Car sickness

try not to let them look inside the car , read books ect , They need to look ouside if the suffer car sickness , openning the window also helps . Looking at the horison is a great help . Motion tablets are you next alternative

Music can be a surprising help in my partner's experience.
You'd be surprised how well it can distract.
Also, avoid juice of any kind if possible.

Josh.

We had a six year old (still have him actually! ;-), who used to go white in the face and have big belly pains on windy roads... Started prepping him as soon as we saw the 'windy road' sign, by saying 'Pretend its a ride mate' - problem gone!!

Only problem now is when we forget to tell him ;-)

Try ginger tablets from health food shop or chemist. There are also "proper" car sick tablets available from chemists which need to be taken half an hour before journey starts (from memory).
Good luck...

Tony.
Motion sickness is caused by the natural reaction of bracing our bodys for a corner or bump not working. The most common cause is if the pasenger is reading or playing and not watching the road. Playing I spy games works for a while. Counting the no of birds worked for days on one trip. Eric.

If it's anything like seasickness.............. salada biscuits! dunno why but they work very well.

Tony
One way to stop sea sickness is to stand under a tree it seems to work every
time. Another tip for car sickness is to buy a 4wd
I Hope this has helped
Cheers
Andy

Hi Tony,

Firstly let me say I do not envy you children, I suffered as a child and I still suffer now and I am 47 yo. I have worked as a Driver Trainer since 1987. I got car sick driving over the sand dunes out from Camerons Corner as the driver.

Motion sickness is caused by middle ear balance issues, normally inhereted. Most motion sickness is caused by the driver (sorry), but if you were to drive slower around and out of corners, thus reducing hard braking into the next one you will find the problem is greatly reduced, yes it will be a slower trip, but your kids will appreciate it, they will travel better, and you won't have to stop all the time to clean them up, or wait for them to feel better. Constant speed (preferably slow) is the anwer. One of my kids inhereted from me, so I had time to put it into practice, and its works, not perfect, but definetly a huge improvement.

Normally the motion sickness is set up by the forward/back movement, not necesarily the side to side movement as people normally think.

Kids get really anxious about it as they start to see you getting into country that's going to make them feel crook, so keep them settled and try what I suggest. The head down reading is huge issue, as is the fresh air, both help significantly as well, as does the food quality issue.

Just to make you feel bad, and in case your kids haven't told you, if they have a bad dose they can feel crook for up to a week afterwards, it used to happen to me if I spent too much time on the skid pan, and happened very recently when I was STUPID enough to go on to a Tuna boat after being "convinced" I would be OK, bloody hell was I crook, and for a week afterwards. I get it in cars, on planes, on boats, you name it, I get it. bleep es me right off, I tell ya, coz I love the ocean and boats, but I can't do it.

Tony my mum had a good remody and it worke realy well put a peg on each ear on the loab didnt help for car sickness but we had a good laugh and for got about getting sick. For a while .

All the best
Eric

Tony
Just further to the cause of car sickness. As sonme people have touched on, it is to do with the middle.
Basically the middle ear sends a message to the brain as to our status in regards to moving and balance.
When someone is reading in a car, the brain is being told by the middle ear that it is moving but the eyes are telling it a differant story the end result is nausea and eventually vomitting.
Thats also why the theory looking at the horizon works, the aim is to get what the brain sees and what the brain is told its doing by the middle ear in sync.
The reason having the window down works is because when the middle ear tells the brain that your moving, the wind confirms that movement, even if your eyes are reading, for some reason that is discounted.
You will also find that the driver of a vehicle (99.9% of the time) will never get motion sickness. Studies show its something to do with the driver knowing what is coming in the way of movement and compensating for that.
Now what you can do for your kids is basically what the other guys have suggested. Wind the window down, get the child to sit in the middle of the back row so they can see straight ahead, take it a bit easier on the driving and also herbal remedies. Another I have found is these bands. Basically a watch band worn on each wrist with a plastic lump that hits a pressure point when worn correctly will stop motion sickness.
Hope that helps
Tim

Quell's ...available form chemist

Wow!! didnt know I had so many fellow sufferers lol, I would never go more than across the harbour to Manly without taking serious medication for sea sickness. I find in cars and buses as long as I sit near the front and usually devour a packet of minties within an hour I am ok. I have tried the ginger tablets, they didnt work for me, and I doubt kids would chew them. For me the peppermint in the minties works most times.

C in a Troopy

Kwell is best I've come across.

My girlfriend uses "SeaBands". These are elasticated bands that you wear around your wrists (like sweat bands). They have a small plastic blob sewn in that applies gentle pressure on one of the veins in your wrist. They seem to work for her.

Grinner

Hi Tony f,

I think the best and cheapest solution to car sickness is "Spearmint" life savers

Spearmint works better than Pepermint but that can be the next best thing

a slightly dearer option is pure "spearmint oil" on a cotton ball which the child smells while traveling

Hope this Helps

Regards
Muddy Girl & John

I take kids on long bus trips each year (22hours) and have never had a spewer.

The rules

Kids that have a history of motion sickness are to have consulted a physician, some are prescribed things like stemetil, most are just asked to take kwells.

Kids with a history are to sit at the front of the bus.

No reading

No gameboys

No milk or juice

Must wear sunglasses, (the glare causes headaches which really do not help the situation.)

Distraction is good, movies are fine, but a tape of video clips is better.

Vents stay open all the time, bus is set at 22deg, if kids get cold they climb under the blanket or sleeping bag.

We pop the hatch every few hours to introduce some fresh air.

If someone is feeling ill, they move to the front and we get them to lie down across two seats (while still wearing a set belt)

------ the lying down bit is great, the more of your body that is in contact with a surface that is moving eg the bus seat, the less 'confusion' the brain is getting about that movement, this one really works, but is difficult to do.

Don't talk about being sick as they get on the bus, this just sets them up to fail, parents are the worst at this!!

drinking sips of water is good, as are sugary sweets like snakes and jelly babies.

these work for us, and will hopefully work again this week as I take two busloads of 12 year olds to Canberra and the Snoe for ten days!!

Thanks everyone for your feed back it is much appreciated
I guess we are lucky that only one of our three children suffer regards tony.f

Tony,

Some great responses for you. Have a few ideas we've tried over the years. Had a 60 series Tojo, which would make the Girls sick on windy roads, such as the Putty Road. Put new Lovell springs and good shockies on it and problem was reduced. Always had to slow down. Eldest daughter always sat in middle, which helped her.

Avoid the Kwells etc as there are natural remedies that work well, and won't make the Kids crook, or drowsy for hours afterward. There are patches, that stick behind the ear, that work, but don't make you feel crook in the stomach.

Few "natural" remedies are: Ginger tablets(swallowed), chew glace ginger, ginger ale, Peppermint Oil on cotton ball stuck into air vent, Pepermint oil on temples, Sea Bands, piece of cotton wool inserted in left ear(wife uses this with some success in fixed wing aircraft), comfortable sunglasses as mentioned above, some headphones will cause motion sickness. And plenty of fresh air, and sitting in front of vehicle.

Triggers can be a problem, have done a lot of hours in helicopters, mustering cattle over the past 30 years, and just the smell of Avgas can make me "uncomfortable". Confidence in the pilot can help to prolong the time before motion sickness catches up to you.

Hooroo...

I'm with grinner on this one.

When my daughter was young she used to get car sick going 50km - no joke - and she had ear problems so reading the above posts about middle ear, perhaps that had something to do with it.

Anyway, when we were going on our first long trip I bought those wrist bands that velcro on to the wrist with a plastic hard knob that presses into the wrist......they work without a doubt......we travelled a couple of thousand kms and not one chuck!!!!!

I wear them now whenever we go out in a boat that is in open water.