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Original poster

Travel sickness,does it come on suddenly?

22 replies

pinkhousesarebest · 01/02/2009 10:29

My d.s who is 6,has suddenly started getting very car sick.We have been skiing for the last three weekends,but he has vomited copiously,and to such an extent that we are reluctant to go again,even though it is brill once we get there. He even was sick when we got home last night,long after getting out of the car. Anybody any suggestions as to how we can help him? He has always been such a good traveller.

OP posts:

AliceTheCamelHasGotTheHump · 01/02/2009 10:34

My dd also get dreadful travel sickness. Standard procedure on a Camel outing is

Travel
Arrive
Start hosing the car down.

Things that seem to help:
Strictly nothing but water in the car.
Have something light to eat about 20 minutes before setting off.
No reading or playing with anything requiring concentration.
Stories on CD on the car sterio seem to help too, oddly.

I have heard that an in car dvd player helps too, but have yet to try that as am a bit sceptical.

belgo · 01/02/2009 10:36

agree with alicethecamel, but for one thing: car dvds do not help! They make my dd1 more sick.

Have you tried travel sickness tablets?

Original poster

pinkhousesarebest · 01/02/2009 21:50

I have tried homeopathic remedies,but to no avail.Do you have any recommendations?

OP posts:

Bubbaluv · 01/02/2009 22:02

Tupperware containers. Sorry, no advice, but I suffered terribly as a child and so the car was always full of tupperware containers so at least the sick can be sealed up.

rimmer · 01/02/2009 22:04

those acupunture wrist band things are quite effective if you don't want to take tablets. Also, keep the car reasonably cool, be able to look out of the front windscreen - even better sit on passenger seat, keep mouth shut!!

christywhisty · 01/02/2009 22:43

Have you been using a different car? DS started getting travel sick when we got a mondeo.
I found sturgeon the best travel sickness tablet for him.

smudgethepuppydog · 02/02/2009 09:51

We used to use Joyrides, they can be chewed either before you start the journey or if you start to feel sick. DD used to be slightly better if sat in the middle of the back seat so she could see out of the front window. She also had been a good traveller up until the age of about 5 or 6. Travel on motorways was less of a problem than travel on side roads.

MrsBadger · 02/02/2009 09:57

my sister and I were famous for our carsickness and regularly arrived at great-grandma's etc in our vests, having been sick on everything else

fresh air and being able to see forwards (ie in direction of travel) was the only thing that helped

eventually we gave up and went places by train instead

drug wise we found Stugeron the best of the lot but I would scratch that bit about leaving you alert - they work because they make you dopey.

MrsBadger · 02/02/2009 09:58

oh and mints

mints are brilliant

like morning sickness, the nausea and fear of being sick is the worst bit

nailpolish · 02/02/2009 10:01

dvds are the same as reading - make travel sickness worse

i still get travel sick now - but only in the back of a car - is it possible for your ds to sit in the front seat of the car? tell him to look at the horizon

mistlethrush · 02/02/2009 10:03

Ds's travel sickness came on suddenly when he turned 3 - but with both dh and I suffering when children, perhaps it wasn't surprising.

He can now be sick into a bowl very effectively - which makes it hugely better all round as he rarely needs changing - 'his' bowl lives in the car now - and has a lid just in case. At ds's age (not yet 4) we still have to stop at the next safe point to deal with him, so numbers of recepticles is not important.

The wrist bands didn't help with ds.

We were recommended to try 'Joyrides' by the Doctor. They are (for ds) miraculous. He does tend to go to sleep more if he has had one. However, when we get to the end of our journey (which can be as short as 30mins), we wake him up the far end and he is immediately awake with no drowsieness.

Oh, and we always have a change of clothes (complete) in the car, bottles of water and kitchen paper, plastic bags...

Bubbaluv · 02/02/2009 12:05

Mints were the absolute worst for me .
Not only couldn't I eat one in the car without throwing up, but the smell of someone else eating one had me hurling within minutes too.
I had a friend who was the same with oranges in the car. All very odd really.

frostyfingers · 02/02/2009 17:08

Ginger helps nausea (only any good if child likes it though)- lots of talking books helped us and the usual spare set of clothes, large bowl, and wipes..

SheSellsSeashellsByTheSeashore · 02/02/2009 17:11

DD1 gets travel sick going from my mums to asda

traveleze are great. You can get them over the counter in chemists. They have an aeroplane on the front.

We have just travelled from Teesside to Nottingham and she wasn't sick.

SheSellsSeashellsByTheSeashore · 02/02/2009 17:12

They are not traveleze actually. Those ones make her sicker . I've just checked the packet they are Joyrides.

Original poster

pinkhousesarebest · 02/02/2009 22:46

Joyrides here we come then.Can you get them in Boots? The sealed tupperware is a brilliant idea too,anything must be better than a bowl of warm vomit on your knee on winding mountain roads. two days later and I still can t eat.

OP posts:

smudgethepuppydog · 03/02/2009 09:02

Yup, you can buy Joyrides over the counter from any chemist.

SheherazadetheGoat · 03/02/2009 09:17

ah happy memories of my father chain smoking in the front of the car and me being sick in a big bowl in teh back. i stopped being travel sick when i learnt to drive. i think paying attention to things outside i.e. interminable games of i-spy etc help.

good luck.

troutpout · 03/02/2009 09:24

i have suffered with travel sickness all my life...it is horrid. ds and dd both suffer too.
Being able to see out of the front window does help...as does stripping off a few layers...making them both as cool as possible (without shivering)
No reading
No playing...just looking out window games

but even better.. just buy 'Traveleze' for everyone (ds,dd and myself all take them)

sorted

LightShinesInTheDarkness · 03/02/2009 09:25

If it came on suddenly though, is it possible he has a temporary problem with his ears, as labyrinthitis etc can be made worse by travelling/motion.

ChippyMinton · 03/02/2009 09:30

pinkhouse, you have just hit the nail on the head - "winding mountain roads".

I get car sick and so does DS1. We are both quite happy on the motorways, but as soon as we get onto country roads, we start feeling sick. I find the best thing is for him to sit in the middle, or in the passenger seat, have a sick bag handy (DH loads up with them if we go on a fery), and distract with radio, story tapes or games that involve looking out of the window. Nothing to eat, except a fruity sweet, sips of water, regular breaks.

mistlethrush · 03/02/2009 09:40

I get travel sick on the motorway too! In fact, I have even made myself feel distinctly queasy when driving which is a real challenge - normally driving causes no problems. But Joyrides are great, and certainly safe by aged 3 (1/2 a tab)...

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