OT - Car sickness question

[riu girl]

DD8 surprised me yesterday by informing me that she has felt car sick in the past. This is the first time she has ever mentioned it to me. Then she went in detail naming different car trips when she has felt ill and the symptoms. The details that she provided me made me believe that she is telling the truth.

My question: Does anyone have any non-medicine ideas for car sickness? I have no idea about this subject and could only think of giving her dry whole wheat bread and salt free crackers to help her stomach. She is unable to sit in the front seat due to the airbag. She usually reads/plays heand held e-games for long periods at a time during long rides and I think maybe I should discourage this as well. Doesn't looking out the window into the distance help also?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you
Suzy V.

 

[eternaldisneyfan]

I used to get terribly car sick. We've always driven days to get to Orlando. I am not sure what they are called but I will describe them. They were stretchy and went around my wrists with a small white ball. Basically they apply pressure in a nerve or sensation area and decreases nausea. Sitting on a pillow so I could see out the window easier helped, too.

Hope this is helpful!

Christamae

 

[Disney Ontario]

Yes, they are called wrist bands.Can be bought at Walmart. In the past I have felt car sick on long distance car rides. No chance this time. I wore them all the way and back from Orlando. I even wear them sometimes at home when feeling ill. I guess they do work. My DH bought me mine last year on the Disney Cruise. Worked great.

 

[zumbergc]

Its not fun being a person suseptible to motion sickness.

I always got to sit up front. Again, there weren't air bags back when I was a kid either.

Looking out the front window is a great idea, looking out the passenger windows, to the side isn't such a good idea. Well, not a good idea for me, that would make me nautious. If she is looking way in front where things aren't moving or traveling fast past her thats a good idea. Its just so easy to get side tracked and things moving quickly past you out the passenger windows.

We have a portable dvd player. I've found that I can handle it ok. If we are on a bumpy stretch of highway, I tend to maybe feel a little queezy. I just take a break and look out the front window a bit, don't worry I'm not the driver.
Overall watching a dvd player for myself is ok. I can't read a book at all in the car, and reading a map makes me nautious. I get stuck reading the map, but I can't do anything about that.

You might want to ask her what activities she was doing which made her sick? She might remember or maybe not.
Playing games, it all might depend on the game if it makes her sick.
Some video games, when sitting at home, give me motion sickness, the ones that pan and move around. Not sure what it does, but it makes me sick.

Stomach wise, some people do better with certain foods. If she has a sensitive stomach other times, then giving her bland food might help. But, the motion is what is causing the problem.

You might want to be careful how you ask her about when she was feeling sick, if she thinks your taking a fun toy away she may fib a little bit.
Make sure to keep her hydrated with , and if she starts to feel nautious, putting your feet up, and moistening your pulse points always feels a litttle better. Putting a damp paper towel, on her forhead, writsts, neck, may make her feel better.
Make sure she gets adequate venilation. When its hot and stuffy, and your not feeling so good, sometimes some cool air helps.

Worst case scenario, keep a extra big cup, or plastic bag in the car for an emergency use.

If your in a van, or those big suv with 3rd row seating, I'd keep your motion sick child up in the second row of seats. Not sure what it is, but sitting in the back over the tires, is more bumpy and makes me feel sick.
If she doesn't block the rear view mirror I'd put her in the middle of the back seat and let her look out the front window.

I've noticed I start sweating when i start to get nautious, however I have low blood sugar too. So, might want to look for that sign, not sure if its relavant or its the low blood sugar issues. I eat all the time in the car, fruit, peanut butter & jelly, i like protein bars too. Just make sure you have a plastic bag to put the food waiste, and those wet wipes to keep everyones hands from being sticky. Bring what seems to calm her stomach.

I've heard about the wirst thingys but never tried one, haven't ever seen them in the store, not sure what section they are in. Anyone know?
Connie

 

[twojo21]

me & my mom both get motion sickness.

my mom uses a wrist band that applies pressure to a nerve on her wrist, i believe its some type of magnet. i use dramamine which is an over the counter medicine.

i also eat & stay hydrated which helps, you should see my carryon on the plane people drool over my apples & granola bars, i even had a lady offer to buy one from me once. i also like to take naps if i'm in a car while traveling.

 

[Forevryoung]

I used to get really bad motion sickness. I use the bands. Ours were called seabands but they have to be put on correctly by following the directions exactly. If she doesnt like things tight on her wrists she wont tollerate the bands.

I cant eat before car trips. I drink a lot of water and we stop frequently. I can not do anything except sleep or look out of a window while I am in a car. Motion sickness is caused by a mixup in brain signals. Your brain knows your body is moving but your eyes (which give the 2nd half of the signal) are not seeing the movement. That is why it helps to look out of the window.

 

[minkydog]

If she is experiencing motion sickness she needs to stop reading or playing Gameboy in the car. That will definitely make it worse! Her brain is getting mixed messages--the eyes say "staying still", but the ears say"we're moving!" Have her sit in middle so she can look out the front windshield.Play music or listen to books on tape. Let her close her eyes, if it helps. Keep it cool in the car, or let her roll her window down a bit. don't eat or drink in the car,other than dry crackers or cheerios and water. Take a break every 1-1/2-2hrs on long trips.good luck!

Cathy--Queen of Motion Sickness--don't forget your barf bag!

 

[karynnix]

I get terribly car sick unless I'm driving! I can't even ride in the car to the grocery store without feeling sick. I swear by lemon drops. When you have some candy to concentrate on, you don't feel as bad. I also take a pillow with me everywhere I go so that if I start feeling sick, I can lay down and relax. Reading makes it worse for me. I don't even read the street signs!

 

[bopper]

Motion sickness happens when your brain detects a difference in what you see and what you feel. When you are reading a book, your eyes tell you that everything is still. But your inner ear knows you are moving.

Options:
Non-medicated: Look at the horizon. Then your eyes and inner ear will be in synch, both sensing motion. So if DD8 sits in the back seat, she should not read, play videogames but look out toward the horizon.

Medicated: My DD8 and DD11 take half of a children's dramamine and my very car sick prone DD11 has no problems. She can watch DVDs or play gameboy. If they had a whole children's dramamine they would fall asleep (which also passes the time!)

 

[Earstou]

My DD had motion sickness for the first time when we drove a winding road up to the crater in Hawaii. We had to stop twice for her to throw up, poor kid. Two days later, she started feeling sick on a boat, not long after we left the dock. The crew immediately gave her some dried ginger, told her to chew on it and then throw it away. It worked great, she didn't have trouble the rest of the boat ride!
My mom says her friend used to give her kids ginger snaps when they traveled for the same reason. I don't know how well the ginger snaps work, but the dried ginger worked very well for my DD!

 

[riu girl]

Thanks for all the input. We are going on a driving trip (3.5 hours each way) at the end of next month so I will try the suggestions then.

Thanks again.
Suzy. V.

 

[lewdyan1]

Here's another vote for the sea bands. I have used them many times and they help. I am trying to find a pair small enough for my DD, but haven't seen them yet. Any suggestions welcome

 

[Michigan]

Anything with ginger in it. Ginger cookies, ginger pills, ginger gum, ginger soft drink you name it any way you take it ginger helps.

 

[jdads2]

I had been prone to motion sickness since I was a child (I'm now 63). It was severe. I would become ill in a few seconds after looking down at any printed material in a car, looking at a water scene on TV, looking at a merry-go-round, etc.
A suspected ear infection 3 years ago sent me to a physical therapist for vestibular therapy. She gave me a couple of simple exercises which basically ended the motion sickness problem. She said that the techniques had been discovered only a few years ago.
No guarantees, but they're simple and can't hurt even if they don't work.
Have the person prone to motion sickness sit in a comfortable chair. Focus eyes on a stationary object to the left, 10-15 feet away, then move eyes to another object to the right, same distance. Move eyes back and forth between the 2 objects as quickly as possible for a 2 minute period. I usually select a clock face as one of the 2 objects, so I don't have to keep looking elsewhere for the time.
After those 2 minutes, do the same thing but moving the eyes to objects that are above and below the line of vision. Repeat these exercises 2-3 times as many times during the days as is comfortable. I noticed change in a day or so. If the problem recurs, repeat the exercises.
Also, any movement which causes motion sickness, eg. looking down quickly, should be repeated in the same manner.
Let me know if this helps at all.
Good luck.
Sam
sam3m@adelphia.net