Terrible Car Sickness

[Beagle]

Hello,

My 17 month old has been suffering horrendous car sickness since she turned a year old.

It's not even on long, windy road journeys anymore but any journey over 30 minutes.

We try not to feed her before a long journey, but it is a bit hard when travelling any distance as we can't starve her. I am beginning to think it might be related to her rear facing car seat - bought with safety in mind - but looking into it this seems to be an issue. I also understand car sickness is quite rare at this age. I can live with the extra laundry and the permanent smell of old milk in the car, but my heart aches for her as she struggles in her seat restraints to be sick.

Any advice dear readers - I may well be selling a faintly sick smelling rear facing car seat before too long !

B

[EDmummy]

I'm afraid not any advice but a great deal of sympathy. We also had this problem with my youngest. It started around the age of 12 months. We moved him to a front facing seat as soon as was safe, always had a little cool air on him during journeys and found some music which soothed him (a bit of Royksopp and Air worked for us (and bag for throwing up in, towel, change of clothes etc). Even at 6 years he is not the best traveller in cars or planes but we make sure he has a bit of fresh air and something to distract him like eye spy games and spot the 'whatever' game.

Do you have an air freshner in the car? That may set them off.

Good luck.

[womanofdulwich]

We had this too- made worse by a deisel car.

[The Nappy Lady]

My 6 year old suffers terribly and has done for some years now - it only seems to get her if we travel in the morning, soon after breakfast.

I got some Joy Riders from the Chemist and they have really helped, but she's OK on short journeys so we only have to give them when going further, and try to either get up early so breakfast has long since been digested, or wait and eat when we get to wherever we are going.

I have also acquired proper sick bags at every opportunity from airplanes etc. and just knowing she has those to hand seems to help.

So sorry for your little one. I'm told those wrist band things that are supposed to apply pressure on certain points in the wrist really do work - it might be worth asking at a chemists to see what they have, or doing some on line searching?

Best wishes,

[VanessaPMR]

The poor little mite. My daughter also suffers from horrible car sickness, the only thing that seems to help her is to play i spy type games (helping her to focus on the road in front of the car). So we point out red buses, or bridges over the road, anything that helps her brain to reconcile the felt movement with the actual motion.

I hope you find a solution, I have a real hatred of car journeys now and avoid long ones at all costs because of her car sickness.

every best

V

[Beagle]

Thank you.

Womanofdulwich, we do have a diesel. I hadn't even thought there could be a connection with that. I will try seeing if we can keep her cooler too. The little thing is constantly subjected to Neil Young albums, maybe we need to rethink our in car entertainment.

As we are flying next week, I'll be doing a sick bag sweep.

[womanofdulwich]

Made a huge difference to us- when we booked a hire car we always specified not a deisel.

[Saffron]

We had a problem with Little Saff vomitting in the car too. After a little trial and error, we discovered that it wasn't really motion-sickness in her case. The problem was her postioning in the carseat not allowing her to burp properly. Being hot/unhappy/too long in the carseat made it worse.

Husband and I make frequent stops if we travel any distance with Little Saff. We always make sure she has some air on her face / open window, and I usually sit in the back with her. I think -- touch wood -- that as she's growing, she's sitting slightly differently in the carseat, and she can now burp better which means she isn't as likely to get sick... but we're still taking precautions!

Have you tried a different carseat? Maybe you could borrow a few different ones for a test runs? Hope it gets better soon. xxx

[Inkmaiden]

Inkspawn (now two) started suffering with car sickness from about 6 months- it was absolutely awful. Facing backwards definitely made it worse so we switched to forward facing at 13 months, which didn't stop it but it wasn't quite as bad. Other things that helped:

-avoiding milk feeds up to an hour before leaving

-from 12 months feeding her crackers- motion sickness can also be associated an excess of saliva which affects ears/balance. (Sorry, not explaining that very well.)

-having her window open a crack.

-reclining her carseat so she's looking at the sky and not the scenery whizzing past.

-nursery rhymes on an endless loop to keep her distracted. Successful but madness inducing.

Good luck, I really feel for you, it really affects where/when/how we travel.

[Mrs TP]

I had terrible car sickness as a child. Things that helped me were definitely cool air, preferably a window open, sipping water from time to time - not constantly and being left to be calm i.e. not having a 1000 things pointed out to me or shoved in my face. Also definitely forward facing and even in the front was a great help. We also had this rubber tail like thing that ran from the boot of the car to the floor that was meant to reduce static and apparently sickness - not sure it worked.

[clux]

My two daughters both started being hideously sick in the car from the age of 12 months. With our eldest we just had to cope with it by always having a bowl ready and clean clothes etc as it could happen after just 10 minutes in the car. When she turned 3 we could start giving her joyrides and she hasn,t been sick since. Just as we thought we'd cracked it and could travel in peace our youngest started throwing up every time we got in the car!! In desperation I went to the doctor just before she turned 2 and he prescribed phenergan, which fingers crossed seems to work. She has been sick once in 2 years but was feeling peaky that day anyway. Still always on high alert and always carry a sick bowl so still never relax on journeys! Have tried the youngest with just a joyride (three year olds can have half a t tablet) but she still felt ill, whereas the phenergan seems to make her feel completely fine. You give a spoonful the night before the journey and another spoonful in the morning,

[nunheadmum]

My eldest has been a bad traveller since about 6 months old. She can get sick between Nunhead and Old Kent Road!!

Moving her to a forward facing seat definitely helped. We've also found the Travella travel tablets (homeopathic) really did help. I don't want to get into arguements about homeopathy. I don't know how but the tablets seem to work well for us.

[Beagle]

Thank you. Loads to try here before we become hermits.

In two weeks time away I will have a petrol car and a forward seating chair so it will be interesting to see if that eliminates the problem.

I remember those strips hanging from the back of cars in the 80's, when seatbelts let alone childseats were an unknown item. I mentioned this problem at work and someone said her granny made her sit on a brown paper bag. I can remember that advice as a child too but don't have any idea why it might work! I think I'll spare my child that indignity for now.

Fingers crossed something suggested above will work. i shall report back.

[Beagle]

Little update.

Thank you for your advice back in February.

I would love to say we no longer have a car sick toddler but it's just hit and miss.

On holiday in a forward facing, petrol car she was never sick once. In london in a rear facing, diesel car with horrfic suspension we are lucky to get to Herne Hill without a sick up.

Rear facing seat is now forward facing which helps a bit. The diesel car and suspension can't change so we have to suck that one up. Definitely playing her nursery rhyme CDs and keeping the car cool helps, and having dropped daytime milk and being able to tell us she feels sicky is a bonus.

I am trying the homeopathic and/or Phenergan (not together!) routes next. That will be our summer holiday treat.

[apenn]

Also - you probably don't do this, but just in case - don't give your child books to read in the car. Even though she can't technically "read" focusing on it may aggravate the car sickness.

[mima08]

Hiya, just to second the no books rule: our little one was ok in the car but recently through up at two separate occasions - each time he had a book to "read". No problem at other times (fingers crossed he did not inherit my bad travel stomach....)

good luck

mx

[ClaireClaire]

Sorry, haven't followed the whole thread but have you already tried Kwells?

This is what we always used as kids: my parents (docs) just gave us half or quarter tablets according to our age.

The other thing that always helped me (when feeling carsick as a child myself, and even now as an adult) is to open the window full blast regardless of the weather. Rain, snow, cold wind - all of those help prevent the nausea, and other passengers don't seem to mind if it stops me spewing up in the car :-)

Good luck and hope you find a solution.

Claire x