Motion Sick Kids

[jndmommy]

Dd (4) has gotten sick twice b4 in the car on long trips. The dr. told us to be on the safe side & give her dramamine before long trips. She does have a weak stomach though, especially if she sees anything resembling vomit. When ds (2) has thrown up in the past, dd stands there gagging. So my ?? is should I give her dramamine for the rides. I really don't like the idea of having to, but I don't want to worry about her getting sick on the rides. I am afraid the dramamine may make her too sleepy. I am giving it to them both for the plane ride. Any mommies with experience here, your wisdom is appreciated. Thanks

 

[golfgal]

DS10 tends to get sick in the car a lot. He did really well on the rides, but we didn't do any of the spinning type rides with him, tea cups, etc. He was the only one that didn't do Mission Space and we all wished we had joined him!

 

[4girlsmom]

My oldest DD (turning 12 this month) used to get carsick at age 4... nearly every time we drove over the Bay Bridge into San Francisco, which was often. We discovered that listening to music (of her preference) kept her mind off feeling ill and prevented any "incidents" in the car. I listened to a lot of Barney that year. To this day she complains of not feeling well if we're driving a distance w/o music, or if DH is listening to a sports broadcast. Oddly enough, DD had/has no problem going on teacups. Being out in the fresh air probably helps. I suspect if you avoid the spin you won't need the dramamine at the parks.

Have a great trip!

 

[jndmommy]

It would be just my luck that my dd has said she can't wait to ride the tea cups.... She has been on them at six flags. That day too she already had dramamine b/c six flags is a little over an hour drive.

 

[Mom to Jordan]

It would be just my luck that my dd has said she can't wait to ride the tea cups.... She has been on them at six flags. That day too she already had dramamine b/c six flags is a little over an hour drive.

DS started getting car sick by the time he was three. HIs first experence wilt a tea cup type ride was around that age and he got sooo sick on them. We were far from home but a cool motel room and about 18 hours of sleep and he was ok. He at 13 still gets are sick but not as easyly. He HAS to take something in order to ride all the rides he loves so much. Tea cup are the worse for him. He does everything at WDW but can not do most things more than twice in a row without being sick. The dramine makes most kids very sleepy and grunpy. We hate that. The non drowsey verson is not for children under 12 but with a nurse permission we started it about 9 and it is better.
Non medication ideas are to make sure the stomach is never too empty or too full. Avoid high sugar snacks and snack on salty things. Sip ginger ale or look into the ginger tablets. NOt sure of the age stipulation on those. Good LUCK. We have been there too!!

Jordans' mom

 

[Dizneydaz]

The first time my DD5 got car sick was in Florida on a straight stretch of highway. She was about 3. She announced she didn't feel good, and OOPS, she was right. Luckily we were able to clean her up and tell her it wasn't her fault. She's gotten car sick a few more times, only twice on curvey roads. She's gotten sick on straight roads just as often. I don't know why.

I did make some changes that seem to work. She sits (still in car seat-she's small) in the middle of the back seat so she can see further up the road. We play more games that keep her looking ahead on the road. I spy, license plate game, alphabet sign game, etc. I've had her eat one or two ginger cookies before a long or curvy trip. I've given her non-drowsy Dramamine (or something like that) when we are going on curvy roads. I sold my minivan and got an Expedition. (Sitting the in rear of the van made me nauseous sometimes-very squirrely). This things have worked. She's only gotten car sick once since making these changes and it was on the freeway, in my moms suv. We were only in the car for about 2o mins. when she announced "my stomache doesn't feel good" We know what that means! Pull over fast! She got sick and then we continued on after about 10 minutes. She doesn't get sick on rides
I always carry extra clothes in the car and if we'll be in the car for an hour or more, I make sure to carry wet paper towels in a ziploc. Works for us.

38 days and counting!

 

[SandrainNC]

Have you ever tried Bonine instead of Dramamine? It doesn't cause the drowsiness that Dramamine does, but I'm not sure whether a child can take it or not. I get car sick too if I try to read anything, so in case someone else hasn't mentioned it, keeping her from looking down at things in the car would probably help a good bit. I'm not sure about on the plane.

Sandra

 

[jndmommy]

No, I haven't heard of Bonine, I will have to check that out as well. I was wondering if anyone else has used the "Sea Bands" for kids. They are supposed to work for motion sickness also??? Just curious...

 

[totallydisney]

My son was the king of car sickness. He started at the age of 6 months, he is almost 9 now and still has some problems. Our doctor, said to give him benadryl about a half an hour before getting ready to drive anywhere, Don't get them straight out of bed and into a moving car, will definitely get car sick. Set them in the middle of the car so they can see out on all sides. Always bring extra clothes with you, keep a roll of paper towels in the vehicle, carry a 2 liter bottle of water with you. One of the best things for him was to keep the window cracked slightly. He can ride almost anything and not get sick on them, we can't figure that out! I hope some of these ideas work for you.
Larissa

 

[vatmark]

I always give my DS(7) dramamine before a long car ride. He has gotten car sick many times. We also keep a bowl in the car just in case. I bought some of the non-drowsy dramamine for our Disney trip in Oct. I didn't even realize it wasn't for kids under 12. I may call my sons dr. to see if it is okay for him to take it but at a lower dose. I really don't want him to miss out on rides and also don't want him going on rides and feeling sick the rest of the day. We will not be doing Mission Space. I will also look into that Bonine stuff.

Annie