(Motion Sickness)Car Sickness

Motion sickness is a mismatch between what your body and your brain is experiencing.

It's experienced when the central nervous system receives conflicting information from the inner ear, eyes, and both the pressure and sensory receptors, found in our joints, muscles, and spine. Our sense of balance is controlled by the interaction of these systems.

"In motion sickness the fluids of the inner ear are moving along with you in the moving vehicle. The brain is interpreting that movement, instead of saying 'yes you are in a moving car,' it's interpreting it as an incorrect stimulus,"

Having car sickness that's bothering you from a nice, sickness-free, cool family vacation? These tips can tell you how to not get car sickness to enjoy a nice, sickness-free cool family vacation! Motion sickness is caused when the brain receives conflicting messages. These are called "motion messages", which comes from the eyes and your inner ear. The inner ear says that you're spinning, you're twirling, and moving. Your eyes say that your body is stationary. The brain is confused. That's what makes us sick.

1.Try cupping your hands over the eyes before feeling ill, so you see only the inside of the car but no motion outside the car. Make sure to keep the motion fully out of sight, as even a little motion can cause car sickness. This can also be accomplished with motion sickness eyewear, which blocks motion flashing by outside the car from the field of vision.

2. Fresh Air. If a child is queasy, open the window and get fresh air. Don't smoke, or put in strong-smelling foods or snacks!

3. Settle the stomach. Eat bland foods during the trip. Crackers, bread/toast, bananas, rice,  are all good options. A child should feel better if she eats a dry saltine cracker. An empty stomach is not best for avoiding motion sickness. Just eat a light meal before traveling. Avoid greasy and hard-to-digest foods.

4. Smooth driving. The less braking, the better. Make sure you stop every five minutes so your child can get out and walk around for a few seconds.

5. Make frequent stops. Plan enough time to stop and let your child walk around

6. Watch for early signs of motion sickness. Make sure your child says she's feeling sick or you don't know the time to pull over. Pay attention to her. Don't leave her alone

7. Use motion sickness remedies-use ginger tablets, ginger cookies, ginger candy, ginger root, ginger tea ,use lime etc

8. Sleep. By lying on your side in the back seat and looking out a window, the conflicting messages are soon more "you're moving" and rids you of the sick feeling. 

9. Avoid Rear Seats. Now families have minivans, more kids seem to feel the van's motion on the rear seat. Make sure your child is sitting forward facing so they can look at the front window.

10. Divert your child mind-bring music player, for your child to listen. Don't read, play games or anything.

Consult your doctor for prescribing medication to reduce the sensation.

"Medication will blunt the effects but there's no way to get rid of it!