Motion sickness for kids

[Dwright826]

Can anyone suggest a good solution for motion sickness with young children. 3 year old, first cruise, will not chew a chewable.

[Essiesmom]

Does your child get carsick?  If so, what do you do?  Children that young do not get seasick, as a generalization.  Think of all the time they are carried around, bounced on knees…EM

[willoL]

I have two kids, one of whom has suffered quite badly from motion sickness even at a very young age. I sympathize, @Dwright826, and it is wise to think this through ahead of your trip! My kid has barfed on planes and trains as well as boats; it runs on my husband's side of the family.

 

Dramamine (original formula) is allowed down to age 2, I believe, but talk to your doctor. A quick search suggests there may be other forms than pills, at least for injections. (Threatening a 3 year old with a shot if s/he won't chew a pill is probably not optimal parenting, however. 😉) Perhaps dimenhydrinate (the active ingredient) can be had by prescription in a liquid, or made at a compounding pharmacy? But you'll need to ask your doctor/pharmacist about that.

This is weird and I never saw reports of it happening to other kids, but dramamine caused my kid to wet his pants. Maybe he got too relaxed? This happened a few times when he was little enough that an accident wasn't unusual, but *also* when he was almost in middle school and otherwise utterly and absolutely not having any accidents day or night, so be aware that sedating medication *might* have that effect if your child is potty trained (or working on it.)

 

The first thing our pediatrician had us try was Benadryl. It may have helped a little, but wasn't sufficient for my kid. It definitely comes in a liquid form, however, and I bet it is easy to find locally.

https://www.benadryl.com/products/childrens-benadryl-allergy-liquid

 

We ALSO used sea bands (acupressure wristbands) and ginger. Chewable sugary ginger candy might be tolerated by a child (though it's bad for the teeth, but so is vomit.)

 

I always kept gum or mints in my purse, too, because at least "doing something" could help distract a kid who is starting to feel ill. Start teaching your child now that reading a book or focusing on a screen is a bad idea when the yucky feeling starts. My kid caught on to the connection quickly (very young), but it can be hard not to look at a screen when a sibling is, for example.

 

And I always traveled with a barf bag. I literally just found one folded up in my kid's old travel backpack as I packed for an upcoming cruise, and my "little guy" is in high school and taller than I am now. (He now takes meclizine, the drug in Dramamine II/Bonine.)

 

Good luck!

[Milliegirl229]

Traveled last week with 9 yer old granddaughter for her first cruise. First morning she woke up and was seasick. Had kid Dramamine but went to the shop on the ship

and bought a wristband and drops you put behind the ears, don't have the name but a search will give you options. Between the three things she was fine the rest of the cruise. Buying the things on the ship was pricey so bring them from home but was worth it as she was able to enjoy the rest of the cruise with no problem.

[Itchy&Scratchy]

my kid does well on children's dramamine, but he has no problem with either chewables or regular pills.

[woostergirl]

My son gets abdominal migraines from time-to-time, throws up on long car rides some times and has had vague general nausea issues for the past four years. He's now 7. We use a prescription anti-nausea medication called Zofran. It is a small white tablet that you put under their tongue and it dissolves. No active chewing or swallowing required.

 

He was a little sea sick on the first day of our summer Alaska trip as the ship was zooming out of San Francisco bay and into the open ocean and I gave him a Zofran and then he was fine. If you are planning to speak with the pediatrician, it might be worth asking for some Zofran.

 

We also use Hyland's Tummy Ache for his nausea. It's over-the-counter and is also a small white tablet that dissolves under the the tongue. It helps with general tummy issues including nausea. This is our first line of defense and it usully works. It's easy to find on Amazon, Walgreens, etc.

 

If the Hyland's medicine is not working after 30 minutes, then I give him a Zofran. Zofran really works wonders for nausea. Good luck!

Edited August 29, 2022 by woostergirl

[oyme]

On 8/1/2022 at 5:19 PM, Dwright826 said:

Can anyone suggest a good solution for motion sickness with young children. 3 year old, first cruise, will not chew a chewable.

Have you thought of smashing the chewable and sneaking it into applesauce or something similar? That just might do the trick as long as you can stir it around enough where it still just looks like applesauce.

[jbrinkm]

I've had good luck with the Seabands, and they come in child size. My oldest got motion sickness badly when very young (we think even as a young baby - HATED the car seat when most babies just go to sleep) and our pediatrician said to try something salty, like saltines or goldfish once we reached toddler age. I also think traveling on an empty stomach can actually make the problem worse from my own experience (as well as chewing gum...). Fresh air when possible. And if none of that helps, I agree with the medication options above. Our ped also said Benadryl but not too often. 

[Onessa]

Our daughter had major issues with smaller ships and car sickness prior to trying a short RCCI cruise.  Surprisingly she had no problems on-board the ship.  Only once did she have any issue when on the ship and that was general nausea during a full-out storm at sea (weather was so bad that the ship responded to an at-sea rescue operation for a commercial fishing vessel that went down).
We bring various OTC anti-nausea meds "just in case" but find candied ginger is enough when doing smaller ship-based excursions or land tours that start getting too twisty.

 

[MinnieSconie16]

We always bring children’s Dramamine, children’s sized sea bands and ginger chews. Kids have actually never gotten sea sick but always figure it’s better to be prepared just in case. My spouse gets sea sick more easily and has found wearing the sea bands from day 1 is usually does the trick for not having a day feeling queasy so if really worried, have them wear the sea bands from the start.  Kids are pretty resilient it seems to motion..my kids managed to be the only ones on a whale watching tour in Iceland that didn’t seem to be bothered by the motion while we were cresting waves on a very bad weather day.  Also, if they do feel icky, they have green apples on the buffet and they are a good remedy for most.

[MississippiMom]

Little kid Seabands worked when ours were younger.

[James Cruiser]

Thanks for all the answers!