Seasick Children???

[cr3boys]

We will be on Freedom of the Seas in July, with our three sons. I am not sure if my 18yo, and 14yo, son are prone to motion sickness. However, my 12yo son is EXTREMELY prone to motion sickness, so much so, that we were initially hesitant to cruise at all.

 

I also get very motion sick, but used the patch many years ago, while cruising and it did work for me.

 

Has anyone used a Scop patch with their children??? Any advice would be greatly appreciated:confused:

[cb at sea]

You should really speak to your doctor, for recommendations for the kids....what is good for adults isn't always the best for kids!

There are medications that will keep you comfortable when in rocky seas...but do talk to your son's doctor!

[Berk987]

check out this thread. it will have info on the patch.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1193757

 

I wouldn't recommend it for your kids but check with your PEDS. What about the ginger pills? I'm going to try that next instead of the patch. My husband took 2 of the patches for a 7 day cruise. It worked great for him but when we returned home, he was sick as a dog for 3 days. I took 1 patch and was fine on return to land.

 

Our 3Y son was a little sick but we fed him basic food for 2 days and he was fine. The 1.5Y and 5Y, 5Y were fine. I've read that kids have a lower center of gravity so they don't get that sick. Avoid any greasy food. That's what made my 3Y throw up one morning. He ate some scrambled eggs that were fried up with a lot of oil. He doesn't do well with greasy so we don't go to fast food at all (McD, Wendys, KFC etc).

[uppitycats]

I know that "conventional wisdom" says that kids don't get seasick...all that "lower center of gravity" stuff. I dunno. I spent most of my years from about 18 months to 4-5 years being way sick whenever I encountered anything that even hinted of motion -- cars, merry-go-rounds, kids carnival rides, water chutes, swings.....

 

and since seasickness really is a version of motion sickness, I just don't "buy" the "conventional widsom".

 

I do suggest you talk to your pediatrician, though. As folks said, what is OK for adults may not be suitable for the kids, especially the younger ones.

[jaixrx]

We just got back with our boys...it was their first cruise. I was worried about our 9 yo who gets motion sickness in the car. Prior to the cruise I read a post on here about children's Bonine. DH and I have always had luck with the adult version so we tried it. We all made it through the cruise without any sickness.

 

The only downside was that it was very difficult to find. I actually had pharmacists tell me there was no such thing. I ended up getting it off of one of the drug store websites.

 

Good luck and happy cruising!

[crzgrl66]

We also used children's chewable Bonine on our last two cruises. At the time our son who tends to get motion sick was 11 & 14. We checked with our pediatrician and that's what he recommended, but I agree always get a recommendation from your own doctor who knows your children's health.

[Onessa]

DD is very prone to motion sickness, but has never had a problem on-board ships (even in some very rough seas off of Canada).

 

We do avoid excursions that entail small boat trips or long bus trips on winding roads. I also try to find cruises with few tender ports - because the small boats do bother her. We do candied ginger, sit far to the back, outdoors when possible, and keep her eyes on the horizon.

 

We first discovered she was prone to motion sickness when she was 8MO, but I should have known better because I'd get "morning sickness" while carrying her when I'd do almost anything (like negotiate a speed bump!).

 

Check with your family doc, carry a ginger remedy and book an aft cabin. Good luck!

[Mack2]

The patch is NOT recommended for children...

 

I"m a pharmacist... and I'll recommend stuff, but I tend to go conservatively away from using meds for motion sickness... just because, all of them will cause drowsiness to a certain degree.

 

At their ages, they should all be able to pop Bonine (meclizine) every 4-6 hours if needed for motion sickness.

Ginger candy helps for acute bouts of motion sickness... like the Ginger Altoids... they ARE curiously strong.

 

 

The thing with the patch and a 60lb 12 year old is that the patches are designed for adults... and we're not 60lbs... so while most adults do fine with the patch, there are some who experience the blurry vision, difficulty with urinating, hot flashes, cotton-mouth, etc.

 

That's because of the nature of all motion sickness drugs. The patch is harder to control, since it loads up in your skin and enters the blood... so even after you take the patch off, you're still getting medicine delivered to you for a little while longer.

 

The pills? Dramamine/Bonine? 4-6 hours, it's done.

 

 

In a kid, you might be delivering too much medicine to them, they'll get side effects with the patch, and those side effects will linger.

 

 

 

 

Play it safe... stick to the pills, the Ginger Altoids, and worse comes to worse... Benadryl (which works for motion sickness, but, more importantly, it'll knock them out if the sea sickness is REALLY bad)

 

Most likely, on a gigantic cruise ship like the Freedom, you won't even need to touch the stuff (except when you have to tender from ship to port).

[Asil65]

I bought some sea bands for my 12 year old for our upcoming cruise. I also bought some childrens' bonine too for a back up. I am hoping that they work. Someone posted that if someone is sick have them smell orange peels too. Crazy but it is supposed to work.

[Mack2]

Bonine (meclizine) can be used for kids 12 and up.

http://www.bonine.com/bonine.php

 

Children's Bonine (cyclizine) can be used for kids 6 and older... but it may cause more drowsiness than the regular Bonine (meclizine)

http://www.bonine.com/bonine_kids.php

They still make Marezine (cyclizine) for adults... but nobody uses it... it's not marketed well or something.

 

Original Formula Dramamine (dimenhydrinate) can be used for folks aged 2 and up... but it causes more drowsiness.

http://www.dramamine.com/chewable-formula

 

 

Since the kids in question are 12 and older... Bonine is GREAT!

[ourfamilylovescruising]

I would talk to your pediatrician and ask about melizine it works the best and the pharmasit can order it for you.