Ginger Pills for motion sickness

[Goofy_4_WDW]

I know it has been mentioned before that Ginger Pills help with motion sickness. I would like to know what would be the dosage? Do you have to start taking them a few days before? Did you try it? Did it work?
Thanks!!!

 

[dizenthusiast]

The guys on the "Mythbusters" TV show (on the Discovery channel) actually tested several different motion sickness remedies, and found that the ginger pills worked the best -- even better than the over-the-counter medicine, since the ginger pills didn't cause drowsiness.

I don't know for sure, but I think you should be OK just taking it an hour or two before your visit to the park.

 

[vsimeone]

Me! Me!! I swear by them. When I saw "myth busters" in that post I thought they were going to say that it is all in my head. I'm glad they verified that they really do work!!!

As far as dosage, it is pretty vague. When I first started taking them, I was told to take as many as it takes to give you a "ginger tingle" in the back of your throat. I would assume it's a different amount for everyone. I usually start off and take 4 when we are leaving the hotel room. I figure that's at least one to two hours before I ride anything where I would need them! Then, if I feel the slightest lightheadedness during the day, I take 2 more. I rarely if ever, take more than 6 in a day but it's just ginger so I know I can take more if I need to.

Also, I have started using a "travel" blend that I got in a health food store instead of straight ginger. It is mostly ginger but has pepermint and I believe rasberry in it also to help calm your stomach. I like it even better than just ginger - not so many "ginger burps!"

Best of luck! Enjoy your trip!

 

[MsLeFever]

It totally worked for me and I plan on using it again. I had been told to take it for several days before I thought I'd need it - not sure if that is true for everyone though.

 

[BrerMama]

I give it to my kids, who get motion sickness any time we go on long car trips. I just give them one 20 minutes before we leave and it works fine. I have one daughter that gets sick every time we go to see my sister and since we started using ginger, we've made the trip 3 times and she hasn't gotten sick one of those times.

I even use it when I have a queasy stomach. I do take 2, but it works for me.

 

[shyjade]

I had bought some ginger pills for our upcoming Disney trip in September, after reading about it on these boards. A few weeks ago I took an unexpected road trip (from WI to WA) and decided it would be a great time to try out the pills. I did also take a less-drowsy Dramamine each night before bed (good for 24 hours), and 2 ginger pills each day (once in the AM and once in the PM). Not sure if it was the Dramamine, ginger pills or combo, but I felt GREAT the entire time! Normally I would be miserable on such a drive, especially thru the mountains and while reading the map. Not once did I feel sick, and I wasn't drowsy one bit.

I'll definately be using this combo again when we go to Disney!

 

[PocahontasLookALike]

When we did a cruise in Hawaii, I took ginger pills and drank ginger ale for the few days leading up to the cruise. Seemed to work really well. Some pointers are to avoid acidic fruits/fruit drinks as this will contribute to the motion sickness factor. Worked really well for us

 

[sherreis]

I have used ginger for nausea and morning sickness before (worked great!) but I didn't know about avoiding motion sickness. Thanks.

Just be careful for anyone on any type of blood thinner because ginger has a blood thinning effect.

--Sherri

 

[Bev J]

My friends and I tried ginger for a cruise, we started 2 days before we left (what the gal at the health food store recommended) and by the time we got on the ship I could not stand to take any more. Everything tasted like ginger and it gave me a big headache.
Give me Bonnine any day!
My 2 friends- one ended up using the motion sickness patch and the other kept up with the ginger.

Guess for some it works and some it does not, so have a back up plan incase it does not work for you. Remember though once your sick it takes a good while to feel better.

Bev

 

[Goofy_4_WDW]

everyone!! I will try the ginger pills!
vsimeone, thanks for the heads up on the "travel" blend I will look for that also.

 

[alacazander]

I had these wrist bands that I bought the drug store that helped a little. Other then that not much did.

 

[pjpoohbear]

Ok, this thread really spoke to me. I tried the bands the 1st cruise, not much help. Then I did non-drowsy pills, they made me dozy and I still ended up slightly sick on the last night coming back over the gulf stream.

Would I find these ginger pills at a normal drug store? And the travel blend vsimeone mentioned, is there a brand to look for?

Penny

 

[hockeybabe]

You can ge them at Walmart, in the herbal section of the pharmacy. They are awsome. I took them while pregnant to avoid morning sickness, and take them for motion sickness on long car trips. They really do work!

 

[ShelbyR]

FWIW, they did not work for me; (coincidentally), I had more motion sickness on this trip than I ever had before.

I did drink a lot of the ginger ale at Club Cool to help settle my stomach, though. ; )

 

[Minnesota]

I have a number of patients who LOVE taking Ginger capsules including my mother. All I have ever seen is one "strength" and they are avaliable through any pharmacy. Some pharmacies have them on hand others have to order them in but most will have deliveries at least 2 times a week. Larger pharmacies get daily delivery except for the weekend. You really can't overdose on ginger, it would be like overdosing on rosemary but sometimes it can interact with prescription drugs so be sure to ask your doctor or pharmacist. Other than that obviously the more you take the more after taste you'll have

On a less professional note my mother took them for her cruise and in combo with Seabands (pressure point wrist bands) never had a problem on the ship. Other real ginger items will work as well such as gingersnap cookies and ginger ale as long as it has significant amounts of real ginger. Hope this helps

Minnesota
5 year licensed pharmacy tech and U of M pharmacy student

 

[Trini]

What meds does ginger interact with? WOuld a pharmacist know? I mean, is it a common enough thing that you think any pharmacist would know about interactions?

I may give it a try, but I take some meds, so I will have to ask.

 

[Minnesota]

Hi again, First of all yes a pharmacist would know or would be able to look it up and compare it to your specific profile. Please keep in mind the following list DOES NOT mean it will interact but it COULD. By the way THANK YOU for asking! Pharmacist love to talk to patients about these things! Here is a general list - talk to your pharmacist for more informaition.

1: May make acid reducers less effective (i.e. zantac, ranitidine, prilosec, omeprazole, prevacid, protonix, carafate, sucralfate)

2: May increase bleeding and effectiveness of blood thinners (still being studied) (i.e. daily asprin, warfarin, jantoven, coumadin, heprin, anti platelet drugs as plavix and NSAIDs such as naproxen, aleve, ibuprofen, advil also with other herbals such as ginko biloba, garlic and saw palmetto)

3: Ginger and large amounts of calcium can cause abnormal heart rythms

4: Ginger can also lower blood sugar levels

Minnesota

 

[mammoth_fan]

I have a number of patients who LOVE taking Ginger capsules including my mother. All I have ever seen is one "strength" and they are avaliable through any pharmacy......

THANKS for this thread! I get motion sick on rides, but I love rides, so usually I just feel queasy the whole trip. In '01 I took Dramamine the first day of WDW and almost fell asleep in my lunch at Columbia Harbor House.

I read about relief bands (reliefband.com), but I'm too cheap to buy them ($80) on top of everything else we've spent on this trip. I do have Sea Bands for my wrists, and I'll get some ginger pills, now.

 

[Minnesota]

Yeah, relief bands are WAY expensive but I used the seabands once (about $10) and they worked great for me, never was quesy enough to try ginger myself but Mom adores it.

 

[annameg]

What is the dosage for children - 35 to 45 pounds? Both DDs can't drive across town with out feeling ill. This could be great for them.