Does anyone do Dramamine for kids?

[Disney2012]

I'm nervous about anyone getting motion sickness while we're at the World. I was kind of planning to give everyone Dramamine in the morning before riding. Does anyone else do that? Also, how young can you give Dramamine?

 

[RMAMom]

I am not sure how old they have to be check the label for that info. If your kids don't usually get motion sickness then they wont at Disney maybe it would be better to wait and see if someones complains about it before giving it to them. Its going to make them drowsy.

 

[POOHDRMR]

I use childrens bonine for the plane ride there-daughter was dry heeving into the bag on our 1st trip so now we use it and she does great.She doesn't need it for the parks though and does the tea cups and dumbo with no problems.I got the generic at rite-aid.

 

[Mouse House Mama]

I don't really know why you would need dramamine for the rides but if you think you might I would get sea bands instead. There is no medicine in them. You wear them on your wrist like a sweat band and they hit a pressure point and it makes you feel better. They really do work well.

 

[sk!mom]

I wouldn't unless you know someone in your party has issues. Dramimine makes many people feel sluggish. My DH has severe motion sickness and vertigo. He uses meds on planes but in WDW he just avoids all rides that give him trouble since the meds make him "foggy." My DS and DD take meclyzine on the plane but also do not in the parks. DD can really ride anything except Mission Space as only spinning seems to give her problems. DS hasn't been in several years but would likely need to be more careful as his motion sickness is more severe- like DH's.

 

[PixiePlanner]

DD gets carsick any time we are traveling longer than 1.5 hrs. She takes Dramamine for all long car trips.

Right before our trip last year, I called the doc's office to ask what to give her as it only lasts 6 hours and KNOCKS HER OUT or worse, MAKES HER CRANKY! Anyway, the doc said to give her the low dose of Zyrtec(5mg?). They are chewable and last 24 hours. I gave it to her at bedtime for the first two days and then said forget it. She never got sick... not even nauseous.

 

[AJRitz]

If you DO decide to use anti-nausea meds, definitely use the non-drowsy version. If you ask for generic Dramamine (or Dramamine) you will get the version that has stuff added to it to make the user sleepy. The trade name for the non-drowsy version is Bonine, but it's readily available in a generic version as well.

 

[Rotti955]

Both of our kids got motion sickness when they were younger. Mostly car and plane rides. We gave them both Dramamine on travel days before we got in the car to go to the airport. Made them drowsy but they were wide awake the minute we landed in Orlando.

Never needed to give them anything at the parks. The rides haven't bothered either of them.

Our pediatrician told us the dosage to give them.

 

[MaleficentandGoons]

I wouldn't give a child a drug out of fear. If they have motion sickness then yes talk to their doctor then follow a plan. But to give them something because you "think" they "might" get motion sickness seems over the top.

 

[pooh4evr]

I do give our 3 girls some before we fly, oldest gets 1 pill middle half and youngest about a quarter. We haven' t ha any issues with them taking it.

 

[figment301]

My 8 yr old gets car sick so I asked her pediatrician about Dramamine. He told me to give her benadryl for the plane ride (at the time she was 5yrs old). So it may have to do with age what works best. I would check with your pediatrician and see what they think is best. They will also know your child's medical history. Good luck

 

[Hmom03]

Dramamine made my son very drowsy. I wouldn't want to try and drag him around WDW while he was on it.

 

[AJRitz]

I need to correct my earlier post somewhat. The active ingredients in Dramamine and Bonine are somewhat different (though Bonine is much less likely to cause drowsiness). Here's an excerpt from an article at motionsickness.net about OTC motion sickness meds:

OTC MEDICINES

Over-the-counter remedies are less effective than prescription-strength medications, but provide a lesser degree of side effects and long duration of 6 to 12 hours. (20). These must be taken at least an hour before exposure to be effective, since gastric motility decrease following the onset of motion sickness.(9) These can be useful for travelers who experience mild to moderate cases of motion sickness. Most of these (remedy) medications are antihistamines, and their initial use stemmed from reports that people being treated for allergies also experienced fewer problems with motion sickness. Although it is unclear precisely how they work to suppress motion sickness symptoms, their anticholinergic properties appear to be the important element.(21)

Anecdotal reports indicate large individual differences in the effectiveness of antihistamines as antimotion sickness drugs. Dimenhydrinate (Dramamine) appears to be the most effective. The usual adult dosage is 50 mg, which typically produces some drowsiness and minor dizziness. (9) It is not recommended when driving or working around machinery, but can be a good choice for long exposure to mild-to-moderate motion.(18)

Cyclizine (Marezine) is somewhat less effective at the usual adult dosage of 50 mg, but causes less drowsiness and dizziness and is often used to avoid travel sickness in children or very mild short-term exposures to motion in adults. (9) When Weinstein et al compared cyclizine and dimenhydrinate in a study involving 5 college students deemed susceptible to motion sickness, they found that the two are similarly effective in preventing the overall subjective symptoms of motion sickness, such as dizziness, sweating, and nausea. Marezine, however, was associated with more improvement of GI symptoms and with significantly less drowsiness than dramamine 30 minutes after ingestion (22, 23)

Meclizine (Bonine, Antivert) has a slower onset and longer duration (12 to 24 hours) of action than the other antihistamines. The slower onset may be why it also has a lower efficacy rating. Side effects include drowsiness, dry mouth, blurred vision, and dizziness. (9)

That site is actually a public advertisement for a prescription motion sickness med that claims to be better than the OTC options. But I thought those paragraphs about the OTC meds were informative. It also explains why you can't really wait and see if your child gets motion sick before giving the meds -- if they don't get the meds an hour or so prior to the exposure that causes motion sickness, the meds won't do much good.