By Brooke Whistance
Travelling is one of the most exciting experiences that life has on offer but if your child suffers from travel or motion sickness, the journeys that you relish so much, would not turn out to be so enjoyable or memorable for your child and he/she might start dreading even the idea of going down the road or climbing aboard the plane.
Travel sickness occurs due to the child experiencing some mild or strong form of balance disorder during which his/her inner organs send conflicting messages to the brain regarding movement and balance. As we move in bus, train, airplane or even a ship, the fluid in our ear canals will start moving as well, but the eyes cannot fathom movement or motion like that and the confusing signals sent by both of these places can definitely make the child feel sick. Mostly, the child will feel his/her stomach churning and excessive saliva in his/her mouth at the onset of such a condition, but if it’s not controlled, it can even spiral out and result in more severe health problems like vomiting, headaches and more.
So it’s immensely important that you know how to help your travel sick child cope with his/her symptoms in a better way to allow him/her to be first, relieved of their pain and secondly, make them enjoy traveling more and be excited before every trip like they should.
Here are some great ways to make that happen and ensure a happier child while traveling:
- Before any trip, try not to feed the child with a large, greasy meal as a full stomach can result in bloating and make the child more susceptible towards experiencing motion sickness.
- Make sure that the place your child sits during the journey is comfortable and doesn’t give the child too many jolts or feelings of dizziness. If you are traveling by plane, try to book a seat on or as near to the wing as possible and when traveling by car or train, make sure the child is seated in forward facing manner.
- The kid shouldn’t be allowed to read during a journey as this can dizziness.
- There should be enough space for your child to sit in a relaxed way. A packed up atmosphere where everyone is closely tucked in can result in the child warming up resulting in motion sickness.
- There should be adequate cooling in the cabin of your vehicle to help the child breathe more easily without restraint.
- If possible, put the child to sleep during the major course of the journey as the sensitivity in organs that create feelings of balance is reduced substantially while the child is sleeping.
- Try to calm the child down if he/she is showing signs of anxiety or fear. A calm mind is half the job done when it comes motion sickness. Be near to the child during the whole trip and keep engaging him/her in different activities like stories, games or just general talk.
- Dramamine and Benadryl are quite prominent prescription drugs that can help provide a good amount of relief to symptoms of motion sickness.
- But if your child does not respond to these steps and measures and goes sick during the trip, make sure that you have travelling essentials like paper towels, wipes, extra pair of clothes (Within easy reach), and some large grocery bags to clean up after the child has vomited.
- Should the child remain sick throughout the whole course of your journey make sure that you have charted the nearest urgent care centers in the area or city that you are visiting, to make him/her get immediate medical attention?
Mostly, motion sickness afflicts children between the ages of 2-14, so you need to make sure that you teach your children to understand the symptoms and then alert when they feel that are getting them. Also, you need to make sure that your keep observing your child in periodic intervals to make sure that they are alright. Motion sickness can be a source of huge discomfort for your child and it’s important that you make sure that you are well prepared to handle the symptoms in a proper manner to allow your child to observe, ponder, wonder and get excited during trips and live the experiences to the fullest.
Brooke Whistance
Author Bio: Brooke Whistance is a passionate health and lifestyle blogger who loves to write about prevailing trends. She has been living in Los Angeles, California with her family including, her parents and two siblings. She is a featured author at various authoritative blogs in the health and fitness industry. You can always follow her at @IamBrooke94
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