Children suffer from travel sickness more than adults do but many will grow out of it in time. Here are some tips to manage travel sickness when out and about.

• What is travel sickness?
• What are the symptoms?
• Top tips to preventing travel sickness in the car
• Top tips to preventing travel sickness in the air
• Top tips to preventing travel sickness on the sea
• General advice

What is travel sickness?

Travel or motion sickness occurs when the brain receives mixed messages from small and repetitive movements. The inner ear balance mechanisms tell the body something different than the eyes do and it is this confusion about body positioning that causes a feeling of sickness during travel.

Motion sickness is extremely common. Almost everyone would suffer from symptoms of travel sickness in extreme conditions but around 3 in 10 people feel ill when traveling in normal conditions.

Children between the ages of 3 and 12 are the most likely to get travel sick.

What are the symptoms

Symptoms can include:

• Dizziness
• Feeling queasy
• Feeling sick
• Increased production of saliva
• Headaches
• Cold sweats
• Pale skin
• Vomiting

Top tips to preventing travel sickness in the car

If your child is suffering from travel sickness and is old enough to sit in the front passenger seat, allow them to do so. Having a clear view of the road and focusing into the distance will help .

Try to avoid having young children in the back of the car looking down at their laps often. Reading a book or playing a game whilst they are looking downwards will only increase symptoms.

Instead, have them sing along to songs to distract them. Keeping the car well ventilated will also help ease symptoms.

Take plenty of rest stops to allow them to stretch their legs and have a few plastic bags handy in case of vomiting.

Top tips to preventing travel sickness in the air

A seat over the wing of the plane is the most stable area to sit meaning less turbulence. With less jittering around, your little one should feel a little less dizzy and nauseous.

For flyers who are always sick no matter what, it is best to be seated by a toilet and have sick bags handy just in case of a queue.

Ensure your little one is drinking sips of water to keep hydrated. Put your child’s seat back and have them close their eyes and try to sleep if possible.

Top tips to preventing travel sickness on the sea

When feeling sea sick, fresh air is the best cure. Stay up in the fresh air as much as possible but don’t allow your little one to look down at the waves. Instead have them focusing on the horizon in the distance as it isn’t moving.

If going on the deck isn’t possible, choose a seat in the centre of the boat as low as you can, this is where the boat will move less.

Closing eyes and lying back still will help to ease symptoms.

General advice

No matter how you’re traveling, these pieces of advice will help keep your little ones happy on your journey.

• Keep a spare change of clothes, a towel and baby wipes handy just in case of vomiting.
• A headrest or pillow may help to minimise head movement
• Tell your child to focus on one fixed object or close their eyes
• Avoid large meals or drinking lots before traveling
• Keep cool by getting plenty of fresh air
• For older children, doctors can prescribe medicine to help relive the symptoms of travel sickness, seek advice from your GP

Photography: Jim Champion @Flickr