Need Car Sickness Suggestions

Gum!! Plain simple chewing gum. My daughter gets sick every time we are in the car for more than 15 mins and I have been using chewing gum since I could teach her how to chew it :) I simply keep a pack in the car all the time :)

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Oh boy, I remember those days. Try a cold compress and stop the car as soon as he becomes uncomfortable. Sitting in the front seat is often better for car sickness too. Things like reading or watching TV make it much worse. There are motion sickness bracelets available at most drug stores. They just put pressure on a certain point on the wrist, no medication involved. His little wrists might be too small for them though. An acupuncturist would be the best bet for getting real relief. There are herbs available that can really help, and they are not nearly as strong as the over the counter meds.

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I have car sickness when I am a passenger. Im not sure if its the same for kids but I find looking at something like DVDs or magazines make it worse. Also not having the air on makes it worse. I need to have the air on all the time to have fresh air. Looking out the windown helps, especially looking forward. if your child is too small to to look out the window maybe a toy might distract her or playing her music. but mostly the air works for me.

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My daughter will get car sick sometimes, not often. In the winter once a month we go on a trip to the mountains and usually she'll get sick at the same time and place every trip. So I've learned not to give her too much to eat or drink before we get to that stretch of the trip. I also make sure that we don't read or play during that stretch. If she sits quietly and looks out the window - she's usually okay. Have plenty of towels, paper towels handy on your trips!
Good luck.

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Poor you having to clean that stuff up! I know that it's part of motherhood, but as a mother of a 4 month old, I am really dreading that part!
I used to run outdoor adventures, pre parenthood and for long road trips I always carried both lemon drops and ginger candy. Ginger is a pretty strong flavor, so children may not like it. Something about both the lemon and ginger have a mild nausea calming effect. It seemed to work for the adults that would travel on long windy roads. Good luck!
C. H

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My DD gets carsick all the time too!!! Though putting a DVD on for her does help and gets her to focus forward. The main thing for us is no dairy products. I cut out all her milk, yogurt or anything like that before we go(at least the morning of if not the night before too). When I do that she is usually fine. I always have little snacks available, goldfish, pretzels, crackers. I also give her ginger ale or 7-up. She likes both and knows that its a special treat just for the car. Its a miserable way to start or end a trip I know and I wish I could say it gets better....my DD is almost 6 (has been getting carsick since she was old enough to stay awake on trips) and still gets sick if I give her milk before we leave!!! Good Luck!!

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Try herbalremedies.com, they have natural stuff that takes care of motion sickness. I go to that website often to find natural methods to manage our ailments.

My husband genetically has high blood pressure, since he was in his 20's and is very athletic, fit, active and doesn't smoke. I made a massage oil based on what I learned from that website. So, instead of taking aspirin, I give him massages and that has kept his blood pressure down. Hope that helps.

Ask the pediatrician if it's OK for her to use the magnet bracelets. I have no idea whether they'd work but at least it's not medicating her. Also if there is any kind of peppermint or ginger candy or gum that wouldn't be a choking hazard to her, that might help quell her stomach. But mostly you probably just need to be sure she's actually looking out the window the whole trip and not letting her eyes drift around inside the car. Her brain needs to get the visual cue from her eyes that yes she is in fact moving. It's when the eyes tell the brain there's no motion when her inner ear tells the brain there IS motion that causes the nausea. Good luck. ... Hey, I just scanned through some of the other replies. One mentioned non-drowsy Dramamine. This will still make her drowsy. I take Dramamine occasionally due to an inner-ear disorder and even a fraction of a pill leaves me groggy for 24 hours! I would NOT give this medicine to a 2-yr-old, especially not without asking the pediatrician about it.

at a health food stire, get the homeopathic medicine, nux vomica. Place one tiny pellet under her tongue and then another after about 15 min. if she needs it. Also, stopping and fresh air is still a great idea

As much as possible, NO MEDICATION!
To this day I have car sickness as a passenger. To avoid being sick, I was taught to focus on looking at the road in front of me, not looking to the left or right. I have to sit in the front...since your child is only two, I'm not sure if this is a good idea. I have to feel the air all the time, either the air conditioner or just crack the window. Sometimes I would sip just a little bit of 7up to settle my stomach...not a lot.

Hope this helps.

My son also has car sickness. I never actually asked a dr about it. I just bought some Dramamine and cut the pills up. You could give your daughter 1/4 or 1/8 of a pill, if you can cut it that small,and she would be fine. Plus it would make her sleep(unless you get the non-drowsy formula).

Ginger works great!

Hi N.,

My brother used to suffer terrible bouts of car sickness and there was only one thing that worked: attaching a chain to the car so that it drags along the road as you drive. This might sound a little crazy but it really worked because it reduces the build up of static electricity inside the car. We went on many long road trips when we were kids and as long as that chain was down, my brother felt fine. One time he felt really ill again, and sure enough, the chain had bounced up and was no longer dragging along the pavement. We fixed the chain and all was well again. It's an old fashioned remedy but it worked for our family!

I would try anti-nausea acupressure bands. They make them for kids now I've seen. I bought mine from a sporting goods store as they're sold for motion sickness from boating and such. I bought them because I was always so sick with my first pregnancy. I wore them for my second and now my third and will also sometimes wear them when I get a stomach bug to help some.
They work really well for me. I have heard from other people that they work really well for them when boating etc as well.
Here's a link to show you what I'm talking about
http://www.onestepahead.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId...
The same site sells Queasy Pops which I have heard of. Never tried those though but they might be an idea.

We give our kids a tincture of ginger mixed with water. Really helps a lot. You can find it in Whole Foods. It comes in a little bottle with an eyedropper thing and we just put about 10-15 drops in a half filled water bottle. Ginger is not a drug so we have used this without any problem and the kids liked the taste!

Try queasy pops. They're a herbal based lollipop developed for prego moms and car sickness. Just google the name.

Go to CVS or your local pharmacy and get sea sick bands. I think they're called Seabands. They're elastic wrist bands and they work for all kinds of motion sickness. There is a small bead sewn into the band which applies pressure on the inside of the wrist and works wonders in the car. Also give her a few Saltines to snack on. The baking soda in the Saltines takes away the nausea. Good luck!

You've gotten a lot of good advice. My daughter would get car sick on long trips too, she's five now. What we had to do, which is not easy, we had a bucket, bath towel and paper towels and Febreeze on every trip.

We always had the bath towel near her, ready to drape over her when she looked like she was going to lose it. Then we had the bucket. The paper towels for clean up. And the Febreeze for her car seat. All this didn't make for happy road trips! I don't know how many times I washed her car seat.

I always thought about giving her Ginger Snaps. But by the time I thought to use them, she had outgrown the car sickness.

Good Luck and try the Ginger Snaps.

Try sea bands for kids. They are elastic bracelets that are used to prevent or reduce motion sickness. My daughter had a bad case of mono and she wore them to reduce nausea. They are sold near the dramamine in drug stores.

Hi N., bless her little heart, try giving her saltines or pretzles while you drive, make sure he window is down enough to get a breeze, and put some ginger ale or seven up in her sippy cup see if that helps, no milk or dairy products before or during traveling, i know this works for some, I never heard of a child getting car sick. so who knows maybe it will work, And sweetie just a little bit of advice, don't let the doctors medicate your child even when she turns 4. J. L.

Try letting her sip lemonade - preferably fairly tart. Sounds weird, but it works.

I need fresh air and I can't sit in back and not be able to see outside. Reading or watching a TV makes it so much worse.

Go to your local health food store and talk to the folks there. I believe that you can get a wrist band or try ginger. I have used the little wrist bands on my daughter's wrists and that works fine. Also, I have used 1/4 tablet of children's chewable Dramamine since she was 18 mos. without a problem.

I've dealt with motion sickness my whole life, I would suggest something to suck on, a lollipop or a candy cane (the mint really helps). I would also put his carseat in the middle seat, so he can look out the front window, watching the steady horizon versus the moving landscape will help too.

Good luck!

We ususally place our two year old in the middle seat position that way she is not right next to a window. We have had good success with this. We have the DVD player as well and that does work for us. Another tactic may be to leave during a time when she would naturally be asleep. We do a 6 hour drive to Arizona from California and we try to leave during the late evening or super early in the morning so that she will sleep at least most of the way there. Hope this helps.

So true about the front seat, but that's obviously not an option for a toddler. Do you feed her just before leaving? Be sure to have salty snacks .... crackers, goldfish, and water. When she is older you can do ginger ale, but you may not want to now ... that is your choice. I have always been suceptible to car sickness, so these are my tricks. As soon as my stomach becomes empty, it magnifies the sickness .... generally I need to snack on salty foods and close my eyes as much as possible. Also, have you tried putting the window down for a few minutes .... air circulation was a problem for me too. I hope some of this helps.

You've received a great bunch of ideas. Since I still get carsick (sometimes even when driving), you may want to do some of the things that have helped me since I was a very young child...
--Give her gingersnaps. Ginger is a natural anti-nausea herb. Buy the good kind with lots of ginger. Since they're dry, they help like crackers or pretzels.
--Keep the air flowing (like previous posters, this is the only way I can make it in any car).
--Have her eyes checked. I was told by my Opthemologist that my farsightedness has a great deal to do with carsickness.
--Use a clean coffee bag (the kind that are used for fresh ground coffee beans in the grocery store). They are exactly like the airsickness bags in airplanes (close up easily and are coated so no liquid escapes). I've kept these in the door pocket of my car since my oldest DD was 2... and have used them for her more times than I can remember!
Good luck!
N., Wife and SAHM of 4 great children

try to put her car seat in the middle so she can only look out front. i suffer pretty bad from car sickness and the only way i dont get sick is if im looking straight ahead upfront. since you cant (or shouldnt) put her in teh front seat if you put her in the middle and her only option is to look forward she should have a better time. i wouldnt use the DVD it may make it worse.

I come from a long line of kids that get car sick, and the trick is to look straight ahead. Put her in the middle seat and block her side vision with a canopy or blakets.

Ginger and peppermint help. I get ginger cookies at the grocery store. Keeping a peppermint in your mouth also helps but since she is only 2 maybe you can find something else 'pepperminty' that is more age apropriate. My son gets motion sickness too and we fly a lot to visit my family. Just this weekend we were flying back from a visit and right at the end of the flight my sweet baby boy upchucked more awful icky ralph than I thought he could even consume! WAY GROSS!! Motion sickness really is a bummer but it's even more fun if the barf happens on the plane! Planes seem so large at the airport and I can tell you that when you have a little barfy dude it gets A LOT smaller! Good luck and just have faith that she will either grow out of it or at least be able to give you a better warning!

Hi N.,
I have given my daughter dramamine since she was 3. The directions on the packet have a dose of 1/4 to 1/2 a tablet for children of 2-6 years of age. I have always given my daughter 1/2 a one. There is also a homeopathic remedy which I have not tried. It is a fluid that you rub behind the ears and it is called MotionEaze.
I hope this helps.
C. :-)
www.guardiansleeper.com

Hi N.:
Well, you can just imagine....Seven Kids crammed in a station wagon!! lmao.....We were stuffed in there like a can of (sardines)Ever so often, Mom would come up with the brilliant idea,of taking the whole gang to the local mountains...I use to beg to stay home! I knew,I'd eventually spew on one of my sibblings,or between dads arm rest! ewwww. I just really had a problem with motion sickness. Finally mom and dad stuck me in front with them, and It seemed to solve the problem. What was makig me sick,was motion,without being able to see where I was going. To this day,I can't sit with my back to the driver in a limo, get on a swing, or drive Rounding tight curves for any length of time. I'd see if it helps putting her in the front,where shes able to see where shes going. If that doesn't help,I'd allow her to stay home,until the Dr can give her something to help.One suggestion,would be that bandaid that goes behind the ear,for motion sickness. They use them for those going asea,or flying. I wish you and your darlin daughter the best.

Oh, that is no fun! I don't have personal experience with this, however my good friend's son used to be car sick even on just a very short ride. They tried a bunch of different things and nothing seemed to work. But what she did that at least took care of the clean up part, was they ALWAYS had a bucket, I think she just used a plastic sand pail, readily available. I'm not sure at 2 if she can know when it's coming and grab the bucket yet herself? But my friend's son became an expert at that, when the time came he would just grab his bucket and let it go. For now, at least if an adult is in the passenger seat this could help! Good luck!

My friend got her son adjusted by a pediatric chiropractor and he's been fine ever since. Your daughter probably doesn't have a drug deficiency in her body, so you may want to find out WHY, rather than covering the problem up with drugs once she's 4.

N.,
I am "suffered" from car sickness since I was little, too. I was good to go for about 2 hours any trip longer than that would not go well. Reading or watching videos would only make it worse. I have always used dramamine to prevent it, but that makes me VERY drowsy long after even an 8 hour trip is over.---And you can't give that to your daughter yet anyway.
My advice is to stop for a few minuets in the middle of your trip--say at 1 1/2 hours into it. Let her breathe in fesh air by cracking the window. And sometimes a peppermint candy would help prevent the nausea. Ginger has never helped me, but I have heard that it does work well for some people--pilots use it a lot.
Keep a thick urp-bag nearby for her to use. Fast-food pop cups and an empty bag of chips work great in a pinch, too.
I wish you the best and hope that she is one of the lucky who does out grow this with age.
T.

My son has a same issue..throws up on long journey..we have found some ways after some research and observation to minimise the occurance of this issue..by the way he dad has motion sickness too so I guess its not going to go away so easily for my son.. anyways first thing we did was to try him sit almost upright rather than slouched up in his car seat. We adjusted the car seat angle we put a little pad behind his back..u get the idea..second thing we did was move his car seat moew towards the centre of the minivan so we can see straight ahead like the driver rather than look out side ways.. it seems this relieves motion sickness to some degree ..third and the most important thing is we have this rule of not giving him large quantity..anything more than couple sips of drink..before and during the journey..try these things.. it sure helps..but its not a cure..i know how u feel..take care

Hi, My youngest daughter developed car sickness too once she became a toddler ( or young child- I don't remember the age exactly). I know that ginger is supposed to help- however my daughter can't stand the smell or taste of ginger. Even now that she's 15 she can taste ginger in food and will only pick at the food. What seemed to help for us was to get a little something in her stomach ( not a lot)- if she was hungry at all before the drive. I also would bring along something to drink,because that would help if she became queasy. Just for peace of mind, I began bringing along something she could use if she needed to vomit. Sure enough, if she did have to vomit in the car, right away afterwards she would feel OK, and could drink a little something. I would always try to keep the air circulating in the car, which helped

I also learned to moderate my driving a bit. To this day, I try to avoid mountainous or curvy roads with her. It does get better- just from maturation wise for some reason. She really feels like when her dad would take her in the car, and be listening to talk radio- that she'd get sicker. Maybe there's something about the droning on and on with talk radio that bothers her- I don't know. Best of luck N..

The bandaid behind the ear that one post mentioned is medication, so steer clear. The bracelet may help. My daughter has problems too. The smaller the car and more closed in she is, the worse. If you put her in the back behind a seat, make sure that seat is as far forward as possible for that passenger to give her more room. I found it helped to put my child in the middle so there was nothing in front of her and she could look out the front window. You might try that. Make sure she's getting fresh air from an air vent or a cracked window. And the usual - no milk products, real ginger ale to drink (no artificial stuff, it won't work), carb snacks like crackers, pretzels etc.

It seems as though you have gotten many good suggestions, but here is one you did not receive yet, so I will offer it. Talk to your pediatrician and ask what alternatives to medications there might be for this problem. Also, I would definitely ask your family to come and visit in your town. Let them know that it is difficult for you to travel with two small children. Maybe research things you can do with your family in your town. Best of luck to you in your situation.

look into ginger. I dont know how much to give a child but I get sick in the car and I have used it with great success. Good Luck

Not sure you can stop it but if you give her orange juice instead of milk it will stink less.

When I was pregnant I used the bracelets mentioned by the first poster, and they were awesome for nausea on my boat trip to Catalina and even morning sickness!!

Ohterwise, when we traveled with my cousin her Mom would sheets on the windows so she couldn't look out those windows, and had to focus forward. It helped her, kind of like black out curtains.

This might sound funny, but I had a little dog that used to get carsick as well. My dog trainer told me to give him gingersnap cookies. The ginger helps settle the stomach. When my son was younger, we had to travel in the car and he wasn't feeling well. I gave him a couple of gingersnap cookie and he didn't have anymore problems.

There are motionsickeness bracelets/wristbands that have a litle plastic ball which is placed on the inside of your wrist. They sell them at the pharmacy and they work real well, we take them with us when we go out on the boat.
See if you can find them at the pharmacy, they're grey and come in a small plastic case.
Good luck!

Check out natural remedies for kids by Hylands. I have used several of their products for my kids since they were just a few months old for different thing. I used Ginger Trips when I had morning sickness and ginger candies.

Try those wrist bands that press on the meridian that prevents sickness (or whatever it does, but they work for my little girl) you can also find homeopathic oils that you put behind her ears and someone told me to put vics vaporub into her belly button (it's worth a try!)

I would ask your doctor if you can try ginger tea. Have you tried the bracelets that you can wear? Those work for some people on boats, she might get a kick out of wearing them too! I know that the ginger pills worked for me when I went out on a boat in Hawaii, and I always get sea sick!

No fluids 30 minutes before leaving. A dry snack like saltine, small pretzel, 1/4 slice of bread every few minutes (no oils: cheese, fried anything).

No liquids during the trip.

I see that other posters mentioned these already, but since it might sound kooky, thought I'd respond anyway. Those wrist-bands do work. I've used them many times taking a tiny little yacht over to Catalina. Since we sleep on the boat while tied to a buoy in the harbor, I keep them on the whole time and experience no motion sickness at all. Good luck.

Try SeaBands. They are used for motion sickness. Its a sweat band that has a bead to hit a pressure point on your wrist to alleivate nausea. (pregnant women use them too.) i used them for a wedding that was on a boat and I know they have them for kids as well. the great part is, no drugs! Good luck!