Travel sickness remedy recommendations please!

Gloomendoom

If you can't find a cure I'd recommend a container with a tight fitting lid on it rather than sick bags. They keep the smell in.

scruffy96uk

do you think he would possibly nibble on this
My mum is really bad as a passenger in a car and nibbles on ginger and it works for her.

Savvy_Sue

A piece of sticking plaster behind each ear works for me and mine!

The large tub with a lid sounds good, lined with a plastic bag for ease of disposal. We also had sicky sheets, an old cotton sheet which they could just cover their laps with before journeys, wipe sticky fingers on, keep the crumbs off them etc.

Keeping the tip of your tongue in the middle of a polo mint, seeing who can keep the polo whole longest is a fun competition which can help as well.

And beware of sending kids off to sleep, DS3 was notorious for sleeping on a journey, waking up at the end and up-chucking. Usually all over the car!

chivers1977

So many options to try - thanks again.

Furny

You say he can't sit in the middle at the back but can he sit in the front? that means he can see the road etc which really seems to help.
My DS (also nearly 5) suffers & we found the minute we put him in his car seat in the front & stopped him reading etc it helped, just need to make sure his head is up as much as possible.
I understand some people don't like children travelling in the front & i may get flogged for it but we did find it cured it with our son.

ailuro2

Just back from a cruise, read up on all the remedies for motion/ sea sickness before we went.

The two non medicinal remedies that are claimed as the best are GREEN apples and ginger.

I took ginger capsules for a couple of days before we sailed and was absolutely fine (forgot to take them coming off and did feel a bit iffy with landsickness though:o)

You can get ginger capsules that are softgels, he might be convinced to swallow them (it tastes like sweets if you buro after taking them)

Green apples are of course widely available.

The one thing the people on the cruise forums say is to keep eating even though you feel terrible, as the body needs food to make it better.

Can you get a car seat that gives him a more raised position so he can see out the window better?

iirc one of the Sundays is giving away Michelin I Spy books this weekend - that would encourage him to keep looking out the window (the horizon thing works because the eyes see the body is travelling, and tell the brain to expect the body to move)

Good Luck!
Of course the usual putting down newspaper, dressing him in something easy to remove such as a dressing gown goes,putting a dishtowel in the car seat under him if it's safe to do so etc.
DD was terribly travel sick when she was about 2yo, know what a stinky car is like to drive in.

One more thing - have you had the aircon serviced, does it cool the car well, that can help keep the feeling down a bit, aswell as having regular stops to let him steop out for some fresh air (time him to see how long he can go without puking, then stop 5 minutes before.It might seem like a waste of time, but think of how long it takes to clean up the car once he throws up, not to mention the smell (tupperware idea is a good one - I'd go with putting a bin liner in a bin, tying it up and putting it in a box in the boot - it's easier to replace the bin liner than it is to find a lot of bix tupperware boxes.

btw, the only difference on the motorway is it's smoother and faster - maybe his brain isn't computing that it is actually moving if he is looking far into the distance, iyswim, . Get him to look at fenceposts, the central reservation, any houses and bridges by the road, and any other things that are closer to him. Worth a try!

Mrs_Imp

Does he know that motorways make him sick? He could be getting anxious about them and if he 'knows' he gets sick on motorways, then he is more likely to. I was the other way around - motorways were fine, other roads not good at all.

Do try and keep him occupied. Even if it doesn't stop him being sick, it'll stop him thinking about how unwell he feels.

I agree that sometimes sleeping children wake up at the end of the journey and are sick. However, having been a sufferer, I would far rather sleep on the journey and be sick when I wake up at the end, than spend the whole time feeling really really ill. It makes a 2 hour trip last a lifetime (and made me hate going on holiday).

System

I am like Mrs Imp. A long time travel sickness sufferer who has never found a cure.

The only thing that I have found that works for me is that I now developed the ability to fall asleep at the first signs of nausea. However this only minimises the time that I am aware of the travel sickness and doesn't cure it.

funky_snow

I get travel sick - and not sure why this works but if i can eat then it seems to help the nausea. Best thing for me is salt and vinegar crisps - don't know if there's some logic or its just psychological but no other flavour will do! Personally like hula hoops - and they might be easy shapes for little fingers to deal with...

Mrs_Imp

Funky-snow, there may be some truth in the crisps. I did hear on the radio a while ago that strong flavours can help combat nausea and cravings. Apparently vinegar can help pregnant women (no idea if this is true). Salt and vinegar crisps are certainly a strong flavour, and they are potato which is carbohydrate, which will help too. My crisp of choice to help with sickness is cheese and onion McCoys, and my sweet of choice is sour lemon drops.