small snacks rather than larger meals. Fingers crossed this worked very well last trip, and hoping it works well in a few weeks.

 

[DisneyFan09]

I know this problem all too well. DD and I both get horribly car sick, air sick and any thing that moves too fast sick. The only thing I have ever used is dramamine. I don't know what the ages of your children are but up until my dd was about 3, we used a liquid formula of dramamine. It was only available through a phamacist and it had to be special ordered. While I do agree that it does make them sleepy, I never noticed a "zombie like state" in my dd. It also helps to drive as much as possible at night, not only do they sleep more, I don't think that the passing scenery is as noticeable.

We haven't tried a tv/vcr in the van yet, but I've heard that watching moving things on a screen like that seems to be better than looking out the window.

It does nelp to seat them in the middle so they can look out the front window, but my dd is 7 and she still has a hard time just staring out the window. She wants to be playing or just occupied with something.

 

[bscs]

I also get motion sick and when I take Dramamine it puts me to sleep. So for this trip I bought Motion Eaze. It's an oil you rub on the back of your earlobe. I haven't tried it yet but it says it is safe for all ages and even animals. It's totally natural. I bought it through the internet $15.95. If it works it'll be worth it. I'll see in 10 days.

 

[SuzyQue]

Check into either Bonine or Meclizine. They are both over the counter found at WalMart, K-Mart, Meijers etc.. You take one the night before you travel then 1 every 24 hours as needed (I read about them here on the boards). ~~

 

[Figment22]

Get a few sets of Sea Bands. If you're not familiar with these,
they are elasticized cloth bands with a circular pressure point
that you wear on your wrists. They "operate" on accupressure
theories. They got me through the nausea during my second
pregnancy. I wish I had known about them during my first! I
wear them on some of the simulator rides too, especially Body
Wars and Back to the Future at Universal Studios. For some
reason Star Tours doesn't bother me. What I like about the
sea bands for the kids is that they are drug free. (My 12 year old DS gets car sick.) Good luck.

 

[Kermit]

If you do decide to take medicine with you, try it out first. Some kids may get really sleepy; others may get wired, which is even worse when you're stuck in the car. Benadryl will also work, since motion sickness meds are antihistimine, so keep that in mind.

Have your kids gotten motion sickness before? If they're usually okay, I wouldn't worry too much about it. Just take some common sense precautions, like not too much reading, eating light food, and taking frequent breaks. Sunglasses are great too if it's sunny when you're traveling.

 

[Cmbar]

I vote for trying the Sea bands. I got them at Target for $8 and they work great. How old are the children? They only work if they stay put in place so if you have a small child that will take them off then maybe these are not for you. (they don't hurt or are uncomfortable though) One pair is real cheap and you could try them out before you go on your trip if you have a child/adult that gets motion sickness.

I also agree that medicine is not the best option, especially if you have such a long drive. My DD reacted the opposite of sleepy with Benadryl. That medicine made her MUCH worse to travel with. I know I feel lousy after waking up from a Benadryl or dramamine slumber. It may work short term to keep them sleeping a bit but I don't think the trade off (for us anyways) was worth it.

Also, keep in mind if you are doing the TV thing to try and have the TV at eye level or above. Kids looking down for a tv tend to get more carsick. Just a thought.

Hope you have a safe and happy trip

 

[Jordan's MOM]

We have dealt with this a great deal too. DS now 10 ,has been getting car sick since he was a toddlers. We also try to have him sit in the middle, encourage frequent snacks(salty, carbohydrates work best) and sip small amounts of ginger ale if they like it or sprite if they don't. Another big help is to crack the window just a bit in the back seat to let in some fresh air.

As far as the medication goes, it is a real toss up. The dramamine makes my DS very sleepy/ tired and grumpy. It does however keep him from throwing up. The bomine/ meclizine medications are recomanded for ages 12 and up though we started using them with permission last year. They are better and can be given at night so some of the effects are slept off though they are effective for 24 hours.They still make my DS a little sleepy/grumpy/tired.

If you are concered about car sickness you may also need to be concerned about getting sick on rides. Most kid who do one, will do both. Mine is one of them. Same holds true with the medication.We are going to get some of the sea bands and try them out on a 4 hour drive to the beach next month, and hopefully use them on our trip to WDW latter in the year. Good luck and have a good trip.

Jordan's mom

 

[DisneyFan09]

I have never heard of Sea bands - but they sound great!! Do they really work?

 

[Mrs. Toaster]

I also used the Sea Bands when I was pregnant with my first, and they really worked! They didn't clear up 100% of the nausea, but they made a significant difference. I have also found bonine to be helpful with seasickness (I never get carsick, so I'm not sure about that), as it is non-drowsy, but as someone mentioned, it may not be appropriate for the age of your children.

 

[colleen costello]

The seaband worked for me when I was pregnant. I saw a nurse-midwife with baby #2 and they know all sorts of "safe" cures since you should not use medicine while pregnant. The n-m told me that most Moms think the bands are doing nothing until they forget to put them on one morning and they barf! That was enough info for me! The band will include directions on how to position it properly.

We have had good luck giving my daughter a HALF dose of Dramamine. There is also Dramamine II which I think is the same as Bonine, the non-drowsy formula. It is better to ward off carsickness before it starts because it is so nasty. We have a VCR/TV in our van but we don't let the kids watch it until we are off the winding country roads and onto the smooth highway.

Good luck!