My 2 1/2 Year Old Has Motion Sickness.

My daughter used to have motion sickness also. She seemed to grow out of it. I read up on it because sometimes we would take long roadtrips in the past. I would sit her in the middle cause I read its hard for them to focus on things from the side window so as long as their facing ahead they are okay. I hope this helps! H.

Hi M.,
I am a physical therapist who specializes in vestibular disorders (problems with vertigo, dizziness, motion sickness, balance). Motion sickness can be normal in children. Their neurological system is not yet fully developed and they may have a hard time integrating their moving visual environment. Not to mention kids in the back seats usually cannot see the road which "confuses" the visual/vestibular system. Have your daughter focus on something that doesn't move, crack the window so she can have some fresh air and try to find a car seat that will elevate her enough to possibly see the road. My daughter had a mirror on the back of the seat in front of her chair. She was able to watch herself which helps reinforce her visual system input.

The vestibular organ is located in the inner ear and is one of the 3 main senses responsible for balance. The other 2 are vision (integration) and somatosensory (info from body movement sent to your brain by nerve receptors in joints, muscled tendons, etc). I would recommend seeing a health care professional who specializes in vestibular disorders. Don't go to just any doctor. They will not know or be familiar enough with the vestibular system (or even open to the recommendation. You will need a referral prescription from your doctor however. In San Diego I found the following on www.vestibular.org:

San Diego (Rancho Bernardo):
Judith K. Horning, AuD, MA, CCC-A
Rancho Bernardo Hearing Services
16766 Bernardo Center Dr., Ste. 206
San Diego, CA 92128
###-###-####

The Audiologist will do testing to see if there is any "weakness" with the vestibular system. She can also refer you to a pediatric or vestibular physical therapist in your area who specializes in vestibular rehabilitation as well as a doctor who does.

Since your daughter is so very senstive to motion (maybe a little more than usual with kids) that is what I recommend.

Good luck

I was the same way when i was young but mom didnt do anything about it except to pull over and let me do my thing outside of the car. Now as a 46 year old Mom of a 4 year old Boy I find that I cannot ride in the back seat on long trips It also helps me if i drive. See a Nutritionist to find a natural way to combat the nauseousness since you dont like to give them medications There are plenty of herbal ways to help. I was born 3 mos premature. I think i had a normal childhood with no problems but at the age of 37 I was diagnosed with MS and suffer from Vertigo/Headache/Nausea just out of the blue so monitor your child because it may be an underlying problem causing this. Good luck

My son has it too and on a trip last summer we discovered CHIMES ginger candies. Elephant Pharm has them. Amazing results. Hopefully she will outgrow it. But these work really well. Ask your doctor first about giving these to a young child. You might need to give it to her in little pieces. It is really gooey so easily pulled apart. We swear by them. Did the Dramamine thing too but these worked better. Also, don't put the child in the very back part of the car. Next to window in the middle is best. Dramamine is not harmful. USE IT! We don't like it because it knocks my son out and he misses a lot. He just puts his head down and doesn't look out the window. Head back and quiet. No watching videos in the car or reading. No jumping around and looking back and forth a lot either.

Ginger is great for nausea.

Make sure the seat is back words facing and also make sure shocks are good in the van or she will get it really bad! Good luck hope this helps, my kid killed our upholstery in our car for over 2 yrs tell she got a special surgery because shes special needs to make her stop for health reasons. Also check with the dr for reflux and or over active stomach acid in the tummy. My child also has the same thing, you'll notice if your seat is stained even if cleaning right after the mess or a weird foul oder along with the vomit then stomach acid may be present and may be a sign of reflux stay away from high acid foods or eating or drinking before rides and during and shortly after!

Hello M.,
Sounds like you have a challenge. Where does your daughter sit in the minivan? You might change the location in the van where she sits. Her visual field might be getting too excited by the external stimulation.

You might try putting a form of blinders up around her car seat so that she has less stimulation. Also, consider her center of balance. Dark sunglasses might help to reduce the effect of external motion.

Keep a brightly colored plastic bucket near her that she can reach if she feels sick. This will give her more control over the experience and allow you to work with your daughter in a playful way to minimize the issue while controlling the outcome.

Hope you can find a comfortable resolution. Peace, C. A.

Hi M.,

My (now 4 1/2) year old has a bit of motion sickness too. It has gotten better, but when she was 2-3 it seemed more frequent. I don't give her anything unless it's a long trip either. BUT I do keep a small bowl and towel in the car at all times (still) on the floor in the middle of my back seat area. If she starts to get sick I can grab it and hand it to her while I try to pull over. My sweet little girl will reach over and grab that bowl and vomit in it to avoid major mess in the car. It has saved me lots of mess and then the towel of course helps out too. Strange, but true story. Also try to vent the car a bit better so there's airflow.....good luck L.

PS. My name is L. Jane - I have 2 daughters , the other is 18 mos. Married 13 yrs.

I get motion sickness really bad actually. My 19 month old daughter seems to have her Daddy's stomach, which is a great thing. A nice cool cloth on the back of the neck may work. Also I wanted to share a couple of links with you:

http://www.drugstore.com/products/prod.asp?pid=33162&...

Hyland's makes teething tablets as well that we used throughout all of my daughters' teething periods and it seemed to help her. Also my brother, who is 10 years old, used either the same product or very close to the same product as shown in the following link. He actually went to the Catalina Islands and never got seasick one time with these on his wrist. I am thinking about getting a pair!:

http://www.lifewithease.com/biobands.html

Anyway, I hope this helps. :-)

Sincerely,

C. D.

My little sister used to have car sickness, and now sometimes I do too, especially when I am in the back seat and stuck in the middle! Dramamine does work, and it is too bad that you sometimes have to result to things like that. I take Dramamine so I can go on roller coasters. lol
Have you tried giving her soda crackers to eat? Sometimes that will help. Also, maybe try sitting her in different areas of the vehicle. Sometimes sitting in the middle makes people nauseous, but sitting them by a window that is open helps a lot! When she gets older, the best spot in the vehicle is the passenger seat because then she will be able to focus on the horizon. On long trips, stop a lot so that your daughter gets the chance to get up and move around for a bit, or just to get out of the vehicle in general. Also by playing games such as I spy, or looking at different scenery outside will help her because basically with car sickness, the brain becomes confused because the inner ear detects that the car is moving, but the eyes that are focused within the car do not. This confusion is what causes the car sickness. So by having her look outside will allow her brain to translate, “Yes we are moving”. This means to limit the use of reading books in the car, or playing hand held games. This is a big “no no” since it makes the eyes focus on something that is not moving.
Hope this helps!

M. *~

My daughter gets motion sick when we are on winding roads on the way up to my mothers. We usually sit her in the middle seat so she can see out the front window. We also give her saltine crackers as we drive. It has worked the past two times. Hope that helps.
T. and Kelsie

Hi, My name is L.. My son has notion sickness. We got wrist bands for him that work on a pressure point in the wrist. You can get them at any local drug store. Ask the pharmacist if you can't find them but they should be with all the motion sickness drugs. This is a very effective, drug free way to treat this. It has been working for years with my son and I've even put them on some of my friends and they work. Hope this helps!! L.

I used to get sick anytime my dad drove the family van. I found that lying down in the backseat helped.

As far as dramamine goes, I often give it to my cats (my vet recommended it) when we go on long trips to cat shows. It helps them stay calm, which is better for their health. Stress can actually hurt their immune system. The same is true for kids. If she is throwing up, it's not good for her body. IMO, Dramamine is a lesser evil to the havoc that puking takes on your body. Throwing up means her trachea, mouth and teeth will be exposed to stomach acid, and she will be losing much needed nutrients and water.

If you are really concerned, talk to your pediatrician.

My son had gotten sick couple times but I get really sick and my doctor told me to use these wrist guards that patients use for Chemo.. Or motion sickness on cruises. Hes are the best thing I have ever ever used. They ae strickly no medication and work by pressure points in your wrist. I drove from Michigan to vegas. I never got sick one time. I have driven tis trip 2 times.. i swear by them...
There is a website www.travelingwithkids. they sell them ther or I have even found them at grocery store. they also sell popcilcles that have ginger calming agent. They are quick on delivery.. with i 2-5 days . Good luck..
T. ____@____.com

my daughter is the same way,, they sell motion sickness bands to put on the their wrists also they selling anti nausua liquid it is like a sugar water it just helps settle the stomache and i belive it is all naturall.. at rite-aid wich all seemed to help but what worked the best was setting her next to a window,, if this continues or seems to get worse contact her doc they have a precription for it as well hope this helps

There are wrist bands, Ginger and other things that are said to work. The best thing I ever found for my car sick son was a big empty coffee can with the plastic lid. Very disposible. Inner ear problems are suppose to cause carsickness in some cases, ask your pediatrician.

My daughter who is now 13 has motion sickness too . She uses motion sickness braclets . you can buy them at the pharmacy . It is a fabric band that has 2 circles that uses
pressure points in the wrist to relieve motion sickness .
They sell them in child and adult sizes . She flew to Scotland last year and didn't get sick at all .

happy traveling

Get her a higher seat. My niece had that problem but when she rides in a vehicle that the seats are higher and she has more of a level look out the window it doesn't bother her. She was always having to look up and (just try it) the "trees" would be going by in a blur, but when seated higher the "trees" she could see them more clearly vs the blur. If that doesn't work, you "might" end up having to do the Dramamine. Hope this helps...