Sea sickness

[mmeb7882]

Are children more prone to sea sickness or does it not make a difference? I have no idea what to expect as this will be our first cruise. We travel often by fairy and have a family boat. Never experienced sickness on either. Does this give us any clues? Are the sea sickness meds you buy for adults OK for kids, too? My child is 5 if that helps.

[Cruisin' Chick]

It seems as if it's an individual thing. My little one doesn't seem bothered at all by the sea. Our last cruise had "rough" seas and I was the only one in the family who had to hit the ginger supply. The only time she wasn't feeling well was at the end of a sightseeing tour that went over some old roads, too much bumping about in the back of a van.

[cruisingwith6]

Hi! Our kids are 14, 11, 9 and 6. We have taken them on two cruises with us. The first was 2 years ago and we had calm seas..they did great and never once noticed the ship moving (this was on the Disney Magic). This past November on the Wonder we had rough seas as we ran into Tropical Storm Beta. Our 6 year old told us he felt "dizzy" and we called down to the ships doctor. They told us to by Dramamine in the gift shop. He did great with this and so did our 11 year old who was also complaining of being dizzy. I felt exactly the same way. So, from our experience they kids feel like we feel and Dramamine did the trick. Hope that helps!

[Onessa]

It is very individual. The incidence of motion sickness is higher among kids. Some kids do "outgrow" tendency toward motion sickness.

 

DD had a problem on an excusion ship we took to snorkeling on our last trip. It was very bouncy. We stayed in the back of the boat and she sucked on some candied ginger. She has never had a problem on-board ship (even when we've hit some VERY rough seas).

 

There is also different kinds of sea sick - the stomach churning variety (what most people think of as sea sick) Dramamine (they have kid's versions) and ginger work good for these kinds. We generally carry some candied ginger for DD when we are on small vessals or in the car doing particularly winding roads.

 

The other sea sickness is vertigo (just the dizziness without the stomach). I have a problem with it on land when cruising (I get off the ship and I still feel the swaying!). For me it is not debilitating in any way - generally some saline solution in each nostral twice a day helps (my friend's DH who is an Ear, Nose, and Throat MD, says the vertigo is often related to inner ear issues, and the saline solution helps keep the ears clear).

 

If your kids start feeling queezy, have them let you know as soon as possible. Try the ginger right away, get them to the rear of the ship, and into fresh air, and keep them distracted. That will deal with most minor occurances. Carry Dramamine just in case. However, "Preventive" dosing of dramamine should be reserved for those kids who have demonstrated a real problem in the past.