Car sickness !!!

[disney_me]

My DD (12) starts to feel car sick sometime just after 30mims. in the car. We are planning to drive to WDW next April and I'm wondering if she will make it?

I know she can take Dramamine, but I'm not sure if I want her to sleep the whole drive. As a kid, I would get car sick when we would drive to NC. Mom would give me some Dramamine and I slept the whole drive.
Driving from Delaware to Florida,how many "cool" things on the drive can she miss seeing?

Any tricks to cut down on car sickness or any other motion sickness medication someone else might use would be great!!!

 

[hvivona]

I've heard that taking ginger pills help . I think you are supposed to start taking them a few days before you leave. Another option is have her wear those seabands things on her wrists. They are for people on cruise ships to help with the motion sickness. I know many people who wore those while pregnant and it helped with the nausea.

 

[Fantasmic23]

We drove from Connecticut to Florida (WDW) with our two children (DD who is 9 and DS who just turned 6) in mid-February. While my children do not get car sick, I have heard wonderful things about the Sea Bands that the previous poster mentioned.

I have heard that reading in a car will just add to (or create) nausea. Do you have a portable DVD player? Maybe a few of her favorite DVDs will take her mind off of getting sick. I know nothing about motion-sickness, but perhaps chewing gum/sucking on mints or Lifesavers may help?

If your DD does feel sick on the drive down, there are TONS of rest stops. It seems like every five minutes were we passing a Cracker Barrel or a Waffle House!

Lots of luck and have a wonderful time!!

 

[therealleigh]

Both of my DDs have car sickness. I use bonine,(it doesnt knock them out) I give them one the night prior to leaving and then one on the day we leave. They have done well with that so far, the longest trip being six hours. Now it will be 8 1/2 hours to Disney so we will see how that goes.

 

[NotUrsula]

At 12 she is old enough to take Bonine, which is less sleep-inducing than most Dramamine formulas.

The best preventative, really, is usually riding in the front seat as opposed to the back seat. Is she big enough to do that? (Something about having a horizon directly in front of you tends to help immensely.)

 

[cheerforchelsea]

I have always been prone to motion sickness (so is one of my DD). I have found that keeping a little something in my stomach (dry crackers) helps and I usually sip on Diet Coke the whole way. I never ride in the back seat - I am much better off if I drive. My DD usually takes Dramamine and sleeps the whole way - she wakes up and rest stops and says "where are we".

 

[nessz79]

I second the having something in your stomach and sipping on something that has a little bit of sweetness to it. Whenever I feel queasy from being in a car, a little bit of sugar seems to help things.

When I was pregnant, the sea bands didn't help me, but I hear it helped other people.

Another thing I drank a lot of when I had morning sickness was lemonade. I don't know why, but it always seemed to settle things down.

I used to take dramamine on long car rides when I was little. I don't remember sleeping a lot, but I was very young so it's possible I just don't remember.

 

[rgmartin]

Here's a second vote for Bonine. It is a little harder to find than Dramamine, but it is worth looking for. Dramamine puts me to sleep, but Bonine does not. Another alternative is to give 1/2 of a dramamine. Still works for me, but without so much of the effects.

 

[juligrl]

At 12 she is old enough to take Bonine, which is less sleep-inducing than most Dramamine formulas.

The best preventative, really, is usually riding in the front seat as opposed to the back seat. Is she big enough to do that? (Something about having a horizon directly in front of you tends to help immensely.)

I second this if she's big enough. I've been blessed with motion sickness since I was around 5 so I know the front seat usually was best for me. If not that the center of the back seat to give the best view out the front window.
If all else fails, dramamine and sleep really beats motion sickness anyday.

 

[disney_me]

Is Bonine something I can get over the counter? I have never heard of this medicine before.

As for putting her up front, then I'll be the one getting sick in the back!! I might have her try riding right in the middle of the back seat so she can look out the front window.

We can maybe take turns riding up front.

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

My DS has the same issue. He gets carsick after about 2 hours in the car.
We spoke with his Pediatrician about it and he recommended Dramimine Less Drowsy version.

We tried it and he did sleep alot but that was fine since we didn't have to hear the kids fighting on the whole drive.

Good luck finding something that works for your DD.

 

[GreatDaneMom]

Bonine (generic meclazine) is available over the counter and I swear by the stuff. I usually pick it up at Wal Mart. I've suffered from motion sickness all my life and started cruising 2 years ago to make Hubby happy. Bonine has saved my life!

Also agree with small meals and snacks because an empty tummy makes it worse. Avoid reading or watching videos in the car! Watching out the front window instead of the side windows helps me. I also can't turn around and talk to people in the back seat when I'm in the front. It's a curse but you learn to work around it in time.

Cheryl

 

[laceemouse]

I have had severe motion sickness all of my life. Please be aware that for folks with severe cases things like ginger and sea bands just don't do the trick. Neither one ever helped me one bit.
Non-drowsy dramamine and bonine are the same drug. I had a very bad reaction to bonine the one time I took it. While I did not feel sleepy I did feel "drugged" all day, like I had a concrete block tied to each limb. It was terrible! I have met one other person who had this reaction. Just be aware, I personally would rather take dramamine and sleep, it makes the trip go faster!
As an adult, if I don't want to take meds I drive. I will only get sick while driving if the road is very, very curvy like in the mountains.
If I were you I would have several types of meds on hand just in case. Then you may need to let one get out of her system before trying another.
Please don't take this lightly. People who do not have motion sickness, or have only had mild symptoms of it, have no idea how terrible it can be. They think you feel ill, barf, and then feel all better ! This is NOT the way it is for me. I have actually felt queasy for DAYS after getting motion sickness. Dramamine does help after the fact though, thankfully!

 

[Grumpy'sWife]

I agree with having small meals/snacks, Bonine, peppermints and no reading in the car. I would also suggest having her take little sips of GingerAle. It's usually a good thing to help settle the stomach.

I'm a little worried about this for my 2 little ones when we go to WDW in Oct. Does anyone know if Bonine can be split to give to a 4 year old? I had planned on asking our pediatrician closer to our trip, but if I can get the answer here, all the better.

 

[tzolkin]

I'm a little worried about this for my 2 little ones when we go to WDW in Oct. Does anyone know if Bonine can be split to give to a 4 year old? I had planned on asking our pediatrician closer to our trip, but if I can get the answer here, all the better.

No, unfortunately they're not supposed to take it at all. It's a different medicine than regular dramamine. I don't know what the actual problem would be if they took it, it probably just has not been tested for children.

My two youngest ones have had horrible carsickness since they were each about 8 mos old. They start vomiting within 5 minutes of the house. We have discussed this with multiple doctors and they say all they can take is dramamine. That makes them pass out for hours, so obviously we can't give it to them everytime we leave the house. We will use it only for very long drives.

Do your kids usually get sick? I wouldnt expect them to get sick if they don't on a regular basis at home.

 

[GoofyFairie]

Bonine works great if it is age appropriate for your kids. I disagree with giving your kids food. My DS vomited all over rental car and himself 5 minutes from airport! I had to completely change his clothes and tried to clean the car up. I had to check his nasty seat too! Avoid food it makes a rolling stomach worse. I gave him Dramamine for the flight home. It knocked him out, but better than being sick.

 

[Grumpy'sWife]

No, unfortunately they're not supposed to take it at all. It's a different medicine than regular dramamine. I don't know what the actual problem would be if they took it, it probably just has not been tested for children.

My two youngest ones have had horrible carsickness since they were each about 8 mos old. They start vomiting within 5 minutes of the house. We have discussed this with multiple doctors and they say all they can take is dramamine. That makes them pass out for hours, so obviously we can't give it to them everytime we leave the house. We will use it only for very long drives.

Do your kids usually get sick? I wouldnt expect them to get sick if they don't on a regular basis at home.

They only get carsick once in a great while, most commonly on curvy roads. But since we've never taken them on a car trip this long, or taken them on this route, I want to be prepared for it if they start to feel 'yucky'.

Thanks for filling me in about the Bronine. I guess I'll take some Dramamine in my bag just in case.

 

[Temair]

Another thing to consider is a bigger vehicle. My brother as a child would get sick in a 5 minute drive to the post office in a car, but in a higher riding jeep he was fine. By the time he was a teenager he didn't suffer with the probelm anymore.

 

[tzolkin]

They only get carsick once in a great while, most commonly on curvy roads. But since we've never taken them on a car trip this long, or taken them on this route, I want to be prepared for it if they start to feel 'yucky'.

Thanks for filling me in about the Bronine. I guess I'll take some Dramamine in my bag just in case.

the dramamine works pretty quickly so i would bring the chewable kind. if they start to feel yucky, just stop at a rest area for a few minutes for them to take it. my kids need to have the medicine about 15 minutes or so before driving otherwise it just "comes back up" they'll probably sleep the rest of the way.

for a long car trip i definitely recommend it. i've read suggestions in other threads for motion sickness on the rides at the parks. i just wanted to emphasize not giving dramamine to kids while you're there because they will just fall asleep or be miserable trying to stay awake to enjoy the park.

 

[disney_me]

I take Meclizine, generic for Antivert, I have BPPV vertigo and it helps with the motion sickness from the spinning feeling. I don't know about giving that to DD. I just might go with the dramamine. I'll buy the non-drowsy and the knock her out so I don't keep hearing her say I'm bored kind.

What is there really to see on the way down to Florida??