Hi -- my daughter gets so carsick when we travel, especially in the mornings. We've tried making sure she has crackers to munch on (is this exactly the wrong thing to do?); we've tried limiting her reading; and we've tried to be sure she has a good breakfast before we start. Would you recommend Dramamine or something? Is that over-the-counter? It would be nice to not have to bring a "barf bag" along for this child!!!

Alas! For some of us, reading must be limited to billboards; anything more leads to disaster.

You don't mention how old she is..younger kids often can't see far enough out of their window to give a horizontal perspective. If that is the problem, get her a booster so she can see through the window. If she is older, let her sit on a pillow to further boost her.

I personally swear by Seabands, a sort of accupressure wrist band which kept me feeling great on a very rocky cruise.

A can of gingerale is good too.

For our daughter, a protein rich meal before travel and having her look out the front window of the car seem to help.

One word: lime

I used to be car sick as a child till I was 14 or 15 years old. Smelling limes or lemon reduced or even eliminated the nausea. I don't know if it'll work for your daughter, but it sure can't hurt to try.

Good luck! I know the pain.

Also, big meals before travelling in a car was an absolute no-no.
Riding in the front of the car (as opposed to in the back) helps a lot, but that depends on the age of your child.
Sometimes when it was really bad, my mother would give me some cold medicine to get me to sleep.

Poor kid, I feel for her.
Hate to resort to drugs, but if none of the other remedies work, yes, try Dramamine or Meclizine. Either can make you drowsy, but that's usually preferable--for both the other passengers and the sufferer--to carsickness. Often, kids bounce back quicker than adults from this med-induced sleepiness.

Hi kansasmom, oh I feel for your dear daughter. I always got carsick as a child. Not fun, for anyone.

I don't know the age of your daughter either of course, but if she is old enough, under the law, to sit in the front passenger seat this should help her a lot. With my parents that wasn't allowed but with my aunt and uncle it was..what a difference.

French bread to munch on might help..it does for morning sickness.

And of course CaliNurse knows about the OTC medicine which is helpful. Best wishes.

Not only was I car sick always as a child, but still as an adult, I hate being in the back seat for long. My daughter, now 23, is and was the same since a toddler. For her, and me - absolutely no reading. When she was young, this is what I would do: put her in the front passenger when we could; it helped but not always.
For long trips, dramamine, the non-drowsy - when she was younger she would often sleep thru the long ride, but better than being nauseous and she arrived fresher than any of us. Also, for some reason a large meal made it worse, especially if milk was involved. She would have toast, a little apple with peanut butter and her dramamine.
No reading - headphones with music helped. She needed dramamine also for flying, or so she could enjoy a day at a theme park. During car ride, sometimes a lollipop helped. Also, to sip sparingly for thirst, sparkling water in a nalgene bottle with a few drops of angostura bitters (which is what often works for us even for mild upset stomachs). Good luck !

Are there any smokers in the car?

One of my sisters, who usually rode in the front seat between (smoking) parents, ALWAYS got "carsick", and the rest of us often complained of feeling sick, even if we didn't vomit. I never gave it much thought until in conversation with someone else whose family suffered similarly. While I no longer smoke, I guess I "smoked" for more years than I had originally thought.

rb honey~it's a stretch to say the least..this being about travel and not belly achin'

so who's belly-aching?

I'm pointing out that the "carsickness" could be a misdiagnosis, "honey".

No reading (not "limit her reading") - if I read even a short article in the car, I feel headachy and barfy - otherwise, I am fine.

Hi
I worked in a school for many years and coach trips with the kids used to be a nightmare!
We used an "Old Wives" trick of making the car sick children sit on a pile of newspapers. No idea why it sometimes worked, but worth a try!
M

have you checked with her doctor? There may be something new on the market that he/she thinks would do the trick. He may want to adjust the dosage of something like dramimine according to her weight.
Skip the "good breakfast" especially if it includes bacon (or anything else greasy) or butter. A piece of toast with jelly would be enough. Stop as often as you can and let her walk around a little.
Pack a small cooler with ice and gingerale. Let her have a few ounces of gingerale with a couple of saltine crackers when she begins to feel a little yucky. Stay away from sweet cookies or cheesy crackers.

Don't just "try" to limit her reading. If she is old enough to read, she is old enough to understand that it makes things worse.

Bring a plastic bag.

That's what my mom used to do when I was a kid. I threw up in the car all the time and she just made sure I threw up in the plastic bag...

I'm surprised that you haven't tried dramamine yet. I grew up always getting car sick, but never if I took dramamine. In my opinion, it works like a charm and I never experienced any side affects. My kids now take it for long trips. It's over the counter and there are other products similar to dramamine, I think one is called Bomine.

They make the sea sick wrist bands for kids. I swear by them. But I don't know if car sickness is an entirely different animal than motion sickness on water.

Nice to know I'm not alone.

I too suffered carsickness as a child and to a lesser degree as an adult. Sitting in the front seat helped me immensely.

Gingerale & saltine crackers is good. Absolutely no reading - that can make me headachy & nauseous in a minute or less. On long trips, sleeping in the car helped me.

I definitely feel my problem had to do with visual type issues.

Lots of good suggestions here that should help remedy the situation.

Having been there, I sympathize with your daughter! Trish

The captain of the snorkel catamarran to Buck Island, St. Croix, had rubbing alcohol ready for motion sick folks to sniff.

My TP who alwas suffered carsickness as a child (and still into adulthood) was amazed at how well it worked.

The captain just handled the green-faced folks a cotton ball soaked with alcohol.

I agree with no smoking, facing front, sitting in the front if possible, next to the window (for quick fresh air) and NO reading or computer games.

Have you tried watching DVD's with the screen attached to the back of the seat in front of her? $100 or so at Wal-Mart.