KBadd Posted May 28, 2015 Share Posted May 28, 2015 We're going on a 4 hour road trip to the beach. My 6yo is already complaining that it's sooooo far lol. He's prone to getting car sick. Any ideas to keep him occupied and relieve car sickness? Thanks for your help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TracyP Posted May 28, 2015 Share Posted May 28, 2015 When my oldest was 3ish, our pharmacist told us to tape a battery to the inside of her wrist. We used a AA battery, then wrapped a paper towel around her wrist, then taped over that so it was snug. I was skeptical, but dd never felt sick while using it. I guess Seabands are they same thing, but it sounds like the fit is a little tricky with them. If you DIY, you guarantee a good fit. Now that she is older, she takes Dramamine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onceuponatime Posted May 28, 2015 Share Posted May 28, 2015 Sea bands work for my carsick prone grandson. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarbecueMom Posted May 28, 2015 Share Posted May 28, 2015 Make sure the cold air vents are on and open! We had a 12-hour drive last week and did not realize the rear facing child had closed his vent until he threw up all over himself while driving through the middle of nowhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MercyA Posted May 28, 2015 Share Posted May 28, 2015 Children's chewable Dramamine works very well for us. Keep the car cool and make sure your son has a good view out the front window. Looking down to read causes more motion sickness for us, but watching movies on a seat-mounted DVD player seems to help. Offer small, frequent snacks like crackers and pretzels and avoid heavy or greasy food. Hope you have fun! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holly Posted May 28, 2015 Share Posted May 28, 2015 We use Dramamine and have a bucket handy just in case (within reach of the carsick prone child). I agree that small frequent snacks helps! The only times I get carsick are if I'm very hungry or reading in the car. We once had to stop at a store and buy new clothes and clean out the car...it was horrible! I make sure we are prepared if we are going more than an hour away. If it's less than an hour, I make sure he doesn't have an empty stomach before we start...that seems to be a factor for him. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted May 28, 2015 Share Posted May 28, 2015 Mythbusters did a whole episode on motion sickness. I think ginger was the only thing that actually worked. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted May 28, 2015 Share Posted May 28, 2015 Just to point out--keeping him occupied with anything that involves looking anywhere but straight out the front window is going to cause car sickness rather than distract him from it. I agree with the PP about hunger exacerbating the problem. For my son, it was always worst right before lunch, and then he would have no problems after lunch and for the rest of the day. Of course it took me several years to figure this out! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ripley Posted May 28, 2015 Share Posted May 28, 2015 I get car sick - same experiences as mentioned above re: the importance of cold, open vents; very small, frequent servings of crackers/pretzels; and no reading or movies. It was explained to me that part of the reason some of us get motion sickness is because of the disconnect between what our eyes are focused on (e.g., book) and what our brain is absorbing (e.g., the movement of things in our peripheral vision). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unsinkable Posted May 28, 2015 Share Posted May 28, 2015 Looking out side windows made car sickness worse for my kids. Once they were big enough to sit in the front, (and didnt look out side windows) it was much better. I'd put him in the middle back seat (assuming) that he can then see out the windshield. We've also used sea sickness bands and Dramamine but nothing worked better than moving to the front seat. I'm Sorry that is not an option! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmandaVT Posted May 28, 2015 Share Posted May 28, 2015 DS gets very car sick and we take regular 5 hr car rides to see extended family. It mostly just is unpleasant. It's much better now that he's older though. -have a puke kit ready. puke bucket, paper towels, clorox wipes, bottle of water to rinse out bucket if need be, change of clothes - have lots of music or audiobooks or both ready on an ipod or cd's. Have the passenger (usually me) play DJ - We do a lot of games involving reading signs (exit markers, billboards, etc) and looking for cars up ahead - "who can find a yellow car?" DS likes to make up silly games where he renames the exits after characters in books/tv. So for one stretch of the road, the exits will become: Curious George, Man w/ the Yellow Hat, Bill". Whatever keeps him occupied! -no reading, TV, games, etc. which makes it hard. Good luck and be prepared to talk a lot to your DC to keep him/her occupied for 4 hrs. My mouth is usually exhausted by the time we reach our destination. We have made it over a year with no puking though, so that's good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted May 28, 2015 Share Posted May 28, 2015 Plenty of puke bags and lollipops. Both of my boys get carsick often. If they sleep through the trip they don't puke. My oldest, who has it worse, just shut his eyes and rest so he doesn't feel so nauseous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted May 28, 2015 Share Posted May 28, 2015 I have extreme motion sickness, cool vents, ginger ale, looking out the front window all help. I eat lightly before travel. I use dramamine, that's the only thing that really helps me. As a kid the only thing that worked was sitting in the front seat, that was back in the day of bench seats and cars built like tanks. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarahbobeara Posted May 28, 2015 Share Posted May 28, 2015 Our youngest gets car sick but so far only when my husband is driving through curvy mountain roads. I think he accelerates through the curves and she's thrown up on swings before, so she has a tender stomach I guess! We've spent a lot of time on the road to visit family but it's those curvy roads that get her. For her, looking outside at all that greenery makes it worse. She focuses on DVDs or her DS...anything BUT looking out the side window. (She's too young for the front seat yet.) Even going to sleep helps! She has a dedicated puke bucket that we take on road trips, just in case. She's is pretty good about hitting the bucket, for which I am eternally grateful. I bring extra water, clorox/wet wipes, plastic bags...I don't worry about the extra clothes because she hits the bucket! I do tie her hair back, just in case ;) I've heard of the sea bands but not the battery! And lollipops would be a good idea--remember those prego pops to help pregnancy-induced nausea? Hope the 4 hours pass quickly for your son! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catz Posted May 28, 2015 Share Posted May 28, 2015 We've done many road trips with my dd who tends towards car sickness. Keeping the car cool and at relatively constant speed (dd gets more carsick when dad is driving!) is good. For long road trips, videos were distracting. She cannot look down though. We have a video player that mounts on the back of the seat in front of her. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElizabethB Posted May 28, 2015 Share Posted May 28, 2015 :grouphug: We have a bucket too. We call it the yak bucket. It has gotten a bit better as he has gotten older. Many of the suggestions above have helped a bit, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aggie96 Posted May 28, 2015 Share Posted May 28, 2015 A suggestion for dealing with puke while traveling down the road: Gallon size zip lock bag (good quality, I prefer freezer type because it is thicker) with 3-4 paper towels stuffed in bottom. Tuck this bag by car sick person to grab quickly. Puke in bag. Zip to seal. Toss in next trash can. This eliminates spilling and keeps smells to minimum. Works every time! We keep a puke bag in every pocket of the car and one in the console. It is not unusual for us to use 2-3 in one trip, no matter the length of trip (and we take 4-5hr trips every 6 weeks). :( Not only do I have 4 out of 5 family members who get very car sick, 2 of them are sympathetic pukers. I HAVE to keep smell down and cleanup minimum otherwise everyone starts puking. Ugh! I come from a long line of car sick prone people, including myself. NOTHING has ever worked consistently to minimize getting sick, not even age. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DesertBlossom Posted May 28, 2015 Share Posted May 28, 2015 I have 1 that gets car sick and I bought motion sickness medicine. (It may be generic dramamine.) As long as she takes it, she's fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suzanne in ABQ Posted May 29, 2015 Share Posted May 29, 2015 Dramamine works for us, but makes us all REALLY sleepy! I generally give the kids just 1/4 of a tablet, and myself 1/2, at the most. We keep gallon size ziplock bags handy in the back-of-seat pockets. All kids have been trained in when to reach for them, and how to use them. I got some ginger capsules that I plan to try this summer. Hoping they'll help with the sickness, without causing everyone to sleep all day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted May 29, 2015 Share Posted May 29, 2015 Zip lock freezer bags are what we used. Dd got carsick frequently when she was little and her having control of the bag helped greatly. For her part of it was definitely nerves because she hated happening so much that she thought about it, vicious circle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThisIsTheDay Posted May 29, 2015 Share Posted May 29, 2015 I have suffered motion sickness for over 50 years, beginning when I was a baby. I've been sick on cars, planes, ferries, sightseeing boats, buses (including on my kid's field trip), and more. I have dozens of stories, and almost every family vacation, both as a child and an adult, involves something with me throwing up. I throw up Dramamine. Sea bands changed everything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scbusf Posted May 29, 2015 Share Posted May 29, 2015 Sea Bands have been a godsend for my carsick prone DS. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trulycrabby Posted May 29, 2015 Share Posted May 29, 2015 Dramamine, phenergan, or zofran work for me. Zofran doesn't make me sleepy but is expensive unless insurance covers it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparrow Posted May 29, 2015 Share Posted May 29, 2015 We had a DVD player bag that hung between the front seats. DD's eyes were directed there to watch movies and that helped. She has hung a blanket over her window. Thankfully, she's growing out of it. She mostly sleeps on road trips now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hornblower Posted May 29, 2015 Share Posted May 29, 2015 the gravol Ginger tabs are very good & don't cause drowsiness.we're an entire family of people who get motion sick. I still get car sick if I'm not driving.http://gravol.ca/en/products/natural-source/gravol%C2%AE-natural-source%C2%AE-ginger-tablets-ages-6/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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