TPAYT

Does anyone have a solution other than Dramamine? My grandchild gets motion sickness in a car not to mention a boat. She's 8 yrs. old.

NGail

Do they make those on-the-wrist sea bands for kids? (not sure what they're called)
They work really well for me - even once on a small boat in a typhoon.
ginger is also supposed to help.

Dayenu

Try ginger: if a capsule with dried ginger is too much for her age, maybe ginger ale, or there are some ginger sweets.

Ginger capsules are sold in every pharmacy, usually a bottle of 100 for under $10. One a day will be enough for a child.

NGail

OK - just answered my own question by googling. Yes, they do make Sea Bands for children. So my question now is - Has anyone used them on their kids and do they work?

lperkins

My son now age 12 has always been motion sick in the car even on short rides. I hated giving him dramamine, so I tried the wrist bands for motion sickness and they WORK! He's been on six cruises so far and hasn't got motion sickness but we bring them just in case, plus he needs them on shore tours, once in St. Martin we had to go back to the ship because he felt car sick on an excursion, so anyway they do work. You get them at the drugstore usually near the dramamine.

gail

In adults and kids motion sickness gets to be a self-fulfilling prophecy - you expect to get sick so you do. And before you bash me, this is the case for me. I can get sick looking at a boat - once had to leave a tour of a docked Navy vessel in Bermuda because I felt sick. I am well aware that motion sickness is a real issue having to do with the inner ear. I wore Seabands the wrong way for an entire day (pointy knob pressing on opposite part of wrist than directed) and was so thrilled that I did avoided getting sick and took no medication.

So I would get the Seabands, tell your granddaughter how wonderful they are, put them on her and have medication available as backup.

I was riding in a car with friends whose son gets carsick. About every 5 minutes Mom turned around to ask "Are you feeling OK" and "We can stop anytime you want" - it was making me feel sick just listening to it.

TPAYT

Thanks for the responses. It sounds like Sea Bands are the thing. We will definitely try it.

Here's a funny remedy. My friend was on a cruise and not feeling well. The pills weren't doing anything to help and she was told to tape a penny to her naval. She said it helped alot. She didn't care if it was all in her head or not. For her it worked.

Eschew

It's all in her head. Ginger works best. Even according to mythbuster who did their "scientific" testing. Buy some ginger candy. Your kid will love it.

NGail

Checked Mythbuster site - looks like they didn't try Sea Bands and in any case only experimented on 2 people. So I'd still give the Sea Bands a try.
Question about ginger candy - how frequently would they have to have it? (I know they'd probably want to suck on it all day, like any candy).

Eschew

It depends on the ginger content. Start with the pills and offer the ginger candy as a reward. If you give ginger candy everytime she claims she is woozy, then she would just say it to get the candy.
The asians have been using ginger as sea sickness cure for centuries (dried ginger). So it really works and based on proven fact. I know a lot of people swear by the sea band. I persoanlly think it is all mental, but I also know sugar pills work a lot of them as it is all in the mind. Try both at the same time. Better yet, try it on a car tripand see what happens.

One suggestion: consult the family doctor and see what they suggest. Who knows, there may be other suggestions, or worst case, an allergy to ginger? Since it is your grandchildren, the parents should have a say and they should feel 100% comfortable with whatever decisions.

With the new megaships and their stablizers, you really don't feel anything. If she did not get sick on a plane ride, I doubt it that she will get sick at sea unless the water is really rough, or maybe when you have to tender ashore.
When you pick a cabin, pick midship, lower deck for the least rocking motion and best stability. Good luck!

TPAYT

Good replies.

She did get sick in the jetway leaving the plane. Good thing they grabbed a bag on the way out or it would have been a mess.

I think we'll try the Sea Bands and ginger candy and see if they work in the car, etc. before we get on a boat.

NGail

TPAYT-
Be sure to let us know what works.
Good luck!

gail

TPAYT - the fact that she got sick on the jetway (like me on a docked ship) and the penny near the navel nonsense - with many of it is about self-fulfilling expectations. So I would get the Seabands and tell her that you are 100% sure they will work.

Eschew

Gail could be right ... if she did not get sick on the plane ride but afterward on the jetway ... With an 8 year old, they are more open to "suggestions" With all the activities on the ship, she will be kept too busy to feel sick.

If she is a fan, maybe tell her Dora the Explorer wears one too ...

NGail

Re Sea Bands - I used them on route from Heron Island to the mainland in Australia during a typhoon. Everyone else had dramamine and were doped to the gills - I can't take the stuff or, believe me, I would have. The storm was so bad that 2 people had to be carried off! I was fine!
So I swear by them.
TPAYT - your little one probably held it in as long as she could - then whoops!
Years back, one of my granddaughters felt sick en route to the mainland from Cozumel (a notoriously choppy ride), then onto a bus to Tulum. She finally threw up in this sweet little craft shop. Not our finest moment!

skittle

I have suffered from every sort of motionsickness for my entire life. I have not tried it yet but I recently read an article about a study that concluded that the most effective preventive for motionsickness is to place a ball of cotton wool in one ear. I intend to give it a try but as motion sickness is a hit and miss affair for me I am not sure how I will know if it works. I may find out if it doesn't work.