Hi. I am going to be travelling with my 6 year-old son in the near future. He will be taking his first plane ride. He has always been a "queasy stomach" kind of kid. Lots of car sickness, motion sickness, etc. (He takes after his Momma that way!!) I am really dreading the plane ride (particularly the takeoff and landing) because of his propensity to, for lack of a better word, puke. Does anyone know if they make Dramamine for kids or some other motion sickness-type medication that I can give him prior to our departure? I usually take a Dramamine tablet or two myself prior to flying and usually it just makes me drowsy and I sleep through half of the flight. But because I will have him with me, I'm going to forego the medication and make sure that he's okay. I will have plenty of "distractions" (i.e. games, portable DVD player, toys, etc.) to keep him busy but I just have a feeling .... so I'm trying to be prepared. Any help you can give me, I'd REALLY appreciate it!!
You might ask a pharmacist but I think they make a patch that fits behind the ear. That might be a little better for him.
N.
Explain your concerns to your pediatrician and see what they recommend.
Dramamine and benadryl are pretty much the same thing (diphenhydramine). Benadryl is just a higher concentration, so the drowsiness effects will be stronger and it will work faster.
There are chewable Dramamine tablets that are safe for children. You can break them apart into the size you need to give your son the recommended dosage. All of my children have had issues with getting car sick, and nothing messes up a road trip like stopping to clean puke out of the car. I have had too many experiences with that, so I have given all 5 of my kids dramamine before starting a long car ride for years. They have never had any problems with it. Usually one dose will take care of their symptoms for a 12 hour drive. However, we did drive on a particularly windy road this summer after about 8 hours of driving and my son got sick. I was quite glad I had received a piece of advice from a friend. She said ziplock bags work great for containing vomit. There are no holes in it and you can zip it up to contain the smell. My son used him ziplock bag and everything was fine.
I had asked my doctor about this in planning for a cruise trip and was advised to use Benadryl instead of Dramamine, but I would check with your physician as that was quite a few years ago.
They do have dramamine for kids and carry it at Walgreens. I bought it for my kids for a 10 hr. car ride that was taking us through MD and WV. So lots of ups and downs and curves.
It was a mondern day miracle. They are chewable and for children as young as 2 yrs. old I think. We can't make it from here to the movie theather 15 minutes down the road without one of my two youngest (5 and 6) throwing up in the car. We got to where we carried about plastic baggies for the occasion. Not only did no one throw up, but it didn't make them drowsy. They stayed awake for all but about 30 minutes of the drive, watching movies on the dvd player in our car.
In short, I highly recommend
My 5-yr-old gets car sick. We use Sea-Band wrist-bands, make sure he has a full tummy before we leave, and don't allow any gaming devices while we are in the car. So far so good. Keep your fingers cossed. I still make sure we have plastic bags in the backseat "just in case."
I found the wristbands at Walgreens next to the Dramamine. They use accupressure to fight the nausea.
I gave my 7.5yo daughter Dramamine on a long car ride, if I remember correctly the regular box has dosage for kids, it was probably one pill. It knocked her out a bit and she snoozed for almost an hour, so timing would be key for you. Perhaps as soon as you are boarding the plane, since that's usually 30-45 minutes ahead of take-off? It really helped though, she didn't complain once.
Other tips, I have developed a queasier stomach as I have gotten older:
I keep my held still and facing forward, usually with my eyes closed during turbulence, deep breaths. If my eyes are open, I am facing straight ahead, not looking out the window or behind me. Calmness is key, big breaths. I would also suggest peppermints, ginger (candy or ale), crackers or pretzels, 7up/Sprite. Good luck!
