indigomama Posted October 5, 2012 Share Posted October 5, 2012 We are moving, and it will take three full days of driving to get to the new place. Our oldest always gets sick on road trips, and sometimes the other kids do too. Any ideas on preventing this? Any long trip tips for kids (and their parents :tongue_smilie:) in general? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz CA Posted October 5, 2012 Share Posted October 5, 2012 We are moving, and it will take three full days of driving to get to the new place. Our oldest always gets sick on road trips, and sometimes the other kids do too. Any ideas on preventing this? Any long trip tips for kids (and their parents :tongue_smilie:) in general? Bring baggies. Giner lozenges may or may not help. Choose routes (if you can) with the least turns, i.e. a country road my be scenic but the freeway may be easier to tolerate for queasy stomachs. When I got terribly sick as a child, it helped me to look out the window and not ever read or write in the car. It also helped to have the window partially open if possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
littlebug42 Posted October 5, 2012 Share Posted October 5, 2012 Benadryl or dramamine to help them sleep through it. I get sick like that and the only way I can tolerate them is to sleep through them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SMRB Posted October 5, 2012 Share Posted October 5, 2012 I second the Dramamine - there's even a children's chewable, which has been a lifesaver for us. We have a sedan, and someone suggested to us that we put a portable DVD player in the center of the car to keep their brain from noticing the scenery moving outside the car (that's what often does it). I was sure that would make it worse, but it actually worked! We also keep a small hospital bucket within his reach and plenty of towels and cleanup gear in the trunk, but we haven't needed them since trying the Dramamine, and he was guaranteed to get sick on any drive over a half hour before that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DianeW88 Posted October 5, 2012 Share Posted October 5, 2012 Benadryl or dramamine to help them sleep through it. I get sick like that and the only way I can tolerate them is to sleep through them. :iagree: Totally safe and it works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T'smom Posted October 5, 2012 Share Posted October 5, 2012 I agree with the Dramamine. It saved my life as a kid. If you're really not into using drugs though, they have these bracelets that put pressure on the inside of your wrist. It's supposed to help with nausea. I have never used it for car sickness but it really helped me with morning sickness. Listening to music and having the window down also helped me as a child. Don't even let them LOOK at a book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie Smith Posted October 5, 2012 Share Posted October 5, 2012 Youngest use to get car sick in any trip over 10 minutes. I mean so sick to his stomach he would have to sit down / lie down / snuggle for a good 3 hours after the trip. We tired everything!!! What worked is liquid car sick medicine. I don't have it with me so I don't know what it is, the name or anything. But we use it for any trip over 15 minutes. Less than that and he just is able to deal now. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie Smith Posted October 5, 2012 Share Posted October 5, 2012 I agree with the Dramamine. It saved my life as a kid. If you're really not into using drugs though' date=' they have these bracelets that put pressure on the inside of your wrist. It's supposed to help with nausea. I have never used it for car sickness but it really helped me with morning sickness. Listening to music and having the window down also helped me as a child. Don't even let them LOOK at a book.[/quote'] For my youngest we tired the bracelets. Eating ginger (pickled, fresh, ginger pills). Going on a full stomach, and empty stomach. Eating during the trip, not eating during the trip. (Various types of food tired) Drinking water before, or during or after the trip. Carbonated drinks, no carbonated drinks. Sitting in the middle of the van, the back of the van. Driving first thing in the morning, or at night. Driving after a calm day, driving after a lot of physical exercise. Looking at a book, an Ipad, a DVD movie in his hands - or in the middle of the car. Keeping him basically blind-folded, having him look straight ahead or out the window. Keeping the windows open, keeping them closed. .... I think we basically tired it all. Drugs was the only answer. And no, for over a year we didn't go much of anywhere in a car. Then even with Drugs he couldn't make the 90 minute trip to Gramma's without a 2 hour stop in the middle to calm his stomach. But he is so much better now. :) :) :) :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KidsHappen Posted October 5, 2012 Share Posted October 5, 2012 Dramamine and a dvd player. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenL Posted October 5, 2012 Share Posted October 5, 2012 Our oldest gets carsick. What has saved us for long trips is children's Dramamine. Ds was so happy to not get sick on our last trip to Colorado that he thanked us for giving him medicine. Traveling was dreadful for him before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TXMomof4 Posted October 5, 2012 Share Posted October 5, 2012 Dramamine and a dvd player. :iagree: 3 of my 4 get sick easily and this is the only way we can make it. Ds still usually pukes but he isn't miserable the entire time now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
indigomama Posted October 6, 2012 Author Share Posted October 6, 2012 Thank you!! So, the consensus is dramamine. I will pick some up, for an 8 yo would you all recommend the children's version or adult's? I am going to pick up some children's for our 4 yo. We got a movie player. So, that is good. DH says no reading, but someone else said that it doesn't matter, but it sounds like from you guys agree no reading? 8 yo has a designated "puke" bowl with lid for our trips. So, we will bring that. He sits in the very back of our minivan, would being in the middle help or back is fine with meds? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starr Posted October 6, 2012 Share Posted October 6, 2012 The further back the worse it is for me. I would move the sick prone one up. Take the dramamine before you leave, read the bottle. Be sure there is plenty of air in the car. Keep it on the cool side. Don't read, gag. lol Drive carefully on curvy roads. When you stop be sure and get lots of fresh air and a walk. It can be done. And if they say they are feeling bad stop and have a stretch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparrow Posted October 6, 2012 Share Posted October 6, 2012 My car sick prone daughter needs the DVD player in between the front two seats, so she's looking toward the center of the car, and hangs a blanket over her window. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unicorn. Posted October 6, 2012 Share Posted October 6, 2012 Keep them cool. If they get warm at all, it makes it worse. Also, dvd player. Dd can watch movies or play electronic/ video games, but that's it. Some kids do better on bumpy roads, some need smooth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GWOB Posted October 6, 2012 Share Posted October 6, 2012 Dramamine and a dvd player. Just jumping in on the Dramamine bandwagon. My kids are expert pukers to begin with. The oldest gets carsick all the flipping time. Dramamine helps. Poor dd wants to read on long car trips. That's just asking for a puking. We load up her iPod with audiobooks before a long trip. The DVD player helps as well. We moved from WA to NY when dd was 4, before I was comfortable with giving her Dramamine. I cannot tell you how many times that kid puked:glare:. I broke down on the last leg of the trip and gave her half a pill. No puking and she didn't die. It was awesome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted October 6, 2012 Share Posted October 6, 2012 The further back the worse it is for me. I would move the sick prone one up. Take the dramamine before you leave, read the bottle. Be sure there is plenty of air in the car. Keep it on the cool side. Don't read, gag. lol Drive carefully on curvy roads. When you stop be sure and get lots of fresh air and a walk. It can be done. And if they say they are feeling bad stop and have a stretch. :iagree: :iagree: :iagree: Even now, I can't ride very far in the back seat of a car. In a minivan, it would be even worse! And definitely NO READING! Also, don't let him turn around and look at what's going on behind him in the van, or he may get instantly nauseated. (Ask me how I know. :glare:) I hope the Dramamine works for him -- it's miserable to be car sick! :ack2: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted October 6, 2012 Share Posted October 6, 2012 :iagree: :iagree: :iagree: Even now, I can't ride very far in the back seat of a car. In a minivan, it would be even worse! And definitely NO READING! Also, don't let him turn around and look at what's going on behind him in the van, or he may get instantly nauseated. (Ask me how I know. :glare:) I hope the Dramamine works for him -- it's miserable to be car sick! :ack2: :iagree: i cannot even look down to read a map or gps. I also cannot ride in the back. I have to have clear line of sight out the front window and side windows. I learned to enjoy the view as a child. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thia Posted October 6, 2012 Share Posted October 6, 2012 I think coaching the child on puke procedure is a good idea too. Run a few "drills." This might help direct the mess. Bring a bowl, lined with a few plastic grocery bags. Clean up will be a breeze. Some baby wipes and disinfectant wipes. Water to swish the mouth and life saver mints to take the taste out of the mouth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alice Posted October 6, 2012 Share Posted October 6, 2012 My oldest gets carsick, although it sounds like not as badly as others on this thread. For him it’s worse if he reads, is hot, is bored or we’re on a curvy road. It also seems to me that having a completely empty stomach makes it worse for him so I try to make sure on long trips that he eats healthy, small snacks. Audiobooks work great for him, it seems like if he has something else to concentrate on he doesn’t get sick. He loves to read so I have to watch him, sometimes I’ll see in the rearview mirror that his eyes are drifting to something and he’s reading but audiobooks also keep him from doing that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zebra Posted October 6, 2012 Share Posted October 6, 2012 I can't sit in the back either. Also, if your child can't sit in the front seat, looking out the windshield instead of the side windows can help too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candid Posted October 6, 2012 Share Posted October 6, 2012 If you can find a local source that will sell you a stack of large popcorn buckets, they can act as disposable buckets for you. Front seat is very helpful, too but dramamine is the bomb. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in Australia Posted October 6, 2012 Share Posted October 6, 2012 My sister had terrible carsickness. She would start vomiting while my Dad backed out the driveway. One thing that my mother discovered helped was she would give her a junket tablet before the trip. My mother worked on the theory that this would make everything in her stomach solid, so she wouldn't bring anything up. It seemed to work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdventureMoms Posted October 6, 2012 Share Posted October 6, 2012 Thank you!! So, the consensus is dramamine. I will pick some up, for an 8 yo would you all recommend the children's version or adult's? I am going to pick up some children's for our 4 yo. We got a movie player. So, that is good. DH says no reading, but someone else said that it doesn't matter, but it sounds like from you guys agree no reading? 8 yo has a designated "puke" bowl with lid for our trips. So, we will bring that. He sits in the very back of our minivan, would being in the middle help or back is fine with meds? Regular dramamine has dosing instructions down to 2yo I think. Or maybe it was 4yo. IDK, my carsick one is 4yo. We make sure to take dramamine and HAVE A FULL STOMACH when leaving. Encourage snacks before she starts feeling sick (she wont eat when she's nauseous, then she starts puking). Our last trip we made it nearly 5 hours with one short stop and ZERO tummy complaints. (after several trips where the puking started at 45mins in). Full stomach is key for her. Dramamine is also a big help. Chewing minty gum helps a little too. My DW also gets carsick and says those same things work well for her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giraffe Posted October 6, 2012 Share Posted October 6, 2012 DH and DD both get carsick. Both have to be facing forward and as far forward in the car as legally allowed. No curvy roads, no mountain roads and not too fast either. Partially open windows, partially full stomach (too full or too empty are both bad), lots of distractions. Both of mine do better looking out the windows and staying oriented to the movement of the car. If DD just focuses on the inside of the car she starts getting queasy. Something about a disconnect between what the eyes are seeing (no motion) vs. what her equilibrium is telling her (motion). At least that's what DH says. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThisIsTheDay Posted October 6, 2012 Share Posted October 6, 2012 ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
indigomama Posted October 6, 2012 Author Share Posted October 6, 2012 Thanks- still not looking forward to a three day drive with 5 children under 9 but feeling more prepared. I am definitely getting dramamine, the sea bands, movies for the dvd player, and audiobooks. We pack our own food on long car rides, because there's nothing worse than eating fast food while traveling. Can't really do anything about the route- we are taking the fastest route from Oregon to Nebraska, so if it includes windy roads we'll just have to deal. Will plan for DS8 to either sit in the middle of the minivan or possibly ride up front with DH driving the moving van. I appreciate all the tips! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProudGrandma Posted October 6, 2012 Share Posted October 6, 2012 Thank you!! So, the consensus is dramamine. I will pick some up, for an 8 yo would you all recommend the children's version or adult's? I am going to pick up some children's for our 4 yo. We got a movie player. So, that is good. DH says no reading, but someone else said that it doesn't matter, but it sounds like from you guys agree no reading? 8 yo has a designated "puke" bowl with lid for our trips. So, we will bring that. He sits in the very back of our minivan, would being in the middle help or back is fine with meds? Dramamine is a life saver. My daughter isn't as bad as many kids mentioned here....but any trip over 2 1/2 hours will make her sick. Even on the dramamine she can't read or look at anything with words (we found that out the hard way with the close caption was on acidently once on the DVD player)...we have also used Hyland's motion sickness meds (which is all natural) but it didn't last very long...however, it works REALLY fast...so if we are taking a trip and we didn't think it would take as long as it did and we closing in on 2 1/2 hours, she can take these and it helps. She also finds it better to be in the bucket seat of the mini-van instead of the way back..but I think that is pretty individual...you will have to just try a few things...our daughter was able to give us fair warning and we could adjust before she gets sick. If you are looking for things that can be played with to keep kids busy...we did a lot of magnetic type toys on a cookie sheet...listened to audio books, watched DVD's. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LadyR Posted October 6, 2012 Share Posted October 6, 2012 Dramamine and Sea-bands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewsDK Posted October 6, 2012 Share Posted October 6, 2012 For a 3-day trip, ask your Dr. about the behind-the-ear patches. I used them all the time when I was in my teens for flying and they were amazing! She could use one the whole trip. They are hard to find these days for some reason. Lots of fresh air, no warm air blowing on her face, no reading. Everything everyone else has mentioned! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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