Anyone use Kid's Bonine before?

[ntengwall]

I have 3 boys and I'm not really sure what to expect when it comes to how they will feel on the ship. I'm not anticipating a problem (none have ever gotten car sick or sick on our boat we used to have) but we are sailing out of NJ and down the coast which I hear can be quite "bumpy".

 

I just picked up some adult Bonine today but they didn't have any of the kids version. Has anyone used this with their kids? My 11 year old says he doesn't want to take it but I know that the thing with Bonine is that it's more preventative and it doesn't really work once you're sick.

[lisaf1]

I have used Dramamine for my DD age 5 for the airplane. She gets airsick when we fly. The original Chewable tablet can be used for kids. She gets 1/4 of a tablet and it does the trick. It dose put her to sleep. In fact Dr had told me to give her 1/2 a tablet and that knocked her out for SEVERAL hours. I back it down to 1/4 and even that put her to sleep for a couple of hours.

 

I don't need to use it for her on the ship.She has been on 5 cruises so far and has never had a problem.

 

Lisa

[mh15]

Our boys (10 & 7) always use the kid's Bonine. I've never expected that they would get sick, but we have them take it just in case - mainly when leaving port. Walgreens is where we always buy the kid's version.

[htjmom]

Funny we had a conversation about this tonight, my 13 year old, who started cruising at 9, and has been on 14 cruises told her friend who is getting ready to go on her first cruise. "Take a kids bonine right when you get on the ship and you'll be good for the whole cruise" You can get them at any Walgreen's etc. or we get them at the grocery store.

[joejo]

Is Gravol available in the US? My kids rarely get motion sickness but when they do we use gravol. The side affects are minimal, at least for them, and it solves all their tummy issues :)

[Frenchsnowhite]

Is Gravol available in the US? My kids rarely get motion sickness but when they do we use gravol. The side affects are minimal, at least for them, and it solves all their tummy issues :)

 

Gravol is available only in Canada. But you can go to your drugstore and asked for some Bonine or the equivalent and they will sell it to you!

[JerseyGem]

I have 3 boys and I'm not really sure what to expect when it comes to how they will feel on the ship. I'm not anticipating a problem (none have ever gotten car sick or sick on our boat we used to have) but we are sailing out of NJ and down the coast which I hear can be quite "bumpy".

 

I just picked up some adult Bonine today but they didn't have any of the kids version. Has anyone used this with their kids? My 11 year old says he doesn't want to take it but I know that the thing with Bonine is that it's more preventative and it doesn't really work once you're sick.

 

 

I suggest speaking with your kids' pediatrician before giving them any medications. Kids are not just small-sized adults; they metabolize medications differently than adults. Also, none of us here know your kids' medical histories (medical conditions, OTC or prescription meds, etc), plus few of us have medical degrees!

 

After your pediatrician gives you your options,I suggest trying them out a few days before the cruise to see if they have any adverse reactions (such as drowsiness or agitation). Give yourself enough time to recontact the doctor for more advice if necessary.

 

And chances are that they'll be so busy enjoying the cruise that they won't even be bothered by any movement. If all else fails, the ship's doctor will have treatment medications (as opposed to preventative medications) and will know how to treat kids.

 

Have a wonderful cruise- your boys are a great age to start cruising.

[pjinaz]

I have used kids bonine for one of my children as she tends to get motion sick. I always wait till she says she is starting to feel bad as I don't like to give her meds if she doesn't need them, and sometimes she is totally fine on a cruise, and sometimes not. The meds do seem to work for her even after she is starting to feel ill, but I would keep an eye on it and not try to wait too long.

[Laulipop]

Funny we had a conversation about this tonight, my 13 year old, who started cruising at 9, and has been on 14 cruises told her friend who is getting ready to go on her first cruise. "Take a kids bonine right when you get on the ship and you'll be good for the whole cruise" You can get them at any Walgreen's etc. or we get them at the grocery store.

When the kids use it, do they just use it the first night or so, or the whole time? One of my sons can get a tiny bit carsick if he reads, doesn't like spinny rides at parks...may take it along for him just in case..

[Mack2]

Is Gravol available in the US? My kids rarely get motion sickness but when they do we use gravol. The side affects are minimal, at least for them, and it solves all their tummy issues :)

I'm a pharmacist.

Gravol is a brand name for dimenhydrinate... which is Dramamine Original (not the II)

 

Bonine for kids is cyclizine... it's another drug in the same family as the Gravol, and closely related to Bonine (for adults) which is meclizine.

 

All three of these drugs, the cyclizine, meclizine, and dimenhydrinate can cause drowsiness, with dimenhydrinate being the one that causes more drowsiness than the others. They DO help as both a preventative and direct relief from motion sickness, but you're better off using it BEFORE you get hit with the seasickness (if it occurs at all)

 

For kids under the age of 6, the docs will recommend Benadryl, which is a brand name of diphenhydramine. Although Benadryl is marketed for allergies, it has been used in and successful as a treatment for motion sickeness in the past... and it's been proven to be safe and effective for infants as well as kids under the age of 6.

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.

 

The other medicines haven't been studied as treatments for kids that young. They probably work (I know they do), but without data showing safety, a medical professional really can't recommend them.

 

What you CAN do, as a natural alternative (and I really get a kick out of recommending it) is ginger.

Ginger is a natural anti-emetic (anti-nausea).

Sea-Band sells a ginger gum for the immediate treatment of motion sickness.

 

but you can also hit up a natural foods store and get candied ginger, crystalized ginger, ginger Altoids... and to some degree a ginger root supplement (although I really don't know about the supplement) to help with motion sickness.

 

 

Also, as a side note, the Transderm-Scop patches (scopolamine) and Antivert (meclizine) Rx items are also used as remedies for motion sickness.... but meclizine is used as an Rx for the treatment of vertigo (dizziness)... and there's a whole story behind that.

[Laulipop]

Thank you so much! That is great information and I'll use it. I'm still wondering, though, whatever we decide to use, do the kids typically have to take it the whole cruise or just for the first night or two?

[marci22]

Thank you so much! That is great information and I'll use it. I'm still wondering, though, whatever we decide to use, do the kids typically have to take it the whole cruise or just for the first night or two?

 

We had rough seas one night on our last cruise, my 12yo felt a little nauseous, I gave him a meclizine and he was fine. He only needed the one dose.

[volleyballmom87]

What you CAN do, as a natural alternative (and I really get a kick out of recommending it) is ginger.

Ginger is a natural anti-emetic (anti-nausea).

Sea-Band sells a ginger gum for the immediate treatment of motion sickness.

 

 

but you can also hit up a natural foods store and get candied ginger, crystalized ginger, ginger Altoids... and to some degree a ginger root supplement (although I really don't know about the supplement) to help with motion sickness.

 

 

MythBusters did an episode on motion sickness and ginger came out on top. I bought is for my kid on our cruise. We bought dramamine for ourselves on our first trip and it put us to sleep! I don't know if it calmed out tummies because we passed out.

[marci22]

Dramamine is highly sedating. Bonine is less so.

[Mack2]

Thank you so much! That is great information and I'll use it. I'm still wondering, though, whatever we decide to use, do the kids typically have to take it the whole cruise or just for the first night or two?

I try to avoid having to give the kids anything.

 

We've been lucky, though... the last cruise, my younger son got a little seasick near the tail end of the cruise.

Even though the medicines will advertise themselves as being less drowsy, they still cause drowsiness.

 

Essentially, the kids were Bonine free most of the cruise... except the one night where we ended up sticking some candied ginger in his mouth, and a kid's Bonine. He conked out about an hour after, slept it off, and woke up better.

 

Aside from drowsiness, some side effects people might experience with these things is dry mouth and sometimes blurred vision (the latter happening a lot with the Transderm Scop patches)... take the medicine as directed... too much of any of these anti-cholinergic drugs at one time can cause cardiac side effects... you don't want that.

 

edit:

and the only reason we had a rough spot was the fact that we were going east as some hurricane was moving west... We weren't IN the hurricane, but it made the seas a little high. Okay, it was pretty high... one of those nights where the drunk folks were walking in straight lines and the sober people were zig-zagging along the hallways.

[mh15]

I have my kids take it when leaving port. Since this is usually in the late afternoon or evening, they end up taking it once per day. This gets them through the evening and then they sleep all night and most ships are in port during the day.

[marci22]

Everyone reacts differently to medications. Bonine does not make me sleepy at all. Dramamine puts me to sleep.