Air sickness

[Tony Bush]

My DS is 11 years old and suffers terribly from air sickness. This is both due to the motion of the plane and nervousness of flying. We have tried many different ways of trying to help him but last time we flew he was sick on the way to the airport, at the airport and on the plane...

Can anyone help? Most normal medicines will also make him drowsy and we don't want to ruin the first day or so whilst he is recovering. I was thinking of a herbal remedy - any help there ??

Thanks,

Tony

 

[GO2209]

I am not too knowledgeable about herbal treatments, suggest you try a local store. Our local one has very good staff - hopefully you will find similar.

However, I think there are two forms of travel sickness. One relates more to motion sickness (I used to suffer this and ear infections as a child - probably related in some way) the other is a nervous condition. From what you say about your child being sick prior to the actual flight, it does sound more like nerves.

A friend swears by this herbal stuff, I am less convinced - I suspect that 'placebo effect' counts for a lot. Gelsemium and St Johns Wort are supposedly good for mild sedative/relaxants. Ginger is good for settling the stomach and reducing nausea.

I have no idea on how advisable it is for children totake this stuff. Personally, I am concerned that a lot of these herbal health products are not subjected to the same rigorous testing and monitoring as conventional drugs.

Sorry, this is such a long winded response - and one with such little content!!!

Whatever you decide to do - check with your doctor or browse the NHS Direct website, which is quite an excellent service. http://www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk/

 

[Disney owl]

My youngest two kids are occasionally travel sick. Not as bad as your poor DS.

We use the wrist bands that apply pressure to the wrist. They work for us. We use the ones taht fasten with velcro & come in various colours.

Available from Boots & any where they sell travel accesssories including the channel tunnel & airports.

Not sure i fthe effect is all in the mind but they do work for us.

 

[Mpet]

Hi Tony

Can't really help with a herbal solution, but DD suffered terribly with airsickness - usually on take off and landing (and I mean sick in a bag airsickness!) which spoilt the flight for her.

I asked the pharmacist in Boots what she would recommend and she suggested Stugeron. Since using this DD has not suferred from sickness once - even on some quite bumpy landings.

Maxine

 

[GO2209]

Haven't heard of Stugeron. A couple of links that may be of some interest :

http://www.janssen-cilag.co.uk/our/products/pdf/pil00072.pdf - the pdf of the leaflet accompanying the tablets.

http://home.intekom.com/pharm/janssen/stugeron.html general notes of the medication.

The second link does refer to a side effect - 'Sedative effects, when they occur, may diminish after a few days.'

 

[Hilary]

My DD (now 13) also had bad airsickness for years, but didn't suffer from the 'pre-flight nervous sickness' that your DS has.

What worked for my DD may not make any difference to your DS becoming ill from anxiousness before the flight, but I guess you get to a stage where most things are worth a try!

For the flight we have found that a combination of Earplanes earplugs to help relieve the discomfort of air pressure imbalance and Stugeron for the motion sickness have helped enormously.

Whether the effects are physical or pschycological, I don't mind - as long as it works!

 

[DisneyAli]

I take stugeron and i suffer badly from motion sickness but this medication which was suggested by the pharmacist seems to work the best.

I did read in a magazine the other day the Hofels produce a ginger capsule which is supposed to be good for all types of motion sickness. Hope this is of some help.

 

[keith&carol]

I've been using Stugeron for a few years now and highly recommend it. It does have a sedative effect but it wears off quite quickly. I tried the Ginger treatment and it made my stomach fill with gingery air so although I wasn't sick I still felt it!
I think your Doctor would be the best to advise you on sickness caused by nerves.The poor Lad has my sympathy, Our DD always gets a bad throat & temperature before we go on a big trip and my Grandaughter does the same. It's easy for people to say "don't get so worked up" but much harder to do it.
Try the Stugeron, children take a half-size dose and you can top it up on a long journey,
Carol

 

[Tony Bush]

A very big thank you for all your help. It seems that 'Stugeron' is used by quite a lot of people with travel sickness. Is this available in liquid form or just tablets. A little concerned over the laxative effect though. The wrist bands also seem a good adea (a bit of a novelty for DS ) I have taken all your advise on board and will also be visisting our GP.

Thanks again, lets hope our flight will be easier for our DS this time.

Tony

 

[TraceyL]

I've used Sturgeron (for sea sickness) with no adverse effects.

Ginger made me sick !

My mum found removing her glasses helped (!)

 

[2 Point]

Tony

It sounds mostly like nerves. What are you like on the way to the airport? Some people get all het up on the journey there, worrying about checking in, parking, have-we-packed-everything?

Perhaps a night in a local travel inn the night before you travel, maybe even just the two of you, with the rest of the family following the next day. Take a dry run to the airport(pun intended!), see if they have an airport information point(Birmingham has one) where you can get the feel of how the airport runs. Try and identify where the problem lies, is it the confined compartment, the take off/landing/crashing, general hyperness of going to Florida, fear of toilets on planes(I've know someone who is terrified of having their insides ripped out by accidently flushing!), 11/09 nerves?

Best of luck, just try and make him as comforatable and in control as possible.

 

[Nick The Cat]

My DS who is now 15 suffers very badly from air sickness so much so that on one flight back from Miami he had to be given oxygen (very embarrassing when you're 13). We discovered from this board Dramamine (only available in the US) which is available in a non drowsy version which works well and he felt much better on the flights last year.

 

[Mpet]

Tony

Stugeron come in tablet form - they are quite small, so swallowing is quite easy (they can be broken in half as well if swallowing is a problem).

DD has never suffered from an upset stomach from them, although it may be an individual thing.


Maxine

 

[Briggsy]

I also use Dramamine which I buy on each visit to the US. I have been using it for about 5 years and find it very good.

 

[Tony Bush]

We are trying to make it a little less stressfull for him this year. We are making use of the twilight check in and staying overnight in an hotel rather than dragging the children out of bed at 5am. We will also be visiting family in Horsham for a meal before going to the hotel so hopefully this will take his mind off the flight.

It's a great idea to visit Gatwick before we go away. He didn't notice the airport much last time as he had his head constantly in a paper bag . We will spend a morning there and have breakfast and watch the planes.

Thanks again for all your advice.

Tony

 

[WDWfan uk]

Can I suggest you try the Stugeron in advance to see how he reacts to it? Naturally you'd need him to take this when he isn't gonig to school or going out - perhaps late on a Saturday afternoon?
I think that the sedative effect of the antihistamines is best for him as he gets so nervous.

My sons and I also take Dramamine which you can buy out in the US and for us, these don't have any side-effects at all.