motion sickness?

[mama2lc]

I have been lurking for awhile and finally decided to step out of hiding. Thanks for all the advice I have read so far! We are cruising next week with our 10 month old daughter. Both Dad and I are veteran cruisers so this will be a very interesting trip for us!

I am worried about our daughter getting motion sickness... should I be? and I am going to talk to the pediatrician this week, but I wanted to see if you guys had any thoughts on things I can do to help her if she does seem to show signs of motion sickness.

Thanks in advance for any help!

[6rugrats]

My suggestion would be to consult your pediatrician as planned, and not to rely on medical advice on a chat board. Did you know there was a "search" feature on this board? This topic has been discussed many, many times. Do a quick search and you'll pull up lots of threads. Here's some to get you started:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1204307&highlight=children+motion+sickness

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1187355&highlight=motion+sickness+children

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1185816&highlight=motion+sickness+children

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1173938&highlight=motion+sickness+children

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1172563&highlight=motion+sickness+children

[RoadTripFanatic]

I agree to talk with your pediatrician. Also most otc meds for motion sickness all for ages 2 and up.

[AJI2596]

I in no way wanted to use medications for my son when we went but I wanted to have something just in case. I did a lot of research and spoke to my ped before going and we go these Sea-Bands for Children. My son did end up getting car sick actually from one of the crazy island drivers (lol) so I ended up having him wear them the rest of the trip. Nothing else happened. He was fine the rest of the cruise.

 

Here is the link : http://http://www.amazon.com/Sea-Band-Original-Wristband-Children-Colors/dp/B000GCOIK0

 

There are no drugs or side effects.

[Mack2]

I have been lurking for awhile and finally decided to step out of hiding. Thanks for all the advice I have read so far! We are cruising next week with our 10 month old daughter. Both Dad and I are veteran cruisers so this will be a very interesting trip for us!

I am worried about our daughter getting motion sickness... should I be? and I am going to talk to the pediatrician this week, but I wanted to see if you guys had any thoughts on things I can do to help her if she does seem to show signs of motion sickness.

Thanks in advance for any help!

 

 

I think most pediatricians would actually tell you that your child (10 months old) shouldn't even notice any motion aboard the ship. She barely has enough development in her balance to stand/walk, let alone feel motion sickness.

 

Still, if you absolutely think you might have an issue with motion sickness for your child, ask the pediatrician what the appropriate dose of Benadryl is for her. At that age, Benadryl is dosed by mg/kg/day.

 

http://www.drugs.com/benadryl.html

Benadryl is also used to suppress coughs, to treat motion sickness, to induce sleep, and to treat mild forms of Parkinson's disease.

 

Honestly, though, I don't think she'll need any of it. I've mentioned a lot of pharmaceutical alternatives on other threads, but it might not be necessary for 10 months old.

[cb at sea]

Yeah---babies are so "wobbly" on their own, motion is soothing, not nauseating! Don't worry about your child....she'll be fine!

[Mack2]

...and with using Benadryl for a kid under 12 months... take into consideration that it has a sedative effect... another thing a pediatrician would want to consider...

 

Then we go back to the whole thing about the kids not feeling the rocking to begin with, and the fact that the seas right now are pretty tame (unless you're near Guatemala)

[mama2lc]

Thanks everyone. I spoke to my ped's office and they also say that I should not likely have any problems, but if I do see her becoming queazy or vomiting, I can give her Zyrtec at night and that will help. I appreciate everyone who was kind in their response. I am a new mom and just worry about everything! I just want her to have a safe and happy cruise!

Thanks again.

[Kerry's Girls]

When I was taking my girls on their first cruise, I figured that since the first thing we do with babies is put them in swings, bouncers, etc., they'd be ok.:rolleyes:

 

Best,

Mia

[Set Free]

I've been sailing (as in on a sailboat) with my children since my oldest child was 18 months old and have found that none of the kids get seasick before they are about 3-4 years old. The rest of us could be on the floor vomiting while the toddler is just climbing all over everything wondering why no one is taking care of them. So I seriously wouldn't worry at all about your child.

[mrs.mobster]

I agree that it is highly unlikely a small toddler/ baby would have motion sickness. They wobble all over anyhow all the time ;) Our DD cruised with us last Jan when she was 11.5 months old. We brought some candied ginger "just in case".

[Mack2]

Thanks everyone. I spoke to my ped's office and they also say that I should not likely have any problems, but if I do see her becoming queazy or vomiting, I can give her Zyrtec at night and that will help. I appreciate everyone who was kind in their response. I am a new mom and just worry about everything! I just want her to have a safe and happy cruise!

Thanks again.

 

I wasn't too sure about how the non-sedating antihistamines did when using them to control motion sickness.

 

I mean, theoretically, it's an anti-cholinergic like meclizine (Bonine) and dimenhydrinate (Dramamine)... so I checked the journals.

 

http://www.theannals.com/cgi/content/abstract/37/2/173

The Annals of Pharmacotherapy: Vol. 37, No. 2, pp. 173-177. DOI 10.1345/aph.1C239

...

...

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effectiveness of 2 second-generation antihistamines in modulating motion sickness...

...

...

CONCLUSIONS: The failure of the second-generation antihistamines cetirizine and fexofenadine to prevent motion sickness suggests that the therapeutic actions of this class of antihistamines against motion sickness may be mediated through central versus peripheral receptors. The sedative effect of other antihistamines, such as hydroxyzine, may play a more significant role in alleviating motion sickness than previously thought.

 

Cetirizine is Zyrtec, fexofenadine is Allegra.

 

According to some study they did in Toronto back in 2002-ish, drugs like Zyrtec and Allegra did a lousy job controlling motion sickness.

 

:(

 

While it won't hurt a child to take it when it may not be needed, it's not likely to help as much as some of the more sedating antihistamines.

[highbridge5]

We had a really rough ride back up the east coast on our cruise out of Baltimore in January. All of us were feeling ill. I gave the older two a Bonine but I didn't give my 4 year old anything because the Bonine was not really dosed for little kids.

 

He never complained but you could see that he felt quite crappy. However, once he threw up, he was a whole new child and you would never have guessed that a 1/2 hour earlier he was feeling as bad as he was. He felt better than the rest of us the whole rest of the day.

 

You might just wait it out and see if they are able to adjust on his/her own. Little brains are very adaptable and little bodies have a much lower center of gravity and not as much mass to keep balanced on a rocking ship.

 

hb5