My family likes to travel. Ever heard the expression ‘a rolling stone gathers no moss’? Well maybe that’s us. Because as much as we like to ‘keep it local’, there are days when we still try to gather as little moss as we can. Enter the summer road trip. Even while we work and play for the summer in Paris, we still feel due for the

Want the motion sickness without having to leave the city? Try this...

occasional roadtrip. Monet’s house in Giverny? Here we come. The cathedrals at Chartres and Rouen? Well, who knows why they make my family turn newly devout, but there it is, we have to have a look. All a good hour or so from the City of Lights… or more, when you decide to absorb the local color and take the back roads to get there. Our first mistake. Because even though my son had never shown signs of carsickness before, I should have known in a diesel car (that lets you know by the smell that it’s diesel) on a one-lane farm road, my son would take after me as a child and become carsick. Since it’s fresh in my mind today, and hindsight is twenty-twenty, lets talk about what I did, what I should have done, and what you can do to avoid motionsickness when your Jack-Kerouac-with-family moments strike.

First thing, remember the one about an ounce of prevention being worth a pound of cure? (I’m full of old expressions today…) Well, never has it been more true than dealing with a motion-sick child. Motion sickness is caused by inner ears (which regulate balance), eyes, and sensory nerves sending conflicting messages to the brain. Once equilibrium or balance is thrown off, it is harder to get it back than to keep it in the first place – isn’t this true in life as well? Hmmm – This is true for adults and for kids. If you know that you or your kid is prone to motionsickness, try some of these remedies less than an hour before getting in the car/boat/train/airplane and see what happens. Also, keep some easy remedies on hand, in your glove compartment perhaps, or pack them up before leaving the house (and thereby avoid looking for 7-11s in the middle of nowhere…)

Now on to the remedies:

1. First thing, feed ‘em ginger. I talk about ginger for many things, primarily because it is one of those foods that is nature’s gift. Good for digestive trouble, colds, and even headaches, it is especially beneficial for calming and preventing motion sickness. Some studies even suggest that ginger is more effective than dimenhydrinate (i.e. Dramamine), and no side effects. We use it in one of two ways. Ideally we brew ginger tea in advance of our road trip, let it cool a bit and put it in a thermos. 2 – 3 slices of fresh ginger per cup of water, or freshly grated ginger, 1 tsp. per cup is generally effective. If your child prefers, you can take the edge off the taste of ginger with a touch of honey (in children over 15 months old, as is always the case with honey) or maple syrup. If you are only sporadically prepared or have the time to brew tea before a trip – or you have mama-brain like I do and can’t always remember — you can also stash natural ginger candies in the car, just in case. We generally find these in our grocery bulk section, dusted in a bit of sugar (we’ll take it however it comes when the chips are down and we’re desperate…). Ginger candies are a good, reliable standby.

2. Carry bland snacks. Its good to avoid heavy meals before traveling, but it also helps motion sickness and stomach acidity levels to avoid an empty stomach. Whole grain crackers, crunchy veggie sticks, favorite snacks that aren’t too sugary or greasy are good choices. Whole grains are good sources of magnesium, which is calming to the nervous system. Pumpkin seeds are touted in eastern medical tradition as a cure for nausea and motion-sickness as well. Perhaps its because they are high in essential fatty acids and zinc, especially in the

acupressure together on solid ground

raw form. Papaya is also a good choice, either fresh or dried slices, or even chewable papaya tablets. These are chalk full of digestive enzymes that can help calm digestive upsets, even when caused by motion. Olives too, I’ve been told, can suck up excess saliva that starts getting produced when we get nauseous (in our case, they might aggravate the problem, but hey, if your kid likes them, great!).

3. Massage at your child’s wrist. I massage an acupressure point on my son’s wrist with my thumb, located about the distance of your child’s index finger, knuckle to tip, or an inch-and-a half down the inner arm from the wrist crease, along an imaginary center line of the arm – this is an acupressure point known for helping with nausea, dizziness and general motion sickness. (This point, I know from personal experience, is pretty good for morning sickness as well…) This is also a great distraction tactic.

4. Encourage your child to keep their head and eyes still. Since motion sickness is caused by conflicting

a closer look at the no-more-motion-sickness massage (at the general area of my thumb)

information with regards to motion being sent to the brain, it is often beneficial to eliminate some of this input. Use a pillow to keep the head and neck stationary, and have your child focus their eyes on a distant, stationary point on the road in front of them. Or, if they prefer, they can close their eyes. And above all, No Reading!

5. Put some peppermint oil on a cotton ball and sniff. We’re usually encouraging our kids to keep things away from their noses – glue, pennies, you name it – but in this case, the smell of peppermint, 2-3 drops of it’s essential oil on a cotton ball, can work soothing wonders. It also takes away that gasoline diesel smell, my least favorite part of airplane and cheap-European-rental-car travel (at least our rental cars), and enough to make me queasy, with or without motion.

6. Sing. Go ahead, twitter buddies. Sing those songs with your kid that we always commiserate we can’t get out of our heads at inopportune moments. “Murray had a little lamb,” “hamster dance”, “Barney Song”, you name it. Singing helps to distract your child, and gets them to breathe deeply. If they are feeling too sick to sing themselves, you can sing to them, or tell them stories, and encourage them to breathe deeply while they listen. Fresh air can also help, so, if you can, roll down those windows! You know everyone wants to hear you croon, right? ☺

7. Finally, when all else fails, try charcoal tablets. Ask at your health food store or pharmacy on dosage – with ours, it’s usually ¼ of the adult dose under the age of 6, up to ½ the adult dose over the age of 6 until age 12. Charcoal is a very quick way to absorb excess acid in the stomach. If motion sickness is a debilitating problem in your family, you can even try giving charcoal an hour before your trip. Just avoid giving charcoal with other remedies – charcoal is very absorbent, and sucks up even the good stuff.

We’re now ready for our next attack of wanderlust (and maybe skipping the windy backroads isn’t SUCH a bad idea either…) Let me know how this all works out on your next trip, and happy travels!