Car Sickness Solutions

I used to get a lot of motion sickness as a kid, when my appendix was remouved at 13 it all stopped.

i get carsick when my husband is driving--he likes to go as fast as he can and as we live in the city, has to stop suddenly a LOT... mint gum is a must when i'm in the car with him... may sound lame, and maybe you've already tried it, but it works for me... no idea why... good luck... it's a horrible situation!

I have no suggestions but I feel your daughters pain. I am 42 and still to this day if I am a passenger in a car I get sick, really sick. Stop and go traffic is the worse. If I am driving I am fine. My parents tried everything but again I am 42 and still get car sick. So sorry for your daughter.

Have you tried rolling the window down-- regardless of the weather? My daughter, 5, get car sick and this seems to help her.

Try ginger capsules or gingered candy. It does work. It is an old sailor cure for sea sickness. Myth Busters proved it.

Our youngest son gets carsick. we also tried the things you have mentioned. He has gotten much better over the years. he is now 14. back a few years ago, on a long car trip in south dakota, all we could do was give him a barf bag! I sometimes think they just have to outgrow it. we haven't had any carsick incidents in quite awhile!

We 3 sisters use to get sick in the car. Mom had us suck on a lemon wedge. I sopose lemonade would be a good alternative these days; just to sip on

Hi M.,

Have you tried fresh Ginger Tea? or Bach Rescue Remedy?
Any of the calming or sleep type teas? Essential Oils?

Here are a few links. I hope they help.
Linda

http://altmedicine.about.com/od/ginger/Ginger.htm

http://www.bachflower.com/

http://www.vitaminshoppe.com/store/en/browse/sku_detail.j...

http://www.health911.com/remedies/rem_motion.htm

http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/motion-sickness-000110...

http://www.ahealthyme.com/topic/motionsickness

http://www.herbalremedies.com/morning.html

I've had the problem all my life. Nothing worked for me either. But then one day my sister-in-law was riding in the car with me. She saw me "turning green" and started coaching me through a meditation, and breathing techniques.

Turning within, and removing myself mentally from the car, helped enormously. I asked her where she learned that, and she told me in childbirth classes!

Since that time (about 35 years ago), I've taken numerous classes in meditation, self-hypnosis, and relaxation. Not only has it helped me learn to control the motion sickness, it has also proved quite useful in stress reduction, pain control, and childbirth. I've also been teaching the techniques to my little boy when he struggles with his autism.

I know they tell you not to read in a car, but I actually prefer to read. For very long car rides, I limit my reading time and take many breaks (or else it can backfire and cause sickness), but the distraction of reading or knitting or doing other crafts has also helped me in managing the motion sickness. (Focusing on the *view* is NOT a good idea for me.)

I would also like to suggest that you keep your daughter up to date on eye exams. I wear glasses now, for distance only. So I usually only wear them when I drive a car. However, I've found that on very long car rides (or train or bus or plane), wearing my glasses seems to reduce my motion sickness. I suspect it has to do with being able to focus on that horizon in the distance or something, or maybe it has to do with the glasses being tinted and polarized to reduce glare, but what whatever it is, it helps a little.

I hope this helps you and your daughter!

I second the ginger pills!! The only thing that got me through kid number 1 without throwing up night and day. My mom is he queen of motionsickness and it stinks!! She uses Bonine (SP?) I will pray for your daughter. That is no fun!

I was just looking for solutions myself this weekend. I can remember as a kid horrible experiences riding in busses for school trips, sitting in the back seat of a car for any time, and just the embarassement of the whole situation. I think the thing as a kid that really worked for me the best was fresh air, cooler temps, and breathing. You may also want to give her a peppermint to suck on. There was also something I read about a pressure point between the tendons on the underside of the wrist. I don't know if this even works, but it was one of the solutins that I will try next time I get car sick. As an adult that has suffered this for as long as I can remember, the best advice that I can give you is to prepare those around her to help her before she gets really sick. I will say that over time my degree of car sickness has gotten better, but still happens quite often. I wish you luck in finding something to make her comfortable.

My daughter gets car sick since birth. She is now 8. She gets it more on an empty stomach or after she has over eaten. Especially after she's had orange juice or dry crackers. We've given her dramamine (orange chewables). She no longer wanted to take it. She has been watching the horizon in the car and has felt sick but not gotten sick in a while.

My daughter also gets car sick. This happens because your brain is telling you you are moving but your body is saying you are not (or the other way around). Sometimes-not always unfortunately-moving her legs around helps my daughter. She just moves them back and forth or will move her hands around.

M. I had this as a child and it has gotten much better as an adult but that doesn't help you now. Have you tried the mechanism behind the ear that people wear on cruises?

There is a Travel Clinic at Children's Memorial Hospital, and perhaps they deal with this. You may be able to call and talk with a nurse rather than have an appointment especially since you have had a medical work up already.

I know you have used over the counter drugs. Did you try Bonine (I think that is the name)? I get motion sickness on sailboats and a friend of mine who owns a boat swears by that and it worked for me.

Good luck. I hated traveling when I was her age. I just feel asleep which helped. I also had migraines which would be triggered by the travel. A.

I use to get sick as a dog all the time in the car. I couldn't fly either. Even a sailboat would make me sick. I use to sleep.

I did outgrow it eventually and I rarely get sick. I haven't had a problem with it for years.

Could it be something your daughter is eating?

My son was the same way on the way to school. But then I realized I was giving him Peanut Butter for breakfast on his waffles. I cut it out and the puking stopped.

Does your daughter drink cow's milk? That is definitely a digestive irritant to some people (most people and they don't know it).

I hope that helps in some way.

D.
www.TheReadingMother.com

i have suffered from this my entire life and nothing has helped. i still get boat sick and car sick if i am not driving. the only time i don't get sick is if i am driving......if you find anything, i would love to hear about it. good luck

Hi M.!

This may sound like strange advice, but I have heard that taking ginger pills can help with this sort of thing. I've actually taken ginger to help with morning sickness, and it works! I've also seen experiments done on TV where they test the theory of ginger's effect on motion sickness and it is indeed effective. Testers had to ride the tea cups without the pills and almost all of them were sick. After recovering, they rode them again after taking the pills - some with placebo and some with the real thing. The people with the real thing felt like they could ride the ride again! No sickness at all. Pretty interesting. Anyway, you can pick up ginger pills at the drugstore. If your daughter takes one before going on a car ride, it should help ease her sickness. Good luck! : )

You may have tried this already but someone recommended ginger - either fresh slivers like you get at sushi restaurants or there are ginger hard candies at Trader Joes. My girlfriend who gets car sick swears by them. Good luck!