Disclaimer: Written in collaboration with Sea-Band
Ever since I can remember I’ve suffered with travel sickness, my earliest memories of this were when I was a child travelling in the back of my Dad’s car. We would have to stop often and leave the windows open when it got too bad, and school coach trips were a nightmare.
Since being an adult, I’ve suffered a lot less, but that’s mainly because I travel in the front of the car or drive myself.
I do find that it starts up again, though, if I’m in the back with the kids, and there have been a few recent occasions where I’ve had to reach for that trusted bag tucked in the footwell just in case.
Emmy has recently started to suffer with this, too, and long journeys have become a little tricky with careful planning needed.
I’m not alone with the worries of travel sickness, though, and in a recent survey* taken by Sea-Band, over 52% reported that they had suffered from travel sickness, with this number even higher for children – 73% of parents surveyed said they’d had their journeys disrupted because of their child’s nausea.
Motion sickness is a term that describes an unpleasant combination of symptoms, such as dizziness, nausea and vomiting, that can occur when you’re travelling.
It’s also sometimes known as travel sickness, seasickness, car sickness or air sickness.
Did you know that screen time and phone use can actually make you feel sick on car journeys? So, while they are distracting for children on long journeys and help to keep them amused, they can actually make them feel sick.
A top tip is to limit screen time use while moving (in the car, on a boat or plane) and to focus on the horizon. This helps because looking down at the screen causes an imbalance/conflict between what your eyes see and your inner ear senses. It’s this conflict which makes you dizzy and nauseous, you can hear the traffic and air whizzing past you as you travel and see it from the corner of your eyes even if not focussing on it and this will affect your balance so it will make you feel like you’ve been on the waltzer at the fair-ground even when you are sitting still. (This is the reason I always feel sick in the back of the car, as it’s harder to watch the horizon from there, and is possibly why children suffer more as they will be in the back of the car). Also, sit facing the direction you are travelling – facing backwards can leave you feeling dizzy and sick
Fresh air This will help relieve the sick feeling if you are already feeling sick and will stop you from over-heating which can make your symptoms much worse
Relax Sitting still, closing your eyes and listening to music can help
Make frequent stops If possible try to schedule in a few stops for 10 minutes, stretch your legs, have a loo break and have a drink of water
Avoid certain foods before travelling Travelling on an over-full stomach will make you feel full and heavy which can worsen your motion sickness, also avoid alcohol (obviously adults here) and spicy/fat-rich foods. The same goes for strong-smelling foods – these can be a trigger I also keep polo’s in the car to suck on if I do feel sick
As a sufferer for years, I have tried many things to relieve my symptoms, and all of the above are ones I have tried and tested myself and do work for me.
Now Emmy is also suffering I am keen to keep her on the non-medicine route and relieve the symptoms the best we can – I know that travel sickness tablets can help, as they used to for me but knowing I still have this for 25+ years after first developing it I don’t want her reliant on tablets before making all journeys. This is why we both wear Sea-Band’s to help us. I’ve been using these since my pregnancy days with Emmy as they helped to relieve my morning sickness (all day sickness) without the need for my prescribed anti-sickness tablets.
Sea-Band is a knitted elasticated wristband which operates by applying pressure on the Nei Kuan acupressure point on each wrist by means of a plastic stud. Because the bands do not use drugs, they do not cause any of the side effects associated with anti-nausea drugs and can be worn on each wrist whenever you feel nauseous. These are suitable for adults and children.
We have found that putting them on before long journeys helps Emmy to forget about feeling sick, and the more relaxed she is, the less ill she feels. because these are stretchy bands, they are comfortable to wear, meaning you actually forget you are wearing them.
Sea-Bands are available online at www.sea-band.com, from Boots or other major retailers for £8.59
Do you suffer from travel sickness? Do you have any other tips to help combat this and ease your symptoms?
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Clare
Hi, I'm Clare (Emmy's Mummy). A former Nanny and Mother of 2 - Emmy (born February 2010) and Harry (born October 2012). We are Essex based and share our adventures and misadventures of a busy crazy life.
