The baby is rocking in the car. A child has been rocking in the car for a year - what to do? Is it possible to train the vestibular apparatus

Kinetoz - from English means "sickness of motion." It is usually accepted to call this phenomenon motion sickness. Women and men can experience kinetosis on themselves, but children experience this condition more often than others. Although, some babies may not recognize the feelings of motion sickness at all, but, unfortunately, only a few. If your child does not belong to the list of rare exceptions, then you need to know what to do if the child gets sick in the car. We will answer this question below. Well, for starters, it’s worth talking about the true causes of child motion sickness.

Causes of motion sickness

There is one main cause of motion sickness, and it applies to everyone, not just children. The state of kinetosis is directly related to the work of the vestibular apparatus. The organ of balance is located in our ears and is part of the membranous labyrinth of the inner ear. From there, signals come through the central nervous system to the cerebral cortex and cerebellum, indicating the direction of a person’s movements or his immobility. Motion sickness occurs due to inconsistent, conflicting information signals from the vestibular apparatus and the organ of vision. That is, we perfectly understand, clearly see that we are moving in space. The organ of vision informs the brain about movement. In turn, the vestibular apparatus sends information that we are not moving, that is, we are not showing physical activity, we are not walking, we are not running, etc. For this reason, a failure occurs, the result of which can manifest itself in blanching of the skin, increased sweating, dizziness, nausea, and vomiting.

It is interesting that children under one year old almost never get sick in transport. Why? The thing is that the organ of balance in babies is not yet sufficiently developed, so the information impulses from the vestibular apparatus and the organ of vision do not contradict each other so much as to cause nausea and vomiting.

How to help a child?

In order to cope with the unpleasant manifestations of kinetosis and permanently rid the child of this ailment, it is necessary, first of all, to train the vestibular apparatus. Children who are accustomed to frequent travel do not usually feel sick. Here we can also say about children who are actively involved in sports, dancing, swimming. Therefore, good physical activity will be enough to train the vestibular apparatus, and sports activities will show their results very soon. The child will not be rocked. For the same purposes, there are special exercises that can be done at home. For example, head tilts and turns; walking back; figure "swallow"; jumping on one leg. To get the effect of the exercises, they must be performed regularly, with a gradual complication. Remember the famous animated series Smeshariki, in one of the episodes, its heroes are just training “The most important apparatus ... The vestibular apparatus!”.

There are also aggravating factors that contribute to motion sickness. In order to minimize the possibility of kinetosis, it is necessary to adhere to the following points.

It is necessary to exclude all sounds and smells unpleasant for the child in the car, for example, loud music, tobacco smoke, the smell of gasoline, flavoring, perfume.

The optimum temperature in the cabin is 18-20 degrees.

From time to time (every 1-1.5 hours) make stops and get out of the car for 10-15 minutes.

Make sure that before the trip the child is calm, not overtired.

If possible, distract the child from the road: talk to him, ask him to tell a rhyme, give new toy etc.

It is better if the child looks forward to the road than to the sides or back.

If possible, try to get the child's attention on any fixed object in the car.

If, nevertheless, the baby is motion sick, then you should:

Stop and get out of the car, give the opportunity to recover, walk around a bit.

If the child turns pale, he is sick, then you need to give a sniff of ammonia.

Pharmaceutical preparations against kinetosis

When your child gets motion sick every time you travel, you might want to think about pharmaceuticals to deal with it. Some medicines from motion sickness are released without a prescription, however, it will not be superfluous to contact the children's clinic for advice. An experienced doctor will help you choose the most suitable remedy for your child by age.

Speaking about specific drugs, the following can be mentioned: scopolamine, aeron, mectosine, dramina, bonin, diprazine, metoplocramide, thiethylperazine, air sea and others.

Folk remedies for motion sickness

Except medical preparations against motion sickness, folk remedies are known. Sometimes, the means used by the people are not inferior in effectiveness to medicinal ones. Therefore, for starters, you need to try simple non-drug methods to combat kinetosis.

Give your child a mint or something sour or salty, such as a lemon wedge, sour apple, cranberries, ascorbic acid in the form of yellow balls, pickles. In any case, such a snack should be light. This is enough effective method motion sickness fight.

From drinks that have an anti-sickness effect, you can offer your child to drink cranberry juice, water with lemon juice, mint tea. The drink should be cool, but not cold, and should be drunk in small sips.

Massage of the inside of the wrist, on which the acupuncture points are located, will help to cope with the feeling of mild nausea, skin blanching. But with more pronounced manifestations, this method will be ineffective.

A wet towel applied to the forehead can reduce the intensity of dizziness and nausea.

When a child gets sick in a car, it is very unpleasant for parents, and especially for himself. It is in your power to save the child from these torments and make any trip enjoyable.

In the 21st century, there are more and more opportunities for travel. I would like not only to see the world for myself, but also to show it to my children. Unfortunately, about 50% percent of small tourists aged 2 to 12 do not tolerate the road well. They get sick and sick in the car, on board the plane, during sea cruises. Why is this happening? What are the signs of kinetosis? What to do in this case? How can you help your child navigate the road more easily? You can find answers to these questions below.

If a child is prone to motion sickness in a car, parents should have an effective anti-nausea remedy with them or know folk methods symptom relief

Why do children get sick in transport?

The main cause of discomfort during the movement of vehicles is the underdeveloped and strengthened vestibular apparatus of the child. Motion sickness, or kinetosis, is not a disease. This is the reaction of the body to the unusual movement of the body in space. The vestibular apparatus is responsible for the coordination of movements. Its main organ is the inner ear, more precisely, its two departments:

• vestibule;
• semicircular canals.

The first is responsible for the gravitational effect, that is, it helps the brain to orient itself in the directions "up" and "down". The semicircular canals are mutually perpendicular, located in three planes and are responsible for three-dimensional orientation.

When the location of the human body in space changes, the vestibular apparatus transmits impulses through the central nervous system to the muscles that perform the necessary contractions. With an insufficiently developed and untrained organ of coordination, there is a violation of the synchronism of interaction in the system "inner ear - CNS - muscles".

Visual perception can also contribute to this. Central nervous system passenger in the cabin of the ship or in the cabin of the aircraft from the optic nerve receives information about the stationary position of the body, and from the vestibular apparatus comes information about the constant change in its position as a result of rolling on the sea or turbulence in the air. The body reacts to such inconsistency with dizziness, lethargy, bouts of nausea with possible vomiting.

The following factors can aggravate the state of kinetosis:

1. Tightness and stuffiness during the trip, the presence of unpleasant foreign odors.
2. Eating shortly before departure. You shouldn't overeat. It is necessary to eat moderately at least 1.5-2 hours before the start of the trip.
3. Psycho-emotional state. If the child has already suffered bouts of motion sickness on the road, then the expectation of discomfort on the trip is not in the best way adjust his body. In this case, the role of parents is important. It is necessary to distract the child as much as possible from the negative aspects of the upcoming trip and try to concentrate on the positive ones.

Children from 2-12 years old are most susceptible to motion sickness. This is due to the fact that in a one-year-old child, the vestibular apparatus is not yet sufficiently developed, and at an older age, he is already sufficiently trained for a normal response to pitching.

Symptoms of kinetosis

Determining that a child is sick on the road is quite simple. Most children have the same symptoms:

• weakness in the whole body;
• pallor of the skin and perspiration on the forehead;
• dizziness and nausea;
• the child vomits (we recommend reading:);
• profuse salivation;
• increasing headache.

Symptoms of kinetosis cannot be overlooked

Sometimes there is numbness and cooling of the extremities. In rare cases, with a particularly strong reaction to movement, loss of consciousness may occur. In children around the age of 1 year, the body often responds to motion sickness with sleep.

What to do if the child is motion sick?

When a child has the first symptoms of kinetosis, a number of measures should be taken to reduce or prevent them:

1. Provide fresh air. If you are using your own vehicle, make a short stop and walk down the street with your child. If a pause in movement is not possible, try to lay it horizontally, put a damp cloth on your forehead. Sleep will also help move the road.
2. If you couldn’t fall asleep, try to distract the baby from bad thoughts and entertain him. Suggest a not very active game. There is an opinion that voice exercises help move motion sickness. Sing songs with him quietly, recite poems. Just do not read books - it will aggravate the situation.
3. In the car, position the child seat so that the child can see the way through the windshield. Don't let him look out the side windows. The rapid flickering of landscape elements can provoke a deterioration - this is typical of any transport.
4. You can’t go on a journey with an empty stomach, but you shouldn’t overeat before the road. The last moderate meal should be 1.5-2 hours before the start of the trip. It is also not recommended to eat on the way. Citrus fruits and candies, acidified non-carbonated drinking water can be useful.

The child needs to ensure the flow of fresh air in the car

Children's drugs for motion sickness

A real breakthrough in the fight against kinetosis was the invention of drugs for motion sickness and nutritional supplements that can reduce its symptoms. When choosing such funds, you must be very careful. It would be useful to consult a pediatrician. The following drugs are considered effective:

Folk remedies

Many parents prefer folk, tried and tested methods over the years to medications for the prevention and treatment of kinetosis. They only use natural products Therefore, there are no contraindications for such funds. There are also no side effects after taking. Sometimes an allergic reaction is possible, as with food. The following folk remedies can help with the prevention of motion sickness:

1. Mint tincture with lemon. 3 dessert spoons of crushed mint leaves brew in one liter boiled water. Let stand and add lemon juice taste. Such a drink quenches thirst well and eliminates the symptoms of motion sickness.
2. There is an opinion that chewing green tea leaves has a tonic effect on the body and helps if the child is motion sick.
3. Honey with mint. To prepare this folk remedy from motion sickness you need to take 2 tbsp. honey and add a few drops of oil peppermint. Let the child slowly dissolve the resulting mixture, drinking it with a small amount of drinking water.
4. Oat tincture and spinach juice. Infuse 1 tbsp. oats in a glass of boiling water for half an hour. Strain the infusion. Squeeze the juice of fresh spinach into a separate bowl. Give the child to drink these liquids alternately 1/4 tbsp. twice a day 2 days before the trip.
5. Ginger. Many believe in the miraculous properties of ginger root. When rocking, it is recommended to chew its small slices. It can also be purchased at the pharmacy in the form of powder or capsules - take 3-4 capsules half an hour before the trip.

A small slice of ginger will relieve an attack of nausea and relieve motion sickness

Acupressure and special exercises

One of the methods of reflexology is acupressure. A characteristic difference from all types of massage is that its action is directed to biologically active points. Irritation of such points causes a reflex reaction to a specific organ.

If you find that the child is motion sick, you can try massaging the following points:

1. "more pressure";
2. "inner gate";
3. "divine appearance"

The first point is located between the index and thumb on the legs, the second - 2.5 centimeters from the wrist, the third - between the earlobe and the end of the lower jaw. The impact on the points should be soft, but strong enough, rhythmic.

Plasters and bracelets from motion sickness

Special patches for kinetosis are widely used. The active ingredient in them is mint and ginger. You need to attach them behind the ear.

Plasters do not relieve motion sickness, but can largely relieve its symptoms. This remedy has no contraindications, except for an individual allergic reaction to the components.

A similar effect is exerted on the child by motion sickness bracelets. Their action is based on massaging the acupuncture point on the wrist. On the inside of the bracelet there is a ledge, which has a massaging effect. To avoid unpleasant symptoms, it is necessary to wear a bracelet at the very beginning of the trip.

Is it possible to train the vestibular apparatus?

In the unpleasant sensations that a child experiences when traveling, the weak training of his vestibular apparatus is largely to blame. To completely avoid kinetosis, you need to systematically perform special exercises. You need to start them not when unpleasant signs have already appeared, but from early childhood.

Short but fairly frequent trips by car or public transport with parents can be helpful. The game of blind man's buff also trains the vestibular apparatus. Riding a bike, walking on a balance beam, exercising with a fitness ball - these and many other exercises will help train the body, and in the future the child will never be overtaken by kinetosis.

Most often, it affects children aged 2 to 12 years, although a tendency to nausea in transport can occur at any age. The reason for this may be too sensitive reaction of the brain to movement. - read the article. You will also learn what to do if the child has become motion sick in transport.

As you already know, a child can be rocked not only in a car, but also in other vehicles, especially if this is his first or difficult (turbulence in the air or a storm at sea) trip. Sometimes the child is motion sick even while swinging on a swing. But there is good news: with age, sea, air or car sickness disappears.

Why does the child get sick in the car

The problem begins when the child's brain receives different signals from the parts of the body that perceive movement - the eyes, inner ears, nerves and joints.

For example, if a child looks at a toy or a picture in a book while driving, their eyes send a signal to the brain that the body is not in motion. And other parts of the body feel the movement and send the opposite signal to the brain. This conflict of signals causes a feeling of nausea.

The same thing happens on board an aircraft during turbulence or on a ship during ocean waves. Stress and anxiety exacerbate symptoms.

What to do if the child is motion sick in the car and other transport

Be patient as the child is not feeling well and try the following steps:

• Watch closely for early signs of motion sickness—cold sweats and loss of appetite usually precede nausea and vomiting. If you notice warning signs, stop driving as soon as possible. If this happens while driving, stop briefly and get some air outside. If you are on an airplane, move your child to the porthole so that he can view objects from it. If you can pause the car ride, put your child in the seats and wet his forehead with a cold washcloth. The symptoms will pass quickly and in 15 minutes you will be back on the road.
• If you are driving a car, the child needs to look somewhere far away at the horizon line. An object in view at a distance will give the impression that you are moving directly towards it, and this will help to deal with conflicting messages entering the brain.
• The child needs air. Turn on the air conditioner or open the window on the side of the child. If you are traveling by ship, go on deck.
• In order for the trip to go well, if the child is traveling by bus, he needs to choose seats in the middle. In the back rows, as a rule, it shakes more, and the front rows are considered less safe. In other vehicles: the first carriages of the train; the upper deck of the ship, closer to the middle; near the wings of the aircraft. The child needs to look straight ahead and the seat should be high enough so that you can look at the road through the window.
• Distract the child. Motion sickness sometimes happens purely due to the psychological mood, so you need to sing, chat and be distracted on the road. But do not give the child toys or books, as this will disorient him.
• Feed your child. Perhaps your intuition tells you otherwise, but if the child eats solid food, then before the trip he needs a snack. Why? Because hunger can make nausea worse. However, there is another opinion, so you will have to figure out through trial and error whether you need to feed the baby before the trip.
• Try to plan your trip during your child's nap time - it's unlikely that he will start to twist his stomach if he sleeps. If the child is already awake during the day, still try to persuade him to take a little nap on the way.
• Keep activity to a minimum. The child should be as calm as possible so that his head spins as little as possible.
• You can also try using , which is believed to suppress nausea by stimulating acupressure points on the wrist. While the scientific evidence to support its effectiveness is still lacking, some people do consider it a lifesaver. And if you tell your child that this special bracelet is made so that he does not feel bad in the car or on the plane, that may be enough. (Be sure to check the label or instructions to make sure the bracelet is appropriate for your child's age.)

If, despite your best efforts, your baby starts to vomit, he needs to drink plenty of fluids to stay hydrated.

Is it possible to give pills for motion sickness in transport for children

For children over 2 years of age, motion sickness medications are available over-the-counter, in a chewable tablet or in liquid form. But before giving your child the drug, consult your doctor. Side effects may include drowsiness or irritability, dry mouth, constipation, and blurred vision.

For insurance, take a durable plastic bag with wet wipes or a damp cloth, as well as a change of clothes.

Motion sickness is a very unpleasant and fairly common problem, more common in children aged 2-12 years. Of course, for most, this problem disappears with age, but what should parents do now, how and whether it is possible to deal with motion sickness, let's figure it out.

Why does the child sway

The main reason is the sensitive vestibular apparatus (an organ of balance located in the inner ear and giving signals to the brain about the direction of movement or immobility). Due to conflicting, inconsistent information signals from the organ of vision and the vestibular apparatus, motion sickness occurs. In other words, when traveling in transport, the organ of vision sends signals to the brain that the child is moving, and the vestibular apparatus, in turn, sends information that the child is not moving (does not run or walk). As a result, a failure occurs, expressed in blanching of the skin, dizziness, increased sweating, nausea, and vomiting.

In addition, the tendency to motion sickness in transport can be inherited.

Babies under one year old rarely feel sick in the car. This is explained by the fact that their vestibular apparatus is not yet sufficiently developed, and the information signals received from it and the organ of vision do not contradict each other so much as to cause nausea.

Condition signs

When a child is motion sick in a car or in any other vehicle, he begins to feel dizzy, his stomach hurts, salivation increases, he becomes hot, his face turns pale, and drowsiness appears. After a while, nausea appears, and then vomiting. After vomiting, relief does not come, he is still worried about dizziness, nausea.

In rare cases, loss of consciousness is possible.

What to do if the child is rocked

Consider some tips to help avoid discomfort in transport:

• Training of the vestibular apparatus. The more often children ride in transport, the faster this condition will pass. It is also recommended to perform various physical exercises aimed at rotating the body and head - tilting, turning the head, walking with closed eyes, jumping on one leg, performing the swallow figure, in which one leg of the child is pulled back, the body is pulled forward, and the arms are spread apart. . Good for strengthening the organ of balance rotation in place, swimming, rollerblading, skating, skiing, swinging.
• Stuffiness can provoke dizziness, nausea, bad smell in the car. Therefore, before the trip, it is better to ventilate and clean the interior so that it is fresh and clean. Also, you can not smoke in the car, and it is also better to remove all flavors. The temperature in the cabin should not exceed 18-20 °C.
• Do not ask the child during the trip how he feels, if he is dizzy and if he is sick. Such questions in themselves can provoke an attack of nausea. Also, do not offer him to take packages with him, in case he gets sick, like last time. So he will psychologically tune in to the fact that his health will worsen, he will constantly think that he is about to get sick, and in the end it will happen.
• During the trip, you can offer the baby to get distracted, for example, sleep, play games on a tablet or phone, ask him to tell a rhyme, talk to him about something interesting, give him a new toy bought in advance.
• When traveling, the baby should always sit facing forward and look into the distance. So he will not only feel the movement, but also see it.

• If you have a long trip, then it is better to plan it closer to the night, so the child will sleep most of the way. If it is not possible to drive at night and the trip will take place during the day, then it is recommended to make stops every hour and get out of the car for 10-15 minutes.
• During the trip, the child should not be hungry. 1.5-2 hours before it is necessary to feed him. In the "hungry" state, the motion sickness can be much stronger.
• To reduce the intensity of nausea, dizziness, a damp cold towel applied to the forehead can help.
• During the movement, the child can be offered to drink cool lemon or mint tea. Older children can be offered menthol gum, mint candy, sour apple, orange slice.
• May help prevent motion sickness medications(Dramina, Avia-Sea, Bonin, Kokkulin). But before taking them, you should definitely consult a doctor, as some drugs have contraindications for age.

These recommendations are good for helping children cope with motion sickness, but, unfortunately, not for everyone. In this case, you should try to avoid traveling long distances, come to terms with this condition and wait for it to pass. Going on a journey, you should always take plastic bags, wet, dry wipes, water, and a change of clothes with you.

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Nausea, dizziness, double vision and ripples in the eyes when driving a car - do you know this feeling? Then, most likely, you suffer from kinetosis (seasickness) or, simply speaking, you are motion sick in transport.

Motion sickness in transport is a very unpleasant and fairly common phenomenon, which affects about a tenth of the world's population. Children between the ages of two and twelve are most susceptible to motion sickness, and for most people this condition resolves with age.

Why does the child get sick in transport?

In both adults and children, kinetosis (sickness) occurs due to problems in the functioning of the vestibular apparatus. This happens because a person sitting in a car (train, plane) receives information from the vestibular apparatus to the brain that the body is motionless (sitting), while the eyes see the landscape passing by and the swaying of objects around. It is the discrepancy between the information coming from the vestibular and visual apparatus that causes unpleasant symptoms.

It happens that a person who has never been seasick before begins to experience tangible bouts of kinetosis when traveling in transport. This happens, for example, after (otitis media) - inflammatory processes in the middle ear affect the vestibular apparatus and cause the effect of motion sickness.

What to do if the child is motion sick in the car?

What to do if the described preventive measures are not able to cope with the motion sickness of the child in the car and he still feels severe nausea, vomiting and dizziness? Some children are helped by "folk" methods, known since Soviet times:

• Caramel- mint or lemon caramel can significantly alleviate the feeling of nausea.
• Vitamin C- vitamin C in pure form or in the form of a lemon slice will also help fight nausea.
• Ginger in any form (grated fresh root, pickled ginger, powder, even cookies with natural ginger) - has long been known as a remedy for seasickness. "Ginger in capsules" can also be purchased at a pharmacy. Just do not overfeed the patient with gingerbread - a hearty meal can lead to the opposite effect.
• Distract your child by talking- how less baby concentrates on his condition, the easier he endures it.
• If you are traveling in your own car, do regular stops. Let your child go outside and walk on solid ground for a few minutes.

Tablets for motion sickness in the car

Motion sickness pills are already heavy artillery in the fight against kinetosis (sickness) and of course it is best to avoid them if possible. In pharmacies, you can currently find more than one drug to combat this unpleasant condition, for example, Dramina. These drugs affect the vestibular apparatus of a person and almost all of them have a strong sedative (sleepy) effect, which can be observed within several hours after taking the drug (that is, the trip has long ended, and the child cannot come to his senses), up to a violation of coordination of movements .

In any case, the pediatrician should deal with the selection of the drug for the child. Like any medicine, you should not prescribe yourself a remedy for motion sickness in transport. You need to be especially careful when using these tablets for children. early age: Many of them are not intended for babies under 3 years old. Other funds - such as Bonin (USA) - should never be taken before 12 years of age.

How to prevent motion sickness in a child in transport?

To begin with, it is worth trying to prevent motion sickness of the child. To do this, you can have a few simple recommendations:

1. The vestibular apparatus can be trained. But, firstly, this does not help everyone. Secondly, it is a matter of time. In any case, regular swinging can help over time.
2. Do not feed your baby tightly before the trip. The food that the child consumes a few hours before he gets into the car should be light (fruits, liquid porridge) and not plentiful, since the more the stomach is filled, the more likely it is to vomit during motion sickness. Sugary carbonated drinks also aggravate motion sickness.
3. Be sure to choose for a child (and any adult who gets motion sickness) place in transport in the direction of travel- that is, the face should be turned in the direction where the transport is going. If you sit in a car or train with your back forward or sideways, this can greatly enhance the effect of motion sickness.
4. Many people no motion sickness in the front seat(whereas in the back seat they get really bad). If possible, place it in the front seat.
5. You should not give your child a book, toy or coloring book on which he will focus while driving- the object will inevitably sway in the hands and cause increased dizziness. It is better to focus your eyes on stationary things - for example, on the horizon line.
6. If you know that your child is getting sick in the car, try your best rid the interior of the vehicle of foreign odors. Sharp smells of gasoline, tobacco, perfume, food can provoke motion sickness. It can also lead to motion sickness heat inside the car, stuffiness. Thus, to reduce the symptoms of kinetosis:

• Do not smoke in the car, or carefully ventilate the interior
• Do not transport food with an intense smell in the cabin (sausage, fried meat, pickles, etc.)
• Do not use perfumes (perfume, cologne, etc.)
• Keep the cabin temperature as cool as possible and provide fresh air.

It should be noted separately that some people (both children and adults) do not have any means of getting rid of motion sickness (neither "folk" nor pills). In this case, it remains only to avoid long trips or put up with an unpleasant condition.