Car Sickness

There are bracelets for motion sickness. I would talk to my dr about it before using them on a child that young. Maybe you dr could also share some ideas and tips. I get motion sick and Dramine and sitting in the front seat seem to work for me, but I know that is not possible with a young one.

get her in a booster or toddler seat that lets her see out the window a little higher. You can try view blocking shades on back seat windows Looking out the lower part of the window promotes nausea as they watch things go by so quickly upclose. . Do Not LET ANYONE smoke in the car with her. Ideally, no one smokes in the car, ever. Smoke blows into the back seat and instant nausea.

I have always had trouble with getting car sick myself. I have to sit in the front seat or I get sick. Unfortunately you aren't going to be able to do that with a 2 year old. I did find some wrist bands for sea-sickness (terry cloth with plastic nobs) at a sailing place that work great! Again I don't think a 2 year old will leave them on. I have heard that ginger root helps, but I haven't tried it myself. Hoping that someone else has advice that will help right now.

have you tried sea bands? they are little stretchy bracelets with little plastic balls on them. the plastic applies pressure to a pressure point on your wrist that helps with motion sickness. i used to get so sick when i was little, even being in the car for a few minutes. dramamine didn't work for me, so i tried these. they are a miracle. i use them to this day. i've used them for flying, on boats, in the car, on trains, etc. love them. i think you can find them at meijer now, if not check at a boating store. theyll know what you're looking for... hope this helps.

Does she have any other health problems? My son used to get car sick alot, anything more than about 15 min. in the car. It seemed to help to keep him cooler in the car. Ultimately, we found another health issue that seems to have been related. He was put on prevacid for reflux. He now sleeps better, has less problems with asthma and allergies, AND stopped getting car sick. Even on long rides he is okay now. I would check with your Doctor to see if there are any other underlying problems.

One more thing I did not see mentioned is lemons. I read it helps with car sickness. Near the end of my soons problem we tried lemon candy, lemonade, and lemonade flavored suckers. These did seem to help. If he started complaining or acting "off" we gave him one of the lemon type items and it did seem to help.

I use homeopathy (Cocculine) and it does work very well with my daughter, you have to give one dose 1 hour before the trip and the day before, and one more when you begin the trip (and then later if the trip lasts). It's completely safe at any age and there are no side effects.

I noticed my daughter was more prone to car sickness when she had milk just before the trip, switching to yogurt or something more solid seemed to help avoiding car sickness.

Don't forget not to give your daughter a book or anything to look at, have fresh air entering the car, no smoke..and if you hear her coughing, feeling nauseous ..stop right away and let her exit the car and get some air...but I'm sure you know that already...

Maybe you could move the carseat at another spot in your car also or switch cars with your husband, is she sick in any car ?

You can also try and see an osteopath who does manipulative treatments maybe he could help since motion sickness originates in the ear.

I work at a flight school, so we are familiar with motion sickness. Make sure a window is open...a breeze over her will help tremendously. Put her in the middle of the back seat, so that she can see easily out the windshield. Being able to see helps alot. Don't have her bundled too hot...cooler is better. Don't let her read, or watch videos (if you have a player in the car). Make sure she doesn't have an empty stomach, hunger makes it worse...she should eat normally, or have a small snack before you go somewhere. She should eventually get used to it under those type of conditions.

Stop at a drug store and pick up a set of wrist bands for her. My grandson has the same problem and they work great for him. You can find them in the same aisle as the dramamine. They are wide elastic bands that have a small, round knob that goes on the inside of the wrist as a pressure point. They are not uncomfortable to wear and they really do work.

HI C.
My daughter also gets carsick, so I understand your feelings about running errands ect. I bought my daughter, who will be two in may, some children's sea bands. They seem to help her, they don't completely eliminate the sickness, but for shorter trips, less than 1/2 hour, they do help

I had motion sickness something awful when I was a kid. I have a friend (who is a neurologist) that told me that there is a connection between motion sickness in children and migraines. (I do have migraines). Nothing we tried when I was a kid helped (still have motion sickness just not as bad). Maybe take her to a Neurologist.

Hi C.,

So sorry your daughter suffers from this, it can be so difficult. I use Hylands Homeopathic Motion Sickness pills for my daughter. She is nine, but cutting the dose might help. Have you tried the arm bands? Those have worked too. We only have trouble on long trips, I empathize with you for even little trips. Good luck!

C.

Hi, my son is 5, and gets motion sickness on boats. Once in a great while if we play I-spy, it helps, but as soon as he loses intrest, he gets sick. In the car with my daughter 21/2 I keep her looking at the road, and ask her to find a color on a sign. If I just use signs that are on the immediate side of the road that she can see through the front window it keeps her looking straight ahead and toward the horizon. I am currently researching acupressure bands to try this summer as an alternative to dramamine. I have not tried the actual product yet(but will be as soon as the ice melts), but it may be an idea for you too. I saw an article in SELF mag. (March 2008 pg. 116) for Psi Bands. Your daughter's wrist might not be large enough for this brand, but as I researched further, I have found some specifically for children. If you just want a quick look go to amazon.com and under health and personal care put in Psi bands, sea-bands for kids, or ONE Bio band accupressure band for children. When I put Psi band in, it brought up the others. I had a friend in jr high that used to get patches for behind their ears from her doctor when they went on a cruise, but I don't know if they work, or are even still around. Good luck to you, I know how bad I have it when we are out on the boat for 2 hours, I can't imagine what you have to deal with everytime you get in the car! Even if it's not this, I hope you find something that works soon! A.

Hi C.,

When I was a kid I became carsick ALL the time. It was tough. As mentioned, being able to see out helps alot, a cool breeze, a tummy with something in it also helps.

Eventually I grew out of it..but then when I was pregnant, it returned! EEK! That plus being just nautious from pregnancy... not fun. I tried the arm bands, which you can get at any drug store, and they worked like a charm!!! Honestly, I would try that over any medications. I realize things like benedryl and such are fairly mild...but still, it is a medication and why give our kids medications when they don't need it. Also, if your child is always sleepy from the medicine.. they are missing a lot of interaction with you. Riding in the car is a great time to interact with your child... get them to notice things around them ... colors of cars, trees, people... whatever.

Try the arm bands. Good luck!

We have had this same problem since our daughter who is now four was two. Windy roads would be the worst, now we do not take her for long trips in dad's car but always use my cross over because being higher up seems to help a lot. We play the sign game because we notice if you keep her looking outside it tends to help so she looks for differnt color signs, big or little tree's and bushes. We also switched from Dramamine to Benadryl which helped immensly (my peditrician suggested it). For long rides like last summer's vacation which she did not get sick on once, and we drove from Clarkston to the Mackinaw and into the u.p. we put a Dvd in our lap top. I ended up sitting in the back with her to hold it. Now that we know this helps her we will be getting a portable dvd player to fasten to the car seat for this summer's vacation to Tenn. We also always keep a sand bucket in the our back seat so if she does need she can get it. Watch for the signs of it, our daugther always got sweaty, pale and clammy before it happened. Hope this helps.

HI C.,
I feel for you and your daughter. I have terribly motion sickness from the car it started when I was very little. It never went away its just better since I can be in the front seat. Make sure you daughter has a clear view of the windshield and always leave the back window cracked so she can get constant air. Also I know this sounds weird but wearing a coat makes it worse for me. So if you can pre warm the car and take her coat off or actually with the weather warming it should be easier soon. I know some people say its because of getting to warm but if I feel to confined or restricted its like I am asking to have to pull the car over. lol Good Luck.

I have two boys 9 & 15 that have had the same issue (sometimes still do). We kept a small trash can in the van, and since it is more infrequent now - just keep grocery size bags, along with wet wipes and a small towel or blanket. I have been know to carry a change of clothes for the younger one as well. I myself, get car sick - so we were not surprised when both boys experienced it. If your daughter is able to play a hand held game, you may want to try that - it helped both my boys since they were younger. I have heard that children's music helps as well - especially when you sing along with them :)
Good Luck!

I'd cut out the Dramamine in any case.

Have you tried Vernor's? Ginger ale....ginger PERIOD is a stomach calmer.
I'd talk to your pediatrician about it tho.

My daughter also suffers from carsickness. She is eight now but has had it for many years. She was diagnosed with reflux at a young age. She took Zantac until five. I took her off of it for a couple of years. Symptoms returned including carsickness. She is now on prevacid and motion sickness is much improved. When she was young she had vomitting after eating and woke many times during the night. Things that help her in the car are mints, mint gum, sitting by window not in way back of van and putting on headphones with music to distract her. She says watching movies in the car make it worse.
I would check with pediatrician on reflux possibilities.
J.H.

I've had great success with homeopathy for many ailments, especially nux vomica for travel related illness (nausea, vomiting, diarrhea) so maybe you might want to check into that? Here is a link to the Luyties website motion sickness remedy http://1800homeopathy.com/products/details.html?productid... These pellets melt quickly in the mouth so they are easy to give to small children, and the kids love the way they taste. They are in a lactose base. Hyland's is another brand that dissolves instantly but Boiron (in the blue tubes) has small sucrose beads that take a long time to dissolve so I wouldn't suggest those for a 2 y.o.

I think someone else suggested changing her seat but I wouldn't suggest putting your child in a booster seat just yet, she's too young for that. The safest place for her is still in a 5 point harness. Any CPS tech will tell you that.

My son started getting car sick when he was a baby so I totally understand your frastrations and concerns. My Ped. Doctor told me to try childrens Benadryl, I only gave him a 1/4 tsp. to start when he was younger and obviously more now that he is 7, it seems to have helped quite a bit especially when we go on long trips. When I'm running my errands I usually keep a window down for him so that he can have the fresh air even if it's down a little it seems to help and even when it's freezing cold out. I've noticed it's usually when he is to warm in the vehicle so when he was younger I used to take his coat off when the vehicle was warm enough to only wear a shirt. The good news is it seems to have lessoned the older he gets, but it is still an issue. I thought maybe giving him something to play with might help but that seemed to make it worse. Hang in there and ask your Dr. if you haven't already what he/she suggests.

Good Luck
R. C

I get motion sick and Dramamine does NOT work for me! BUT Bonine does! It is usually shelved in the same area as Dramamine.
Also, Ginger (natural choice) works for motion sickness: ginger the spice, ginger-snap cookies, ginger ale soda, etc. Try the cookies, or item with the highest % ginger and see if it helps. There are bracelets also that apply pressure to the wrist area...don't know a lot about them, but are probably available in Sailin/boating/yachting type catalogs??? Godd luck, J.

Hi C.. I was just reading your message and I too have a daughter who suffers from motion sickness. I went to our family Doctor with the same question you are proposing and he suggested giving her a small cup of Green Tea and honey about a half hour to an hour before our trip along with crackers packed in the car. I found this to be quite helpful for the most part, but we still have the occasional "oops." I have also found it helpful to role down the window at every red light and let in some fresh air. I would suggest talking to your doctor, as well..they may want to do some tests and rule out anything else that may be an underlying factor to her motion sickness. I hope this helps - good luck and happy trails!

I had car sickness as a child too, and the wrist bands the other person was talking about are called Sea Bands. They do work. Another thing to try is to give her a tablespoon of the syrup that comes in a can of heavy cling peaches or pears. It is basically sugar, but it coats the stomach and calms it. There is an over the counter medicine called Emetrol which is the same thing, but about 5.00 more expensive. The syrup will reduce the urge to vomit (or take it away completely) and you could put some in a cup and take it with you in case she gets to feeling bad on the road. Good Luck!

I and my children also have this issue. Mine is much worse than theirs but that is not really important. A couple of the things that I found that help them, as well as myself, is not to get overheated and to make sure they can see out of the windows. So, if the sun is out or the heat is needed, I try to provide a breeze or have them take their coats off and make sure it doesn't blow on them. When they were in carseats and boosters I didn't place them all the way in the very back of our van; but, placed them in middle or a side that allowed them to see. Also, my husband had to change how he drove our vehicles. For example, watch that you don't let the car roll up to stop signs or lights and provide a gradual stop; try not to touch the gas, let up, touch it, let up because that motion can be felt; and, he also had to learn not to turn or stop too quickly. He thought all of this was in my head until I fell asleep, he drove on a curvy highway the way he wanted, and I woke up and threw up all over the place. And, if it continues to be a major problem, I would consult you family doctor to see if a visit to an ENT (ear, nose, throat doctor) may be needed to determine if there might be problems with her inner ear (the cochlea is the organ in the inner ear--not middle ear--that helps to provide our body with information about where we are in space/balance. I hope this helps.
B.

Hi C.,

Unless this has been happening for a very long time, I would call the Dr. It may be something as simple as an inner ear infection that is effecting her equalibrium (sp?). I've seen that before. Not all ear infections are noticable if a child has a high tolerance for pain or doesn't run a fever.

Good Luck!!

I have heard that ginger calms the stomach naturally. If you grew up as a kid in Michigan do you remember getting warm vernors when you had a stomach ache? My mom did that with us! I know a nurse practitioner who swears by it for herself. You can try ginger snap cookies, or ginger ale like vernors. It is scary giving such young kids adult medicine. This way it is a snack (positive)and not a medicine regimin (negative) every time you leave the house. Good luck. I hope this helps, not everyone likes the ginger taste, I hope your daughter does! Happy traveling!

Although not a common cause of car sickness, occasionally a slight misalignment of the eyes can cause car sickness. An optometrist or pediatric ophthalmologist can check for this (vertical phoria).

I had a "car-barfer" too! I tried to make sure there was never much in his tummy if we would be in the car for a while, tried not to let him get too warm, and encouraged him to look out the front windows...not the side. (It helps to put them in the middle of the backseat so they naturally tend to look forward). I also used "Seabands"...the wristbands with pressure points on the wrist that supposedly help motion sickness. (I think they helped us). I avoid medication whenever possible, so have only given him Dramamine when in a plane. As he got older, he began to understand what made him feel nauseous, and began to avoid those things on his own. Also, when some kids look down at books and toys, they have a tendency to get carsick. (I can't read in the car for the same reason) I know it is great to have playthings in the car to keep a child happy, but it might not be worth it if you have to clean the car every time you go out. However, in warm weather, nothing is better for cleaning a car seat than the garden hose! I kept an old bedspread/blanket on the seat with holes cut for the seatbelts as a "dropcloth"...that help made cleanup easier, too.
Good luck. Most likely she will grow out of it.

What are you feeding her before and after you go out? Have your Dr. check for reflux, you might be surprised. M. H.

Me and my daughter have this same problem. What works for us is make sure the window is cracked you would be surprised just how much of a differnce that can make. Also make she she always has something other than water to drink to bring with her. Dont cut corner to fast that makes it bad also reading/looking at a book will make it worse. Something that got my daughters mind off the whole car sick thing was I bought a portable dvd player and strapped it to the seat, that helped to. Good luck

Hi C., My name is M., am a mother of 3. My daughter started with car sickness when she was about a year old. We couldn't go but just a few miles before the vomiting started. My Dr. recommended giving her a small dose of Benadry to see if we saw any improvement. Bendryl worked great, I would only give her a 1/4 teaspoon for short trips but if we traveled for an hour or longer I would give her 1/2 teaspoon or more and she would sleep until we met our destination. Another trick I did was drape a large bathtowel done the front of her incase an accident did occur. Always have an extra change of clothes and if my husband was driving I would carry a small dish in the vehicle so I could get to her quickly to catch the vomit. She may out grow this, my daughter did. Oh another thing that may help is to keep the window cracked open 2-3 inches where ever she sits in the car, fresh air may do the trick. Good luck.

I am a mom of three teenage girls, and when my middle daughter was about 2-3 she too would get car sick everytime we drive for any period of time. I started to time her meals and snacks according to my outings. If I had to go out or on a trip I would make sure she had plenty of time to digest her food. If we stopped for a potty break on trips, I would give her a very small healthy snack(dry cheerio's or animal crackers) just enough to hold her over. Avoid milk during the ride also.

This made a hugh difference for me and my Ryleah! She is now 17 and doesn't get car sick "thank god" but if we are on a trip, she is fast asleep in minutes...lol Its great, becuse she has 14 and 18 year old sisters and it helps make the trip go by without too many cat fights!

Hope that helps! She will grow out of it!
S.

Hi C.,
I have a 6year old son who gets car sick often as well. Have you ever tried Sea Bands?? They are little bands that go on each wrist and put pressure on a certain point and are supposed to help with motion sickness. They cost about 10 bucks at the pharmacy and can be washed when needed. They seem to help my son-not perfect, but worth a try. It has seemed to cut down on the vomiting. I also keep a bucket near him in the car to help cut down on the mess. Good luck, I know how frustrating it can be!
C.

Hi,
I can relate, I have and always have had car sickness. I am not sure what my mom did for me growing up but I have noticed a few things that set me off. I only get sick when I sit in the backseat, if I sit up front and am able to see out the front window I am fine. I don't know what the seating arrangements have to do with it but that is how it works for me. Another thing I have used is as pill called meclizine. Dramamine does not do a thing for me but meclezine works. Some stores do not carry it but will send you to the dramamine saying it is the same thing - it does NOT work the same. Walmart is the only place I can find it and it comes in 2 strengths, 25 mg. and 12.5 mg.
I hope this helps. It is not just an awful thing for parents/drivers to deal with, but it is terrible for the one going through it. Take care... S.