Motion sickness in transport: how to alleviate the symptoms of motion sickness?
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Rocking a child in transport is a fairly common problem. Every second baby at least once in his life has encountered unpleasant symptoms of kinetosis. This is what doctors call seasickness.
The abundance of negative emotions and the extremely unpleasant sensations that motion sickness causes can give odds to many other diseases. Therefore, not only children, but also many parents with nervousness prepare for any long-distance routes, trying to choose the shortest and most sparing of them so that the child does not experience suffering. Why are children so often seasick in transport, how to prevent the development of symptoms of kinetosis and how can you help a child if he is still seasick?
Why does the child get seasick in transport?
The main reason for motion sickness of children in transport is a weak vestibular apparatus. It is an organ that is responsible for the balance and orientation of a person in the surrounding space. The vestibular apparatus responds with an immediate reaction to any changes in the position of the body and head, this reaction is most clearly manifested during a trip on any type of transport.
In young children (up to about 18 months), the vestibular apparatus is in a dormant state, which is why they never have problems with motion sickness while traveling. After a year and a half, the organ begins its active activity, but since it is still in the stage of development and formation, its work can be called full only when the child turns 14 years old. This is why, before this age, many children cannot withstand the rocking and shaking during the trip.
The vestibular apparatus is located in the inner ear of a person, therefore, sometimes the cause of motion sickness may not be its imperfection, but a disease of the child's hearing organs. Therefore, in order to make sure of the baby's health, it will be useful to consult with an ENT doctor regarding the corresponding pathologies.
Also, the cause of a child's motion sickness in transport may be the weakness of his autonomic nervous system. Experts note that children with neurological problems are more likely than others to experience symptoms of motion sickness in transport.
Symptoms
If a child is seasick on the road, it can be seen immediately. Vomiting is not always the main symptom of motion sickness, everything is very individual. In some children, signs of motion sickness appear in the form of severe anxiety, headache and dizziness. Other babies, especially those who still speak poorly, start crying instead of complaining about their well-being. Many people have pallor of the skin and mucous membranes, beads of sweat appear on the body. Profuse salivation is often noted. Some children react to motion sickness with sleep.
If the vehicle is not stopped at this point, vomiting usually occurs. But it does not bring the child the desired relief. Sometimes children complain that their limbs become numb, less often babies simply lose consciousness.
What to do if the child is seasick?
If the child is seasick in transport, first of all, you need to provide the baby with maximum oxygen access. To do this, you need to open a window, when traveling on your own transport - make an emergency stop and take a walk in the fresh air.
You need to calm the child down, pat him on the head, hug him and explain that nothing terrible has happened. Even if he vomited in front of others, in no case scold or blame him for this. Do not take sugary soda and dairy products on the road - they exacerbate the problem, increasing the attacks of nausea and vomiting.
Offer your child mints and clean, still water. If you are not allergic to citrus fruits, you can add lemon to the water. Acidified water helps fight nausea and motion sickness. Instead of candy, you can offer the child tangerine or lime, but they should be eaten slowly, sucking each bite.
How to prepare for your trip
Before a long trip, be sure to prepare. Before leaving, the child should sleep well and be vigorous. Some parents, on the contrary, try to take tired children on the road to avoid motion sickness attacks, hoping that they will fall asleep on the way and the symptoms of seasickness will bypass them. Doing this is strongly discouraged.
The accumulated fatigue will weaken the adaptive and defense mechanisms of the body, against the background of which the vestibular apparatus will malfunction faster and brighter. The child will not only be unable to fall asleep on the road, due to the symptoms of motion sickness, he will be exhausted and more tired. It is doubtful that such a trip will bring joy to him and his parents.
If you have to travel by bus, try to get tickets for the seats in front of the cabin, facing in the direction of travel. As a rule, there is less shaking and shaking, besides, the child can become interested in the road and get distracted from his condition.
Before the trip, you should definitely eat, but not full. A hungry stomach, just like a full one, can become the basis for the rapid development of symptoms of kinetosis. The meal should be low-fat and light. Do not offer a child suffering from seasickness before and during the trip heavy meat dishes, eggs, milk, strong broths, grapes, legumes and salads. All this causes fermentation processes in the body and increases nausea and vomiting during motion sickness.
Be sure to take with you on a trip a change of clothes for the baby, a sufficient number of plastic bags, dry and wet wipes, as well as a children's first aid kit with the necessary medicines.
Child is rocked on the plane
It is better for a child from motion sickness to find a seat in the middle of the cabin. It is there that the least vibration and rolling during the flight. Airplanes usually shake noticeably only during takeoff and climb and during landing. The rest of the time they fly above the turbulent air currents.
If a child begins to feel very anxious on the plane, then the problem may not be motion sickness at all, but pain in the ears associated with a decrease in atmospheric pressure. Young children are most susceptible to this. In any case, you need to help the child first of all by calming him down. You can offer him candy and clean water. It is recommended that vasoconstrictor drugs be instilled into the nose before the flight.
Children with diagnosed otitis media are contraindicated to fly on airplanes. Otherwise, such a child cannot avoid bouts of seasickness and severe pain.
Remedies for motion sickness
Currently, there are many anti-motion sickness remedies for children, which can be purchased at every pharmacy. If the child is severely motion sick during the trip, despite all the efforts of the parents, it makes sense to consult a doctor and find medicines for motion sickness for children.
Let's consider the most popular ones.
Dramina
This is a remedy for motion sickness for children 2 years of age and older, which has a direct effect on the vestibular apparatus. Thanks to him, you can avoid all the delights of seasickness - nausea, vomiting and dizziness. Despite the fact that the drug is effective, it has some side effects in the form of headaches, drowsiness, decreased concentration, etc.
Kokkulin
These are homeopathic motion sickness pills for children. The drug is good because it has no side effects, does not provoke drowsiness. The tablets do not need to be washed down with water, which is very convenient during the trip. But like any homeopathic remedy, it is not recommended to prescribe it to a child on their own. It should be recommended by a homeopathic physician after examining the baby.
Air-sea
A popular domestic drug for motion sickness for children, which copes well with the symptoms of motion sickness and has no side effects. The only contraindication for its appointment is children under 3 years of age.
Bonin
A potent remedy for children with motion sickness in a car and any other form of transport, which has many contraindications. For example, it can only be used when the child reaches 12 years of age.
In addition to pills, there is another effective remedy - an acupuncture bracelet for seasickness, which effectively suppresses attacks of nausea and dizziness. It can be used not only for children, but also for pregnant women against the background of severe toxicosis, since it is a non-drug remedy that does not have side effects.
How to train the vestibular apparatus?
If an active lifestyle is practiced in a family, parents are accustomed to traveling and often drive a car, the child's vestibular apparatus should be trained in advance. In this case, the likelihood of developing seasickness will be reduced or its consequences will be less pronounced.
Most young parents regularly take their children with them from birth on trips by car to the store, to the clinic or to visit. In this case, the vestibular apparatus of the baby begins to adapt to movement from the first months of life. Of course, such trips should be carried out with the help of a special child car seat and over short distances.
But not all parents can afford a car or regular trips on it, so you can train your child's vestibular apparatus at home. The main thing in these trainings is consistency.
Exercises aimed at improving the vestibular apparatus can include carrying and swinging the baby in his arms, rotating the baby in the air, turning over and whirling (it is better to carry out all these gymnastic tricks with the help of the dad). You can also use a gymnastic ball, spread the crumbs with your stomach on it and swing it in different directions.
Children over 2 years old can be taught to roll on the floor "sausage", rolling from side to side. Walking on a curb or a gymnastic beam, all kinds of swings and roundabouts, jumping on an air mattress and swimming are also useful. Older children can exercise the vestibular apparatus through dancing and cycling.
In order not to expose your child to additional risks on the road, feed him on the trip with food that was taken from home or that food, the quality of which there is no doubt about it. Unfamiliar places of public catering can spoil the impression of the trip, regardless of the state of the vestibular apparatus.
It is best to consult a pediatrician before a long trip. If necessary, he will recommend motion sickness medications suitable for children.
