Road-tripping with a car sick kid

This seemed counterintuitive to me the first time
I heard it, but it seems to work. Have Ellie look out the window at the start of the trip. She should keep looking out the window for most of the trip. Since you'll be driving for a long time, this remedy probably isn't practical. But I suggest it for shorter drives.

It is something about visually seeing the movement that balances the equilibrium, or something like that!

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Dramamine - it works wonders - it will also put her to sleep, most likely. It is safe to take. Also, Benadryl and Dramamine are essentially the same thing - once broken down in the body, the body treats them almost identically. My oldest was often car sick a s a baby and on a trip to the mountains I was determined (as your situation is) not to have anymore worries, illness, sounds, or other nerve-wracking stuff behind me. My uncle (a pediatrician) suggested liquid Benedryl for her as there is not a safe dose of Dramamine available for babies. I hope your trip goes well.

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As someone who has had experience with car sickness since a young age i DO NOT reccomed what BBT has stated above. It make work for some people, but what makes me carsick IS looking out the window because you are trying to focus on something that just keeps leaving you try to follow it with your eyes and you can get very dizzy, very fast. Being young and going on car trips was very difficult because i had nothing to keep me occupied because i couldn't read, watch tv, look out a window or do anything while the car was moving. I reccomend telling her to close her eyes when she starts getting to feel dizzy/nausea. Dramamine also has worked wonders with me. I'm pretty sure they make a childrens version and that will help A LOT (plus if you want her to sleep the whole time it will conk her out! if not they have a non-drowsy formula as well) good luck.

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We have friends who frequently travel with their daughter who has terrible motionsickness. After years of vomit they found that magnetic wrist bands work great for her. I thought it was silly, but it really does seem to work. She started using them about six years ago, and she won't go in the car without them.

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Another vote for dramamine (after checking with your pediatrician). The girls don't get carsick but when they were taking a school bus on the curvy mountain roads to Yosemite, I sent it along just in case because my pediatrician suggested it. They didn't need it.

I was subject to carsickness as a child and still have some queasiness unless I'm driving My folks would stop when I reached critical mass and let me get out for a few minutes. That's not very practical on the freeways of today or on the roads you describe though.

Open windows? They usually worked most of the time for me when we couldn't stop.

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I second the dramamine and also the DON'T look out the side windows comment. I find still that continually looking out the side windows even on a short drive makes me super nauseous. If Ellie is up high enough in the back seat to see out the FRONT window she could look out that one. That helps me immensely when I have to sit in the back seat. I also find that ginger and lemon help me. A ginger ale is good but there is a drink at Trader Joe's that works wonders for me if I sip it in the car. It has to be really cold but I find it makes long trips way more bearable. The drink is called something like " Lemon Ginger Echinachia Tonic". If you ask them I bet they would know what you mean. It really is good for the motion sickness.
I feel your pain. I was the problem child anytime we went on a trip as a kid. Twisty turns and heat made EVERYTHING worse. I say lots of fresh air/AC & keeping her eyes straight ahead would do wonders for her. Hope that helps!!

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I would also vote for the Dramamine. I used to get car sick as a kid, and it really helped me a lot. I also would say to have her NOT look out the side windows, but looking out the front windows did help me. It helped to see where we were headed and to focus on the horizon and what was in the distance (don't know if that would really help on a windy road though). If I looked out the side windows, that would make it worse. Reading, playing games, and other car activities were always out for me, because they aggravated my car sickness (still can't do those things now in the car without getting a bit nauseous). I never tried the wristband things (I don't think they had those then), but they are supposed to work well too.

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Yes to Dramamine!

Also, ginger worked for me on my long plane trip to Europe last year. I was amazed. I am also unable to read or look down/around when in a car or another moving vehicle. I can watch TV, but only if it is at eye level.

Also try these:
*Focusing on something straight ahead is good when one starts to feel ill, like watching the back of the car in front of you.
*Make sure she isn't in the car on an empty stomach.
*Take along something to sip on and snacks to eat.
*Fresh air and circulating air works wonders to curb nausea.

I wouldn't wish motion sickness on anyone!

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Coming from an adult who still suffers from motion sickness, I feel for your little one. Dramamine works, but has always knocked me clear on my arse for a few hours. As a child, this isn't so bad because it keeps them quiet for a while (bonus..lol), but as an adult, I get the "hangover" afterwards, comparable to a too-long nap in the late aftenoon. Takes a couple hours to feel normal again.

If you want to stay away from medicines, ginger does work wonders. Give her some ginger ale to sip along the way or some ginger snaps to snack on. Dr. Browns is an all natural ginger ale that tastes great - usually found in the natural section of most supermarkets. The more natural the ginger, the better it will work.

They also have patches, wristbands, and all sorts of things - having run the gamut, I know all the tricks. I would call your pediatrician for advice, they even have prescription anti-emitics they can prescribe in the correct dosage for Ellie.

Good luck, and safe trip!

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don't let them read--that always makes me sick. sadly it's hard to do with kids these days, but riding in front always helped me a lot.

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I have always been prone to getting carsick on roadtrips, as a child and now in my 30's. Especially those that involve lots of curves or stops. I have never taken any kind of medication. What works for me IS looking out the window, sitting in the front seat, and having cool air circulating in the car. Two of my three children also get carsick, and as they all can't sit up front, when they start feeling woosy....I tell them to look out the window and that always seems to help.

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A ceiling mounted DVD player worked miracles - anything that avoids heads down activity - no books, toys, playdough, hard to eat snacks. Don't overheat. Sight-seeing out the front windows (and sitting high enough or in the center of the back so she can see out the front.) singing to music. You can teach her to pick a point in the far distance and watch it approach - hard to extreme curves but you can try. Gentle driving helps. Wrist bands for accupressure, homeopathics for motion sickness. Candies, teas, etc containing real ginger. For we adults (we have a whole family of motion sick people) Bonine is WAY better. Not sleep inducing. Talk to your doctor about where it can be ok for kids in a smaller dose. For us, the DVD player, aggravating as it is, has made medication unnecessary.

And, watch your child in the mirror. Changes in color, complaining she's hot, etc. You can head these things off if you notice early- cooler air, a mint, heads up, or stopping to walk around. With my own child, once she starts coughing, it's way to late. Vomiting comes a couple of minutes later. My dad believed it was all in our heads, I'd get sick, and he'd be furious. .

Keep stuff to make cleanup easier in the car. Wipes, water, plastic bags, ziplocks, spare clothes.

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