Car sickness/altoids alternatives?

My two year old has horrible car sickness if we have to drive longer than twenty minutes. I'm talking vomit hitting the back of the seat and, well, I'll just leave it at that.

We've found if we feed her altoids or peppermint tic-tacs throughout the drive, she won't throw up. But she can eat a whole box of altoids on a single 2 hr drive to her grandparents' house and I don't like her eating that much sugar.

Personally, I get car sick too and I'll grab a handful of various mints from my garden before hopping in the car and just crush them in my hand to smell as I drive, or nibble on a leaf or two.

My little one loves to eat mint leaves when she's playing outside but it's not palatable to her to chew on a leaf when she's feeling nauseous.

So I thought I'd ask if any one has some toddler friendly motion sickness ideas for me. Thanks!

Interesting topic Jenny (poor little scrap...)
I sometimes get asked for travel sickness medicine in my shop -usually by tour bus drivers for their passengers, and unfortunately it is one thing we don't stock (shelf life and lack of supplier availability). I usually give them a handful of crystallised ginger. However, that would be full of sugar too of course so doesn't really help with  your question.  I wonder what will come up in the replies (Permies are so creative!)

Can you get her in the front seat?

I need to have a good view of the outside and keep my focus on the road ahead or I get sick when in a car (or bus).

Sebastian Köln wrote:Can you get her in the front seat?

I need to have a good view of the outside and keep my focus on the road ahead or I get sick when in a car (or bus).

It is illegal to have children under a certain age in the front seat because the airbags break their necks.

But I know that is part of the problem so we got a curtain to cover up the window she sits next to. I think it might help at least a little bit but just started using it a week ago and haven't gone on any long car rides yet.

Nancy Reading wrote: I usually give them a handful of crystallised ginger. However, that would be full of sugar too of course so doesn't really help with  your question.  I wonder what will come up in the replies (Permies are so creative!)

I forgot about ginger. I don't know if she likes the flavor since I've not been using it lately in my cooking.

Hmmm... Maybe some sliced ginger and seltzer water in her sippy cup, like a sugarless ginger ale. (She LOVES seltzer.) But too much liquid in the car and we have to stop for the potty a bunch of times.

I use dried papaya and pineapple when a am nauseated.

Ginger and chamomile work too.

These all probably come in capsules if that form might work better.

Saltine cracker for snackes.

Would music and laying down help?  Or playing games?

What about a sensory book?

https://permies.com/t/132561/type-material-Quiet-sensory-book#1739293

There are motion sickness wrist bands. Maybe you could measure the baby’s wrists and request an Etsy crafter to make something smaller.
https://www.etsy.com/search?q=motion%20sickness%20bracelet&ref=auto-1&as_prefix=motion%20sickness

I have no experience with these and didn't know there was such a thing until Vanessa posted about the wrist bands.

These patches show children in the pictures.

The ad says 100% herbal relief and lasts 72 hours:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/305007818771

I suffer terribly from motion sickness.   Walking can even trigger it.  Everyone is different,  but here is what I learned about me.

I want to stress,  this is my experience.   Everyone is unique,  especially where motion sickness is concerned.

Mint increases it, and increases future motion sickness.   It triggers the part of the digestion that makes the acid, pain and vomiting.

Sugar is another trigger.

Black liquorice reduces it.  But too much sugar in the liquorice counters the benefits.   Finnish liquorice is best for me.   It stimulates the vagus nerve and this reduces vomiting due to stress.   Stress includes memory of past motion sickness.

Front seat is a must.  Back seat is a quick path to vomit land.

Having carbs in my stomach 20 min prior to leaving reduces the sloshing that can trigger vomit.

The act of chewing and swallowing calms my stomach.   Something slow to chew but not too much sugar.

Ginger calms the acid and reduces vomit,  but this needs to come before the symptoms because strong smells and flavours can trigger it.

Speaking of smells,  open windows are a must.  Closed car climate control triggers it.

Simple count the... games work.  But nothing that requires looking down or reading like bingo.  Training me to look out the window and pay attention to far away things probably had the most benefit as a kid.

The friction strip that hangs off the back of the car to help ground it works like a charm.

Blood sugar has a huge influence.   I'm not diabetic,  but as a kid we quickly noticed that going to a restaurant was far more likely to trigger motion sickness than coming home.  Experiments since has shown blood sugar,  especially low or the downswing from a spike like from juice or candy,  have a massive influence.

CBT skills help calm the parts of the brain that uses vomiting to deal with threats.

But that's me.   Sorry,  there's no universal cure.

Vanessa Smoak wrote:There are motion sickness wrist bands. Maybe you could measure the baby’s wrists and request an Etsy crafter to make something smaller.
https://www.etsy.com/search?q=motion%20sickness%20bracelet&ref=auto-1&as_prefix=motion%20sickness

These worked okay for me as a kid, but I'm not sure they didn’t also cause harm as if it went wrong,  it caused tingling, pain, and clicking in my wrist and hand.  I would keep it for children capable of communicating problems and removing painful things.

Instead,  how about teaching some acupressure points they can use themselves?

My suggestion also would be the acupressure points - these are what the wristbands use but I found when I was pregnant that a few minutes thumb or finger pressure every hour stopped the nausea. Of course, I only discovered this a week before the pregnancy sickness (with my second and last baby) wore off naturally. Duh.

I second the idea of teaching pressure points.

Or maybe:
A strong mint tea mixed with seltzer water if you're okay with the potty breaks
Xylitol mints as a sugar alternative
A minty sucker instead of small candies. It's possible that it will last longer, if she takes licks/sucks as needed rather than keeping it in her mouth continuously.

There seems to be some sort of over-generalization in the last few decades that mint is good for some digestive issues, therefore it's good for all digestive issues.  I think it depends more on the specific issue.  

Thinking about my own motion sickness, anything that increases acid production and a sloshy stomach  (like mint does) is going to greatly increase my vomit.  That said, the act of chewing and swallowing reduces motion sickness, so I would get both benefits and then added discomfort from having mint and would have to keep on having it constantly.  A tin of Altoids an hour wouldn't be unexpected.

Instead, how about going for something that reduces acid production and calms the stomach lining?  Ginger, liquorice, that sort of thing.

I recently discovered Simply Mints Ginger (no mint in it - the brand is "Simply Mints" and the flavour is "ginger").  Three ingredients.   Absolutely awesome for motion sickness and the general discomfort I get in my stomach.  I can't find it locally, but buying it in bulk from amazon turned out to be awesome and they come in a cute tin I can use for other things.  

Another chronic motion sickness sufferer here, it's not just car and sea sickness, hand held camera work sets me off - I used to have to turn away from the tv for the opening sequence of Hill St Blues; literally flew out of the cinema during the D day landing sequence of Saving Private Ryan and threw up in a bin in the lobby much to the distress of the staff.

If I went skiing, would have to sit out if the light is flat and always have to sit at the front on extended bus journeys.

The brand of wrist bands that I use are called sea bands and they are available in children's sizes.

The positioning is important as the button sits between tendons on the inner arm and can hurt if not worn correctly.

I can wear them for extended periods without discomfort and own several sets.
You may wish to try these bands yourself and if they work for youu, buy a set for your daughter.