(Provided photo)

Prior to holiday trips by car, plane, train or boat, I find many parents traveling to my office with lots of questions about motion sickness with the hope that this problem can be prevented before it is too late.

Well, I don’t want any parent or child to get sick to their stomachs waiting for answers to these questions, so let me provide some information on this sometimes nauseating topic.

Motion sickness is usually the result of a conflict between the eyes and the ears. The inner ears will detect that a car is moving, and the eyes fixed on a stationary object in the car do not. The brain is unable to get these two signals together, surrendering with dizziness, nausea, and eventually the vomiting we call motion sickness.

The good news is that the best defense against motion sickness is a good offense!

Here are some of my suggestions to prevent motion sickness from occurring: 1. Make sure your child sits forward and is positioned properly in their car or booster seat to see outside. This way they can focus on distant objects rather than close scenery.

2. Do not have your child try to read or play video games in the car. Instead, use books on tape or music that your child can sing or listen to rather than use their eyes.

3. Keep a window slightly open and avoid strong smelling foods or tobacco smoke exposure in the car so your child doesn’t get more nauseous.

4. Try to keep something in your child’s stomach but not too much. Over or underfeeding can lead to motion sickness. Therefore, it is a great idea to make frequent stops for your child to exercise, eat a snack and move around.

5. If these approaches do not work, there are over-the-counter medications that may. These medications must be given prior to embarking on a trip and may make your child sleepier than they, or you, would like them to be.

6. If your child says, “Stop the car, I’m going to be sick,” I would do just that rather than see what comes up next! Do not get angry at your child if they do experience motion sickness. They have no control over this and cannot help what is happening.

Hopefully tips like these will stay down with you and your child when it comes to preventing them from experiencing motion sickness.

——

Lewis First, MD, is Chief of Pediatrics at the Golisano Children’s Hospital at UVM Health and Chair of the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Vermont’s Larner College of Medicine. You can also catch “First with Kids” weekly on WOKO 98.9FM and MyNBC 5.