Kids sea sickness

This will be the first cruise for our kids, ages 5 and 12. Do kids seem to get sea sick easy? What is the best medication to take to prevent or help sea sickness in kids? I'm worried I won't take anything with us and then they will get sick.

Your pediatrician is the one to ask! As a rule, younger kids don't usually have too much of a problem. If your kids don't get carsick, and can tolerate amusement rides, etc...they should be fine. But ask the Dr. about appropriate meds. for kids!

Your pediatrician is the one to ask! As a rule, younger kids don't usually have too much of a problem. If your kids don't get carsick, and can tolerate amusement rides, etc...they should be fine. But ask the Dr. about appropriate meds. for kids!

CB is right. The ONLY one to ask about medications for the rug rats is your pediatrician. Generally, the younger the child, the less prone they are. It's got to do with their not focusing on any one thing for a long time, so their eyes and inner ears don't send conflicting messages to the brain (or their brain is too busy with something else to mind).

I have posted this a few times with a few changes and updated information.

How come nobody ever thinks to ask the pharmacist?

Pharmacists can recommend over-the-counter remedies (and we can vaccinate people against the flu and other diseases).

There are few pharmaceutical options for kids.

Bonine, Dramamine (Less Drowsy Formula) which is meclizine

Dramamine Original Formula, Gravol (avail. in Canada) which is dimenhydrinate.

Benadryl which is diphenhydramine.

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Bonine/Dramamine (Less Drowsy Formula) is not recommended for children under the age of 12.

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

This medicine should not be given to a child younger than 12 years old.

This is because of the meclizine, it really hasn't been officially studied or submitted to the FDA for the use in children. Doesn't mean it's dangerous for kids... it's just not officially approved for kids. It's an old drug, and nobody wants to spend the money to conduct a placebo-controlled, double-blind, motion-sickness study on the use of meclizine in children. The liability waivers from the attorneys would cost a fortune alone.

This also means that if something bad does happen, the makers of the products are covered by the warning (but I don't think anything bad has happened... except maybe overdosage)

Bonine for Children was discontinued by the makers of Bonine. I didn't think that it was a good choice of a drug. It was cyclizine which was the main ingredient of another old remedy called Marezine which I don't think is marketed anymore, either. It caused a lot of drowsiness/dry mouth and was only approved for use in kids 6 and up. I did not like to recommend it.

Sure, take advantage of the Bonine name, but give a drug that is just not as good as it's main competitor (Dramamine) and market it for kids? That's just mean.

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Dramamine Original Formula/Gravol (dimenhydrinate). This medicine has been around a long time and has been studied for children. Dimenhydrinate has recommended doses for kids as young as 2 years old.

http://dramamine.com/products/kids

Directions To prevent or treat all forms of motion sickness, the first dose should be taken 1/2 to 1 hour before starting activity:

 

• children 2 to under 6 years: give 1/2 to 1 chewable tablet every 6-8 hours; do not give more than 3 chewable tablets in 24 hours, or as directed by a doctor.
  
• children 6 to under 12 years: give 1 to 2 chewable tablets every 6-8 hours; do not give more than 6 chewable tablets in 24 hours, or as directed by a doctor.
  

Do not use for children under 2 years of age unless directed by a doctor

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Benadryl is the unusual one and can be given to kids 2 and up.

Diphenhydramine has been around for a long time. Benadryl used to be used as a cough medicine (Benylin) 50 years ago until it was decided that although it works to suppress coughs, it is a better drug for allergies. So, another one of Benadryl's uses... is motion sickness.

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

Sure it has all these other uses, and it's BEST for allergies and sleep, but... in a pinch? You can give it for motion sickness.

Benadryl is the only one you should ask the pediatrician for in regards to the dose for really little kids... in those cases, it's dosed on a milligram per kilogram (dosed by weight) basis.

Most infants/toddlers who are just learning to walk or are crawling around don't usually get motion sickness. Motion sickness happens when the balance center of the head doesn't agree with what the eyes are telling the brain. If the child doesn't have much balance to begin with, it doesn't matter as much.

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You also have some non-pharmaceutical natural remedies.

Ginger - Available as a gum, soft drink, capsules, candy.

I love Altoids... they use to sell the Ginger Altoids domestically... recently had to buy them from Amazon in bulk...

There's a new ginger candy that I found that I like (but haven't tried with motion sickness yet)

Chimes Ginger chews

All natural ginger candy... found them at Whole Foods.

Seaband makes a chewing gum

and there's ginger snap cookies that I've read on CruiseCritic that people said have worked.

Sea Bands which work for some and not for others

Hopefully, you will have smooth seas and won't even have to think about these remedies, but it doesn't hurt to have a supply just in case. I bring Dramamine and Ginger Altoids with me on cruises... haven't really had to use them often...

Mack's the best! Good info.

DD (now 19YO) has had some issues on smaller boats (tenders, ferries, excursion boats), but never had any issue on board a ship (including in some really nasty weather). For her the ginger works well - either just candied ginger (Spice House, Penzy's Spices, baking section of a well stocked grocery), Altoids (I love ginger Altoids -- just bought a box last night at Woodman's), Chimes are good, and look for ginger chews from The Ginger Company -- a well stocked grocery, World Market, even TJ Maxx are good brick-and-mortar sources.

Just a warning about any of the OTC's and Benedryl in particular. If you have an opportunity, you may want to try out a lower dose prior to actually "needing" it. All meds can have some unexpected side-effects for some folks. With Benedryl for a very, very small subset of the population, that adverse effect can include hyperactivity and/or even psychosis. My father was being preped for surgery and among the meds administered was Benedryl (it was supposed to keep him relaxed but conscious throughout the procedure) -- seems he is part of the minority (something like "less than .1%") with an adverse reaction -- and it was nasty, they were able to abort the surgery but he had to be restrained and observed for the next 36 hours

As others said discuss with your pediatrician.

My experience is that kids do well except for those who tend to get motion sickness such as being in a automobile for a long time.

Keith

Well my kids did one cruise at 2 and 4 and one at 3 and 5. My older child gets motion sickness but was ok on the ship. My younger one does not get motion sickness but did get seasick.

I asked both my ped and pharmacist. We use kids Dramamine. Grape flavored and chewable. Worked great and didn't make them that tired.

My daughter has cruised a ton since 9 months old but more recently (now 7 years old) she has sometimes shown signs of seasickness. The kids dramamine paired with a caffeinated soda has worked really well for her. Remember kids can also show different symptoms than what we're used to seeing since they don't necessarily know about seasickness.

I have posted this a few times with a few changes and updated information.

 

How come nobody ever thinks to ask the pharmacist?

Pharmacists can recommend over-the-counter remedies (and we can vaccinate people against the flu and other diseases).

 

Thanks so much for the comprehensive information, Mack.

Our last cruise was the kids' first, and I also didn't know what to expect (they were 7 &10). They fly a LOT and never get sick, so I kept my fingers crossed, but also packed OTC motion sickness pills and acupressure bracelets (SeaBands). On one night only my DD 10 started to feel just a little bit off, and then increasingly nauseous. I popped the bracelets on her and tucked her into bed and she was fine. My plan is the same this time as well.

I will say this - as a mom and a pediatric RN- if your child starts vomiting don't wait to get help if you can't get the vomiting stopped right away- otherwise you will have dehydration, which can be dangerous. Go to medical and get some IV fluids.

Having said that -- plan for the worst- then put it out of your mind. Go assuming you'll have no issues ( and don't worry b/c you will have packed some meds and done your homework and worrying on the front end!)

Have a wonderful time!!!

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Mack's the best! Good info.

 

DD (now 19YO) has had some issues on smaller boats (tenders, ferries, excursion boats), but never had any issue on board a ship (including in some really nasty weather). For her the ginger works well - either just candied ginger (Spice House, Penzy's Spices, baking section of a well stocked grocery), Altoids (I love ginger Altoids -- just bought a box last night at Woodman's), Chimes are good, and look for ginger chews from The Ginger Company -- a well stocked grocery, World Market, even TJ Maxx are good brick-and-mortar sources.

 

Just a warning about any of the OTC's and Benedryl in particular. If you have an opportunity, you may want to try out a lower dose prior to actually "needing" it. All meds can have some unexpected side-effects for some folks. With Benedryl for a very, very small subset of the population, that adverse effect can include hyperactivity and/or even psychosis. My father was being preped for surgery and among the meds administered was Benedryl (it was supposed to keep him relaxed but conscious throughout the procedure) -- seems he is part of the minority (something like "less than .1%") with an adverse reaction -- and it was nasty, they were able to abort the surgery but he had to be restrained and observed for the next 36 hours

Agree! My husband was hspitalized for a month after a cruise from psychosis from OD of Dramamine!

They make kids Seabands too. We brought those on our trip but never needed them. I also brought kids Powered Pedialite just in case but didn't need it either, fortunately.

As far as I'm aware, Gravol is only available in Canada. I've searched high and low for it in the US and can never find it.

My daughter has had car sickness since she was about 2. We generally use Gravol Kids for her.

While cruising though (don't want her drugged up for the whole cruise) - I use a product called Motion Ease. I give her gravol for the flight down and maybe the first day, after that is motion ease if the ship is rocky, and always before meals.

Motion Ease is a blend of essential oils that work aroma therapeutically. There is definitely oil of cloves in there - not sure what else - but it works. You dab it behind the ears. When she was a kid we used to call it "vacation perfume".

I remember on Carnival Dream, one of the last nights, the seas were SO rough, that the main pool turned into a wave pool. When the elevator doors on the lido deck opened - water gushed in. All I gave my daughter that night was motion ease and she was fine.

I first discovered motion ease at the Walmart in Port Canaveral. I could not find my gravol kids, and in a panic ran to Walmart to buy more. They didn't carry it, but the pharmacist mentioned motion ease (this may have been before our Dream Cruise). As soon as we got off the ship, I ran back to Walmart to buy more! For the longest time that was the only place I could find it.

I would definitely ask the kids' pediatrician as he or she will have the patients' history at hand.

My daughter has never had motion sickness (she can even read in a moving vehicle, while I can't even look at a map for very long without feeling ill). She did have some nausea last year during a stressful time at school and her doctor recommended Benadryl.