Car Sickness Remedies

Hi! I am very prone to car sickness and I take public transit to work so I was forced to find a solution awhile ago as the bus often made me very sick.

I got these acupressure bracelets called Sea Bands from Walgreens, they are AMAZING. I have used them for flying, on the bus, and just general nausea and they are great. They are VERY tight, so leaving them on for hours and hours can be uncomfortable, but to me it's worth it to not get sick. I have even put them on after I've begun to feel sick and found that they helped. There is a plastic button in the bottom part that sits against your skin and presses in on the acupressure point for nausea. Give them a try!

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I buy Travel sickness pills at the pharmacy, they are chewable and raspberry flavored and they work great. The main active ingredient is "Meclizine" they are 25 mg. each.They cost about $5 for a bottle of 100.

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I grew up getting car sick and now my son has the same problem. Here are things that have helped up...

1) Dramamine before the trip. Works okay, but I have found that it doesn't do the whole trick.
2) Avoid back seat when possible - tip for when she gets older.
3) Have water to sip available. Sounds counter intuitive, but sometimes having something to eat on hand too helps, like Cheerios or a Nutrigrain bar.
4) Take the least curvy and hilly route possible. (I know this doesn't help for this particular trip).
5) Crack the windows and/or get a hand held battery powered fan. I don't know why, but direct cool air to the forehead has always helped me tremendously.
6) Wear comfortable clothes. Take coats, etc off before buckling up. If you feel this way and are hot it only adds to the misery. Better to have a blanket that you can throw off.
7)Avoid direct sun. If you have sun shades or something she can block out the sun with a bit that should help. She may or may not benefit from closing her eyes too.
8) Make sure she doesn't read, play games, color, etc on the trip. I know this is a bummer, but doing these things just gives the symptoms a jump start.

I hope one or a combination of these things help your daughter. I know how horrible getting car sick is so as you can see, I have developed a lot of coping strategies over the years. Sometimes you just have to pull over and stop the motion for a bit. I know this is not always possible, but when you can do this safely, it is worth it. Good luck!

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I am sorry to hear that your little one does not travel well. I used to get airsick and I used the wrist bands they sell for sea sickness. They are a normal wrist band that has a ball on it that gets placed on the pressure point (or the little indentation on the inside of your wrist). Here is a link about them but you can buy them over the counter at any drugstore (just ask the pharmacist if you can’t find them).

Good luck!

http://www.landfallnavigation.com/-sms01.html

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Dear K.,
Go to Wal-Mart in the pharmacy dept. and ask for C-patch. I'm not sure if I spelled it correctly. They are wrist bands that put slight pressure on the wrist to prevent car sickness. It works! My daughter has the same problem and she carries them in her purse. L. J

Peppermint and ginger are BOTH great for nausea. You can either suck on a peppermint, drink mint or ginger tea, etc. Lemon also helps. They even have "PREG-O mints" etc. now for moms for morning sickness. This is pretty much what they are based off of. I've been telling people this for years. Wish I'd thought of that!

Make SURE she's not reading anything that might add to the problem. Go slow enough that you don't notice the turns, etc. as drastically. And......of course, keep a bag on hand, just for potential accidents.

I still get car sick. It helps to sit in the front. Also dramine helps.I think it's misspelled. I would check with her dr first. If I could sleep the whole time that helped too when I was younger. It didn't help that we traveled allot when I was growing up.
I am still bad the only way I don't get sick is to drive myself, which isn't always the answer either.

When my husband and I travel, I can't do anything in the car either...just watch the road...we went on a cruise last year and found the wrist bands as well. I use them when we travel, b/c my hubby won't fly, so we drive everywhere...anyway, we bought the wrist bands with the ball on them for the pressure point and they worked well...I use them and now when we travel, I can color, read, whatever...within reason of course.

I also find that if it is too hot in the car, I get sick as well...you might just need to take off your little ones jacket or crack a window.

Hope this helps...good luck...

I've not had this problem with my kids however I had this problem when I was a kid. We did a lot of traveling by car and I always got motion sickness. My parents gave me dramamine(sp?) It really helped. As long as I took it I didn't get sick. Good luck!

I use to get motion sickness really bad when I was a kid, and still do when I go on airplanes or on a cruise ship. I just take Ginger Root, which is an herbal supplement. Although I am not sure how young I was... I remember taking it when I was 10/11 but I know you said your daughter is 6. I would go into a health food store and talk with them and I would specifically ask about the Ginger Root... it's great!

I think there is Dramamine for kids on the market. I take this when I travel by air or boat and though it makes me sleepy, I don't barf!!

i just discovered gripe water-- it's made for babies who have colicky tummies, but the ingredients are great for nausea/vomiting/upset stomach... ginger and fennel and chamomile. it's super gentle, obviously, since it's made for babies, so i wouldn't hesitate giving it to a 6-yr old.

i'm sure there is a homeopathic too. you could check into that.

Dramamine is a life saver!

My stepdaughter gets car sick, too. We use Dramamine for long car rides, and it seems to work. For shorter car rides (30-60 minutes) she wears those wrist bands with magnets in them, and they also seem to work. They're available at drugstores. I don't know if the wristbands actually work or if it's just psychological, but as long as she's happy, I'm happy!

K.,
I echo Jennifer on this. Typically you can find children's dosage Dramamine that doesn't make them sleepy. I use the adult version myself whenever I fly - that whole inner ear thing.
I have never used the wristbands, but I have an adult friend who gets nauseated so often she got tired of taking Dramamine. She swears they really work.
Good luck, and don't forget to have her be prepared with her own plastic bag, so she won't miss any fun!

S.

My little sister used to get car sick all the time.

One thing my mother always did was - since my sister was the one who got sick - was to have my sister sit next to her, and my mother would have a supply of zip-lock bags for when my sister would get car-sick. I'd also suggest a container of wipes.

Dramamine might help when you're going "through the hills", although it will likely make her a little sleepy.

I'd ask a pharmacist and/or the pediatrician's office for suggestions too.

For what it's worth - and good luck!

This may sond odd but I'll throw it out there...

My cousin's daughter (18 months- 2.5 at the time) got car sick, even on short trips on flat terrain. They found that if she watched a movie (something about focusing on something inside the car?) or DVD in the car it helped. Anyhow, it's a suggestion that doesn't involve medication so I thought I'd post it since so many of the other posts suggested some kind of drug.

Dramamine works well. They do make a non drowsy formula now, and a children's dosage.

Yes, there are a few overthe counter meds to help. My step son used to get sick all of time as well and loved taking the motion sickness pills. They have them just for kids too. As kids, we always got sick, and this was a clue to our mother that we needed glasses. As it is, my stepson has gotten glasses since then. Make sure she can sit in a position to see out the front of the car and no reading or looking down.Goodluck.

K., Try Bonine, I got it at walmart. Give her half of one hour before you get on the road and it shouldnt knock her like I have heard the other brand does. Good Luck and have fun! C.

Yes there is an over the counter med... Dramamine
I'm not sure of the spelling, but ask at the drug store or at the pharmacy section of K-Mart/Walmart and they will help you. I wish you the best!