How can I keep my kid from getting car-sick?

[Omar_Little]

Give the poor kid dramamine:

@http://www.medshopexpress.com/744901.html

For 50 mg tablets:
To prevent motion sickness, the first dose should be taken 1/2 hour to one hour before starting activity. To prevent or treat motion sickness, see below: Adults and children 12 years and over: 1 to 2 tablets every 4-6 hours; not more than 8 tablets in 24 hours, or as directed by a doctor. Children 6 to under 12 years: 1/2 to 1 tablet every 6-8 hours; not more than 3 tablets in 24 hours, or as directed by a doctor. Children 2 to under 6 years: 1/4 to 1/2 tablet every 6-8 hours; not more than 1-1/2 tablets in 24 hours, or as directed by a doctor.

[kushiel]

This will make your trip even longer, but for me, what helps the most is getting out of the car frequently. Even for 5 minutes every half an hour getting him out of the car at a rest stop can help ‘reset’ to normal. I don’t go all the way to puking, but the headaches and nausea are helped so much by just walking around for a few minutes.

[madrabbitwoman]

I swear by Kwells http://www.kwells.com.au/faqs#

[PunditLisa]

Motion sickness sucks. I’ve suffered from it my entire life. I agree with almost all that’s been written here.

1. No greasy foods and no acidic foods (e.g. orange juice) and no over-eating. When you get nauseated, you tend to burp a lot.

2. If he cannot look out the front, then see if an eye mask and iPod work. Or stack pillows on either side of his car seat so that his vision is contained to the back of the seat in front of him. Looking out front around the sides of seats is not a good thing, so when I’m stuck in the back now, I just close my eyes. While I get sick in cars often, I don’t ever get sick on planes. Visual cues make the problem worse unless you are looking at them straight on.

3. Windows down, if possible. Definitely helps.

4. This might sound crazy, but if you can find something that vibrates, this might help. I’m thinking a vibrating back massager doo-dad that you can attach to the back of his seat. Why? The only vehicle I’ve ever been a backseat passenger in that didn’t get me car sick was our old VW bus. It was really open (e.g. low seats), had a light interior, had big windows, and vibrated constantly. I think my body was so lulled by the vibration of the engine that I couldn’t feel the subtle motions of turning. I could sleep like a baby in that van.

5. Put something in front of his seat so that he can touch it with his feet. I cannot sit in chairs where my fit don’t touch the ground or I’ll get nauseated.

Here are things to keep in mind for next car purchase/rental:

1. As I said before, the “smoother” the car, the worse the car sickness. My husband had to get rid of his Cadillac because it was like riding on a magic carpet. BMWs are good. Hybrids are not.

2. Look for light interior. Dark interiors only worsen the contrast between the immediate and distant foreground. Look for a staggered back seat that will allow him to look out the front.

3. Look for low seats, if they’re available. Tall captain’s chairs are not motion sickness’ friend.

4. Leather seats. Not for the motion sickness but because it makes for an easier clean-up.

5. Rear air-conditioner vents.

6. Windows that roll down.

7. I prefer to be up high (e.g. SUV) vs. low (sedan).

[Icarus]

Also, if you get a chance, have the kid checked for inner ear infection. I frequently suffer from mild cases, and while I’m fine in normal circumstances, some motion situations just send me over the edge.

[Lynn_Bodoni]

@madrabbitwoman

I swear by Kwells http://www.kwells.com.au/faqs#

Ummmmm, just becareful of what you get. In the US, Kwell is a prescription only shampoo for killing lice.

[Isamu]

I was a car-sick kid up until the age of about 14. Not so much you can do about it, but have him look off into the distance rather than up close at the road or trees as they pass by. Also, try to drive the car with a bit of sensitivity towards the passengers, i.e., slow down around corners, avoid pot-holes, don’t jerk the steering wheel, etc.

[Seren]

I definitely agree with the cool air and looking out the windows advice. No looking at anything inside the car - books, video games, my feet, other people… (That’s the biggest trigger for me.)

One that I haven’t seen mentioned here yet is letting him lie (lay?) down in the backseat. I know there are safety issues but that is the one remedy I can count on. Something about being horizontal makes the motion sickness disappear almost entirely. Alternately, a safer option might be letting him sit in the front seat and reclining it as far as it’ll go.

[not_what_you_d_expect]

I have always suffered from car sickness. My husband and I like to go hiking and of course that usually means winding mountain roads. The only way I get thru it is to take a Benadryl and lay down in the back seat with a pillow and a blanket and my I-pod on low. I usually manage to sleep.
I do put the seat belt on, though it’s probably not as secure as in a seated position. I don’t know if you could secure the belt around such a small body, but if you could, it might be an option.

[tesseract]

I have always been prone to carsickness, and in addition to everything that’s been said, I always always always watch the road. Looking out side windows does not do it for me at all - I have to be looking at the road in front of me. Does he do this? I know you said he gets bored, but for me even as a kid I was desperate to make sure I could always see the road so I would not get (as) sick. To this day I hate it when people ask me to look for something in the car, like on the floor, because by the time I look up again, I’ll be slightly nauseated. (I can ride roller coasters though, go figure.)

[Guinastasia]

@Nava

Well, strictly speaking it was Tente (a local brand), but yes. It was digested enough to be unusable: it still kept its general shape but the edges weren’t straight any more, although you could still read the TENTE lettering on each knob. It was more clear on one of the center knobs.

And you bet I looked at it, how else would I have been able to show it to The Parental Units demanding their abject submission and recognition of the error of their ways? For one time in my life that I could do that!

Middlebro kept the brick around in a “treasures box” and eventually threw it out when he was in High School.

That sounds like an urban legend, like the whole “gum stays in your stomach for seven years.” I would think he’d just poop it out. Are you sure he didn’t swallow it later than that?

[Nava]

@Guinastasia

That sounds like an urban legend, like the whole “gum stays in your stomach for seven years.” I would think he’d just poop it out. Are you sure he didn’t swallow it later than that?

Guin,

I saw him swallow it, I can still picture the room, I can give you the address. It’s the room which was my brothers’ bedroom in the house before the one where my mother now lives, a big bedroom with yellow wallpaper and parquet floor. The pine wardrobe they had in that room (the one a friend of the brothers climbed with a freshly-gifted Mazinger Z doll during a birthday party, shooting the missiles in its fists and hitting me on the face - the missiles got irretrievably “lost”) is the one which I used to have in my room in this other house, and which is now in the small balcony.

I did not find a chewed-up, somewhat-discolored piece or just see him puke it, I felt it inside the puke bag (a black garbage bag, we kept a roll of those in the car for that purpose) and retrieved it. It was while Mom was in the hospital for her back surgery, we were driving back down home after spending the weekend with her.

The doctor said that if it had been a 1x1 or a 2x1 it may have either come up faster or gotten through: the problem was that it was both small enough to be swallowed and large enough to get stuck.

This is not a FOAF story, it’s my life.

[Ibanez]

Place a heavy chain on the floor of the car seat beneath him to disrupt the vibrations.

It works for dogs.

[kanicbird]

A stiff suspension system should help over softer more floaty one, perhaps you can rent a car with a stiffer suspension and if that seems to help consider changing out springs/shocks to make the ride less floaty.

Also a front seat view should help too, along with the air movement.

[Guinastasia]

It’s not that I don’t believe you, it just sounds so weird, that’s all. I don’t know how something could stay in one’s stomach all those years. :eek:

[Nava]

Oh, I know, we were pretty surprised too!

[Lacunae_Matata]

@kanicbird

A stiff suspension system should help over softer more floaty one, perhaps you can rent a car with a stiffer suspension and if that seems to help consider changing out springs/shocks to make the ride less floaty.

Also a front seat view should help too, along with the air movement.

Yeah, if you have a choice on what type of vehicle to drive for this hypothetical trip, something with good suspension is a better choice, as is something that puts your passengers up higher - minivan, truck, or suv vs. sedan or coupe. I was far less ill as a kid after my mom replaced her car with a truck. (And my granddad had one of those big early-seventies station wagons when I was a kid - I think a 1972 Plymouth? - huge sucker with the most “wallow-y” suspension ever. All I’ll say is thank goodness the wagon had a power rear window, 'cause Granddaddy could roll it down from the driver’s seat as soon as he heard my muffled “Urp!” noises!)

[Shirley_Ujest]

Nava, I hope you framed that lego piece.

[Little_Bird]

@Moonlitherial

You can get a strap that hangs down from the frame of your car and grounds it to the road. I never researched why it was supposed to work, it seemed pretty woo, but once it worked I was afraid to find out that it was woo and thus have my positive confirmation bias cancelled and go back to unhappy daughter throwing up on every trip.

Wait, what? A strap that hangs down from the bottom of the car and touches the road? Yep, that’s woo. Just don’t tell your kid, if the placebo is working keep it up.

[DivineComedienne]

Well, Little Divine has his class trip tomorrow, they’re taking a school bus to the museum (roughly 45-60 minute drive). This will be a good way to test all your suggestions!

I bought him Seabandz, and he is excited to try them. I am hoping that the placebo effect works.

I was unable to find Bonine for Kids in my local drugstores, and regular Bonine says it’s not for kids under 12. But I did find Dramamine, I may give him one of those in the morning (although I’m concerned about him being sleepy on the trip).

I also warned his teacher via email, and while I was unable to find ginger candy, I’m packing him a small bottle of ginger ale to sip from during the trip each way. I also am putting a little bag in his jacket pocket in case he needs it.

I will report back to you all on how he does - if this goes well, we may try a longer drive!