Travel or motion sickness is a common reaction of body felt by plenty of adults and children when they are travelling by any transport like car, ship or airplane.
What is Travel or Motion sickness?
Travel or motion sickness is a common condition in children as well as adults, where brain is notable to register the movement being made. This disagreement can lead to various unpleasant conditions like nausea, cold sweat, dizziness and exhaustion.
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Motion sickness can occur while travelling with any kind of transport and is named accordingly like car sickness, air sickness, sea sickness etc.
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How to plan travel to minimize or prevent motion sickness?
You can minimize travel sickness by reserving children’s seats where it least felt.
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If you are travelling by road, then make sure children do not sit at the back seat. Make them sit in the front or middle seat.
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If travelling by train, then seat children near windows.
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If travelling by ship, reserve seats towards the front or middle of the ship and closer to water level.
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When travelling by air, avoid seats at the back.
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How to minimize or prevent motion sickness?
There are certain measures that you can take to help your child suffering motion sickness:
1) Sit in the front
Do not seat your child too far back, if travelling by a van or bus. If in a car, seat the child in front seat if possible.
2) Avoid feeding too much before or during the travel.
It is the stomach acids which cause nausea and reflux, so avoid feeding a heavy meal just before leaving. It is best to have a meal at least an hour before departure. Dairy products are best avoided.
Do not give acidic drinks or juices. Water is the best drink if your child is prone to travel sickness.   Â
3)Allow fresh air
Keep the windows open slightly to let the fresh air in. Take frequent breaks and encourage child to walk outside.
4) Comfortable clothing
Dress your child right by choosing loose, airy clothes. Avoid tight pants or shirts.
5)Enjoy the scenery
Encourage child to look out of the window. This will help the brain to register that the body is moving and help subside the sickness.
6) Smell the lemon
Smelling something sour like lemon or orange helps some people.
7) Keep the temperature cool
Keeping the AC on will help your child feel less nauseous.
8)Keep some tangy candies handy
Tangy candies like lemon or orange drops can also help sometimes. You can also ask the child to lick crystallized ginger candies.
9) Apply pressure on child’s wrists
Apply pressure on the inside of wrists is known to help with nausea according to acupressure. In extreme cases, you could try bio-bands(wrist bands) specially available for nausea caused by motion sickness.
10) Keep a bottle of ginger-ale handy
Homemade ginger-ale is known to help with nausea.
11) Medication
If travel sickness in your child is uncontrollable, consult a doctor to get some medication.
Homemade Ginger-ale recipe
Ingredients
2 inches piece of fresh ginger
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups water
1 tsp lemon juice
Recipe
Wash and mince/grate the ginger.
Boil ginger, sugar and water till water becomes half.
Cool it and add the lemon juice.
Bottle it and give a teaspoon to child when facing motion sickness.
This ginger-ale is known to relieve all kinds of nausea including morning sickness.
Related:
Packing checklist for travel with baby
Hope this article will help you in planning your trips better and makig your kids more comfortable during trips. If you like it, do share it in your circle. Do leave a comment to ask a question or let us know your feedback. You can follow us on Facebook, twitter and pinterest.
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