Help for car sick DD (5)?

[tmarquez]

Well we usually try to avoid any long distance drives like the plague due to DD's extreme car sickness. But we have to make a 7 hour drive next month for DSS's graduation. She is still in a car seat and we already have her ride either upfront as that helps her alot (no flames please, I already know I'm a terrible parent).

Does anyone have any suggestions or advice on how to make this trip more bearable for all? I already asked her Dr and he suggested Benedryl. The problem with Benedryl is that rather than make her drowsy it gets her all hyped up...not sure that would be the best thing.

If you've given your car sick child an over the counter motion sickness medicine, what type and how did it work out? Thanks!!

 

[RumpleMom]

I have heard of Sea Bands that go on each wrist. They have a little bead that rests on a pressure point on the wrist. My friend swears by them for her kids.

Supposedly, ginger helps too. I have packed Iced Animal cookies and Ginger Snaps. It can be a challenge to find ginger listed on an ingredient label.

My kids never could read in the car. We played music and sang along to make the time pass.

Pack nutrious food for the trip, food DD is used to and likes, so you can avoid fried foods.

HTH

 

[ehstrojette]

Sea bands!!!

I get car sick unless I am in the front seat looking straight ahead, plus no medicine for the kids to take. Try them out you will like them. Also works good on rides that spin also

 

[Jacob'sMom]

Different situation, but my DS is almost 2 and he gets car sick on car trips. He is too young for OTC motion sickness meds so his dr suggested giving him Benedryl. She said it helps with nausea and helps them sleep through the trip so that they are not sick the whole time. We had a terrible experience driving in the Blue Ridge Mountains last summer when he was about 17 months.

I used to get carsick when I was a kid, and probably still would if I rode in the backseat. The only thing that ever helped me was riding in the front seat.

 

[phins_jazy]

I'm watching this thread with interest. It turns out our 3 year old gets carsick too. The last 2 long road trips we went on she got sick. Resolve upholstery cleaner works wonders. Even on milk! LOL I've thought about moving her to the middle seat in our van next to the baby. Maybe that will help a little instead of being all the way in the back. I tried those seabands when I was preggo and they didn't work for me but maybe they'll work for her.

 

[Wendybird55]

When I was little I hated riding in the car and would get motion sickness at times. We used to take long car trips for summer vacation and my parents gave me dramamine which helped - at least I slept through most of the car trip.

I was probably older than 5 when I took it - I can't remember. I would first check with your pediatrician if you want to try an OTC other than the sea bands.

One trick I heard for motion sickness at sea is to hang something from the ceiling of your cabin. It seems in the cabin everything seems to be stable and your brain resgisters that but your body feels the motion of the ship and that confusion leads to sea sickness. By hanging something from the ceiling (a string with a small ball) you can see the motion of the car (ship) by looking at the object so your brain and body are in sync and that is supposed to help.

Good Luck

 

[LSU]

My dd has pretty much outgrown the car sickness thing - but one thing that we swear contributed to the car sickness was SUNNY D drink. We've never drank it often, but every time she ever drank sunny d and then got in a car (even for 10 minutes) she threw up.

Anyway - wristbands haven't worked. The best thing was having her not read, and having her sit by the window and look outside instead of focusing inside the car.

 

[3princesses+aprince]

My dd4 gets very sick on long car rides.
We get dramamine! Recommended by her pediatrician. It worked well. Our last drive was a 6 hour one. Good Luck. I get carsick too, so I know it is not fun.

 

[canadianmom2three]

Not flaming, just suggesting that perhaps it might be possible for your DD to ride in the center of the back seat? I'm sorry, I really am, and am trying to say this in the very nicest way possible, but putting your child in the front so they will not be motion sick, is just not an appropriate option imo..... I realize you already know that, and hopefully you can get some good suggestions, so that you won't feel like you need to choose...

Our DS was VERY and still is somewhat motion sick, and he rides in the center (rear), lots of times holding a plastic bag. In the front console right in front of where he sits, is a little rolled pkg of scented garbage bags (somewhat holds back the smell till we can stop!) a bunch of individual wrapped hand wipes, a bottle of hand sanitizer and a bottle of water. We have a change of clothes in the back, a few garbage bags, and a bottle of lysol wipes. On longer trips we bring an extra car seat cover too, although he is so used to it he doesn't make a mess often. We have tried the gravol, and the generic gravol, but these just make him sleepy (he's still sick, just groggy and sick, and then doesn't wake up, just gets sick all over himself), the sea bands, which actually seem to make a bit of a difference, tho he doesn't like them and wants them off cause they are tight and exert a bit of pressure. We also find that giving him small snacks like crackers and stopping once an hour seems to help, plus not letting him watch movies or read books, which make it much worse. His job is to sit in the center, and look out the front window for water towers (silly a bit, but he takes it very seriously!).

 

[jaurban]

I got car sick as a child (from about 9 months one - ask my Mom...) and still have motion sickness. Dramamine! You can get the less drowsey kind or see if Bonine would be appropriate for a child. I think you can split the tablet as well. Front seat is a must (not the rear center or behind the driver)or if it must be the back, right behind the passenger seat by the window. The point is a clear view of where you are going so you can concentrate on a fixed object ahead. Fresh air is important too. So, actually, an open window was always better than air conditioning, as that can blow right in your face and help you sense the motion more correctly. By the way, no problems as a driver, seems that when you control the car you somehow have a better sense of the starts and stops and speed, and have horizon focus. Oh, no reading in the car either. Need to look out the window. I know, boring, but I watched the whole country go by from coast to coast this way, and I will never mix up my states...

 

[dougsmom98]

One of my DSs always gets sick when we go on long (1 or more hours) trip. I haven't found anything to work well, but I keep an empty Cool Whip containers and/or the large coffee containers in the car near them so they can use them to vomit into. Plastic bags never worked well for us.
Good luck.

 

[Stephres]

My son gets carsick and we give him dramamine. They make it for kids and it doesn't make him drowsy at all. Good luck!

 

[tmarquez]

Thank you all for your advice!

One more question, for those of you who have given the dramamine to your kids with success, when do you give it to them?

My DH gets bad motion sickness, he has to drive, and when we went on a cruise the Dr said to start the motion sickness meds the day before we got on the cruise. It worked pretty well for him, but he couldn't stay in the cabin much at all.

We do try to keep the window open for DD, but it's going to be pretty windy at highway speeds, which will be about 1/2 of the trip.

I don't know if it's fortunate or unfortunate, but DD will not throw up until she is out of the car. I've tried to talk her into throwing up thinking it would make her feel a little better but she either can't or won't. TMI? Ya I know!

Thanks again.

 

[therealleigh]

Both of my girls 10 and 11 suffer car sickness. The doctor had us use bonine when they were 8 and 9. It works great for them. I give it to them one hour prior to leaving and they never feel bad. We just got back from 8 1/2 hour drive from Disney. The girls were fine.

 

[Stephres]

My son wouldn't throw up until he was out of the car once he was old enough to realize what was happening. He always said, hey, it's really hot in here (when it wasn't) so that was our tip to pull over and let him puke.

When I am smart and remember I give him the dramamine 20 minutes before we leave and he is fine. When I forget we have stopped a drugstore and given it to him right then and he was fine too (of course this is usually after he has already thrown up). When he throws up we make sure to give him some gatorade so he doesn't get dehydrated.

 

[Dopey's twin Dippy]

my dd also would get car sick. she would do much better in the middle of the back seat for some reason. we would also give her dramimine, or sometimes benedryl. she could not sit anywhere else in the car. of course as she got older, the front seat was better. she does ok now, but still sometimes needs soemthing for long rides. good luck.

 

[dementia412]

If you can try to make as much of the trip as possibly when she is asleep. Frquent stops, open windows, put her in the middle of the back seat (the major reason for car sickness is your ears know you are moving, but your eyes think you are sitting still), gum or hard candy (depends on how likely your kid is to choke on it... 5yo seems okay to me but I don't know your kid). Most importantly, add extra time to the trip cause it's probably gonna happen.

Forgot ... rubbing alcohol... put it on a cotton swab and have her sniff it. I learned this when I was having my oldest dauhter. Works geat.

 

[My2Cinderellas]

Dramamine. There is an orange flavored chewable for kids, but my DD8 prefers to take the pill version. She gets 1/2 a tablet about 30 minutes before we leave. As a toddler, she got 1/4 a tablet. It makes her sleepy but that is usually a good thing. Any trip over about 45 minutes needs medicine. It lasts 6-8 hours, so make sure to give a 2nd dose when needed. Works great for air travel too!

We carry a plastic ice cream bucket in the car at all times, plus water and old towels for clean up when necessary.

Her triggers are being hot, hungry, and in a moving vehicle. It only takes 2 of the 3 (any combo) to trigger nausea. Riding in the front has never been an option for her, both due to safety and my motion sickness issues.

 

[fan_of_small_world]

Dramamine, Bonine (if there is a children's version), ginger ale, ginger snaps, making sure she eats a little, and frequent stops. I understand that you said Benadryl makes her sleepy and hyper, but I'd take that over sick as a dog.

As for the front seat thing, I don't know if you're going outside of Florida, but I'm pretty sure that children in the front seat isn't permissable under Georgia law (unless the other seats are taken by younger children or something of that nature), so if you're going there you might want to check that out. I personally couldn't permit a child to ride in the front seat, and yes we've dealt with car sickness, too.