What to Do for Motion Sickness?

My Doctor recommended Benedryl when we flew with our 3 yr old to Florida this summer. It was her first plane trip & I wasn't sure how she would do. She told us to use the benedryl because it is in the same family as dramamine (which is what I use for motion sickness). It worked well for us. We didn't have any problems with her getting sick.
Good Luck!

my kids get car sick too. I give them dramamine for long car trips and keep a bucket in the car always. A few bottles of water and diaper wipes for clean up. I have given dramamine to them for a few years now (since the middle one was around 1 1/2). I thought they had childrens dram. available? Ask your ped. if they reccomend anything else

My daughter is 4 and unfortunately has awful motion sickness as well. I just went to her doctor and he suggested moving her car seat to the middle of the backseat, keep a bottle of water handy and to use the motion sickness wristbands. These work, as I use them myself. You can find then with the motion sickness medicines or ask the pharmacist. WE always keep them in the car. They were only about $7. Much better than giving the medications that knock them out. She has been using the wristbands for about a month and we have had no problems since. Good luck!

Hi E.. My 3 year old has been getting car sick since she was 4 months old. When she tells me her tummy hurts in the car now, I roll her window down some, crank up the ac, and give her a DumDum sucker. She has a "special blanket" (an old towel) that we drape over her as much as possible also. On long trips, we use a portable dvd player, and that helps some. I try not to let her drink her milk in the car, but that's somewhat impossible sometimes. I know if you ask your pediatrician, he can recommend a medication for your daughter that is ok to use. Good luck. I hope this helps.

Ginger! I get motion sickness very badly and take prescription meds for it when I get it, but I'd heard that ginger helps and it is very, very true! Now, before I take a long drive, ride on a bus, go to an amusement park, etc. I take ginger pills and I am doing much better! Not sure how well a 3 year old could swallow a ginger pill as they are large capsules, but ginger aile, ginger cookies, anything with ginger in it will help. You may ask a doctor or pharmacist about opening up a ginger capsule and giving it to her with water on a spoon or something like that. Be sure to give it to her at least an hour BEFORE you leave and then another "dose" half way or so into the trip to keep it working for her. As I said, I get motion sickness very badly and doing ginger I was even able to go on a 5 hour whale watching tour while we were on vacation in Maine! It was a God send and made all the difference in the world!! Ginger is a natural and won't hurt her or cause any concerns like meds would. I would not give her dramamine at her age by the way. Too risky. Have a nice trip!

Giant sucker or food like animal crackers or cereal. No reading stuff, like books, videos, etc. it tends to make it worse. Gum.

My daughter got sick on a 14 hr car ride about 3 hours into it. All over herself, carseat, everywhere when she was 2. We cleaned her up and the carseat and bought a giant sucker pacifier candy thing. It worked wonders!

Good luck to you!

Hi, E.! I've had the same issue with my son in the past, so I asked my pediatrician what I could do, and she said to give him Benedryl according to the package directions. It worked! Good luck!

Hi E.,

Ginger does work really well to help with the upset tummy. But, in my experience it doesn't keep the upset tummy from actually happening.

Most drug stores, like CVS or Walgreen will carry motion sickness wrist bands. Typically you can find them in child sizes. You put them on and voila! No motion sickness. They trigger an acupressure point on the wrist... and more importantly.... THEY WORK!!!! I've tried them. Friends have tried them. They work. Now granted, I haven't tried them on a child since we don't have issues with that and hopefully we won't. But, I know the adult sizes work for adults.

Check it out. It's a non-medicataed approach.

I used to get motion sick when I was a kid. On long trips my mom would give me dramamine. I fell asleep all the time! And then, sometime, I was super sleepy once we got to where we were going! No fun for anyone.

Good luck!

Hi E.,
I can relate to the car sick problem. I was a car sick kind of kid and my kids are car sick kids too.
I have had success with dramamine (1/2 a tab for the little ones and the older ones get one full tab) for mine when we make the 11 hour drive back to our original home in upstate NY from Indiana, however, if you're not comfortable with Dramamine, I have done a lot of reading that Benadryl is actually commonly used as a motion sickness medication. There are many different brands of this medication made in liquids for kids plus it may make her sleepy which could be a good thing on a long trip.
Good luck!!

My sister in law uses ginger....I would check with your daughter's dr to see what they would suggest.

Hi =)
Peppermint essential oil, found at Whole Foods, or "Health" food stores, co-ops, can be used on a towel or other cloth like something and put in back with her. She can smell it if she feels sick. Also peppermint candy works. Smelling helps me better, tasting works best for others. Ginger ale, ginger beer or ginger candy also has been said to work. Have a great trip!

My Physical Therapist I had to use for my knee mentioned her daughter got car sick a-lot and she found some kind of suckers...I'm not sure if they had ginger in them or what but it worked for her daughter.
You could try asking your daughter's doctor where you can find them or look on line.
I know they also make a sucker for morning sickness for pregnant women...not sure if this would work for your daughter or not.
I take Dremamine when we travel but I'm not sure at what age it's safe for children.
Good luck!

Static Strips, you can get them from an auto parts store like NAPA. They have them for car and truck sizes.

It's a rubber strip with metal inside. The strip attaches to the back of the car and drags on the road grounding the car. The queasy feeling the brings on car sickness is often due to a build up of static in the car and this stops that. It won't help if she has an inner ear issue. Sound crazy? Truck drivers use them and they are big in Canada. I was desperate for my daughters car sickness and tried it b/c friends swore by it. We went through the Rockies with one on our car and my mom who has to take dramamine DIDN'T get sick once and has them on her cars now. It sounds weird but it will help.

Check your local health food stores. They have a gingered candy some lollipops and a a line of homeopathic medications; hansons I think

Candied Ginger is suppose to work, but it might be a bit spicy for children. The bands work some. Make sure they can see out - being able to see what's coming - anticipating a motion, helps ward off the motion sickness. Also a cold drink in hand helps. I suffer from motion sickness. I'm fine on roller coasters because I can anticipate the motion & I have wind in my face (and it's a short duration), but I cannot stand to be on a boat unless I can see the waves coming, or a car where I cannot see out (can't read or look at a map for very long at all!) Without medication, a cold drink & being able to see are the best way to prevent motion sickness. (In planes I always sit by the window & only suffer when they decide to make those big turns or go through rough air - I usually take a little dramimine before flying.) But for a little child, I suggest cold drinks & being able to see out. Books and movies could make the motion sickness worse. However, I did sit in the back of the car with my son & watched a movie without too much trouble. Good luck!

Our doctor suggested benadryl because it makes them sleepy. Therefore they fall asleep and sleep for longer instead of being awake.

I didn't agree with it for my son b/c he didn't get sick often enough in my opinion. My neice though, she will get sick twice on a three hour car ride, so it was totally worth it.

This is homeopathic:
http://www.hylands.com/products/motionsickness.php

Also, something with spearmint and/or ginger can help.

E., we live in an area of the state with very windy roads, and once, when I was driving, my son got sick. That was the second time he'd ever gotten car sick, but knowing we'd be driving that route a lot, I decided to ask my sister-in-law, who is a pharmacist, about it. She recommended the kid-sized Sea Band bracelets (which my 3-year-old LOVES to wear), though my husband (an OB/Gyn) doesn't really believe they work (ah, the joys of living in a medical family). My sister-in-law also stated that the Original formula (not the new formula) of Dramamine is fine for young children, as long as you give them a half a tablet. It worked for my son the few times we used it on long car trips, though it made him sleepy (which was good in the car) and thirsty, I think. It's basically an anti-emetic and keeps a person from vomiting. Since then, we've just tried driving very slowly through the curves, and that seems to help him. He still likes to wear his bracelets for fun sometimes. I hope that helps!

Dear E.,
Walmart has these bands that go on your wrists called c-bands, I think. It places pressure on the pressure point on the inside of your wrists to prevent nausea. My daughter uses them and they work. They are in the pharmacy dept. I am not sure if they have them small enough for your daughter. If not, you could probably make them by looking at them or maybe they will have them on the internet. I hope this helps! L. J