Managing Motion sickness

 

Managing Motion sickness

I have had quite a few questions about motion sickness recently. Many people are doing some summer travel, but others have issues with this in their general day to day getting around. I did a post on this topic several years ago, but there are some new things to try, so I am updating and rerunning it. Here are some general facts.   Females are more likely affected than males.  People who suffer from migraines tend to be especially susceptible.  While the majority of people who have the most issues with this are between 2-12, some younger babies seem to have trouble as well. I know some unfortunate parents who have babies that vomit every time they go out in the car.   I feel the need to add that even for the kids who get carsick, I do not recommend forward facing car seats until kids are two. The risks of injury in case of an accident are too great.   If you know in advance that motion sickness is an issue, here are a few natural remedies that you may want to try. If you are someone who deals with this a lot, you will have plenty of car rides ahead to do your experiments and see what works for you.   Getting fresh air by having a window open is the first course of action. Do some distraction by playing a game that has your child looking out the window. Experts say to specifically look at the horizon. For those kids who are not super sensitive, you can play some 'I Spy' games. See if you can find interesting license plates or different colors or letters on signs. Don't sabotage your trip by bringing along trip activities that have your child focusing on things inside the car. Even the best passengers might be fine until they start reading or looking at a phone or map.   Most kids do best when their tummies are not too full or too empty. Little crackers to snack on might be useful.   There are wristbands that provide pressure to some acupressure points that seem to give relief. You can find these on Amazon; there are several brands. A popular one is called sea-bands. They come in multiple sizes and colors. Otherwise simply massage the wrist and lower arm area. The magic spot is located on the inner arm about 1.5 inches above the crease of the wrist, between the two tendons there.   There is a new generation of wristbands that emit an electrical impulse that may help with motion sickness. As a bonus, these may also be something to consider to help with morning sickness: Emeterm wrist bands   Ginger seems to be very helpful. For older kids, there is a ginger gum specifically made for nausea (also available on Amazon). Find your favorite ginger cookie or candy; Trader Joe's has a wide assortment. Of course don't give anything to a young child that might be a choking hazard. Check out ginger lollipops (often marketed towards pregnant women.)   Motion Eaze is a topical aromatherapy that some folks swear by. You just dab a drop behind the ears and it provides relief within a few moments. Don't do this one for the first time before you embark on a long car ride. The smell is fairly pungent and other folks in the car might have a hard time with it. If you prefer not to apply a scent directly, there are several essential oils that have been found to help with nausea. Peppermint, spearmint, ginger and lemon are all on the list. Consider letting your child choose the favorite scent. You can apply a few drops to a cotton ball and put it in a baggy. The kids can take sniffs whenever they feel the need.   Hylands,  Boiron and Natural care all make homeopathic motion sickness remedies. As with many homeopathic remedies, they get mixed reviews. Homeopathy does seem to be the ticket for some folks, and is unlikely to cause trouble as long as it is used as directed. It might be worth a try. My husband likes to cry "placebo." I say, "Bring it on, whatever works!"   MQ motion sickness patches More in the possible placebo category, these patches are for kids or adults, four and over. There are over 7 thousand four and five star reviews for these herbal patches, but the directions are clearly written in an "English is the second language" fashion. Based on the large number of positive reviews, I would have no trouble giving these a try.     Medications If you are going on a long car ride, plane ride or boat trip and you have struck out with the natural remedies there are some medication options. Benadryl is an antihistamine that often works quite well for motion sickness. It comes as a liquid. The bottle directions are for children over the age of 6, but most doctors are comfortable giving it to younger kids. The dose usually agrees with the tylenol dose volume. For instance, kids over 22 pounds would get 5 ml or one teaspoon. Always check with your own doctor's office to see what their policy is. Benedryl makes most kids sleepy, but don't count on that. It gets some kids hyper. You probably don't want to find that out on a cross country flight.   Dramamine is another choice. It is an over the counter medication specific for motion sickness. Children 2-6 years of age can take ½-1 tab; children 6-12 years of age can take 1-2 tabs. These chewable tablets can be repeated every 6 hours, no more than 3 doses in a 24 hour period. Start with the smaller dose first to see if it works. Giving the dose 30-60 minutes before travel is recommended. For kids over 6, Bonine is another reasonable choice. This medication can be given at the first sign of nausea and is less sedating.   For patients over the age of 12, if all else has failed, some people use a scopolamine patch. This is a much stronger prescription medication that I would never use as a first line drug. Some of my motion sensitive older patients have found these valuable for cruises. (Tuck this information away for the future when taking a cruise is not an absurd notion.)   Luckily, motion sickness is something that kids tend to grow out of except for an unfortunate few. If you or your child have chronic motion sickness issues, it can be eye related. Cover one eye for several moments to see if the symptoms ease. If this works, you may have something called vertical heterophoria. It is worth having a consult with an eye doctor. My favorite eye expert in this is Dr. Vincent Penza.   More and more experts are starting to pay attention to the connection: https://www.healthline.com/health/glasses-for-motion-sickness   Some people with chronic motion sickness have also gotten relief from chiropractic treatment and /or acupuncture   Regardless of what does and does not help your particular case, if you are on a car ride, assuming the kids are old enough to comply, have them try very hard to give you as much warning as they can. Ideally they should try to get in the habit of warning the driver at the first twinge of discomfort. The initial signs are usually paleness, yawning and restlessness. They may feel a little sweaty. This is quickly followed by nausea and vomiting. With enough warning you might have time to pull over and get them out of the car for a couple of moments until the motion sickness eases. Being stoic is not a good plan; it usually backfires.   In my car, I actually kept barf bags in the glove compartment. I used to collect unused ones from my airplane travels. They may come in handy. If you don't have an actual barf bag, have a container or plastic bag that you can whisk out at a moment's notice.   Your trunk should be prepared:   A change of clothes (don’t forget socks) A clean towel A plastic bag for putting the soiled clothes in Some wet wipes A lollipop to get the yucky taste away Febreze for cleaning off the seats (you will bless me) Extra water and hydration tablets (or pedialyte packets)   While kids are usually the ones most apt to barf in your car, motion sickness can afflict any of us at different times. I hope that some of these tips can help you out.   I remember my days as a carpool driver. One of my little passengers had Emetophobia (fear of vomiting) and would quite literally open the car door and leap out if anyone so much as made a gagging noise. It kept things interesting!

The magic and importance of play

 

The magic and importance of play

“Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning. But for children, play is serious learning. Play is really the work of childhood,” Fred Rogers, aka Mr. Rogers. Screen time is a fact of life for most of us. Don’t get me wrong, while I am well aware of the official guidelines, there is no judgement from me for families who get a bit too much. It is safe to say that my kids got WAY too much, but they also balanced it out with lots of play and crafts. This post is not about limiting screen time. It is about being mindful that you give your kids opportunities to play and use their imaginations the old fashioned way. My sister Marjie and I were less than 2 years apart. Amy was six years younger and sometimes would be allowed to join whatever activity we had cooked up. Thanks to Marjie’s over the top imagination we never were at a loss for odd games to play. The earliest one that I can recall was “Ann and Martha stick toilet paper on the wall” Marjie would show up in my room in the middle of the night and help me climb out of my crib. We would bring our dolls (Ann and Martha) into the bathroom where we would wet pieces of toilet paper until they would stick on the wall. I think we would tell stories about whatever shape they were. That game is actually one of my earliest memories, although the memories are pretty vague. My parents were oblivious to our night time activities. My mom always wondered about the scraps of toilet paper that she would find all over the bathroom floor, because of course, they would dry up and fall off the wall during the night. It wasn’t until years later when we were discussing childhood games in her presence that the mystery was solved. Another of the stranger games that I can recall all these many years later was ‘Crawl’. We would toss assorted clothes and ‘dress up’ costumes around the room, make the room pitch black and crawl around attempting to put on all the clothes that we came across. Shirts could become pants, underwear would go on the head. When the lights turned on we would crack ourselves up.  Marjie and I also created our own board games. They were convoluted and creative to say the least. These included  The Mahaly brain game (Our precursor to Trivial pursuit) The ‘low crotch game’ (this one had the loser run up and down our street wearing a pair of very low crotch pants that had shown up in a box of hand-me-downs The ‘Go Kiss my sister’ game (don’t even ask….) My mom watched with amusement, as long as we were safe, but there was one game that she absolutely hated that we referred to as “taste this” and which she ultimately banned. ‘Taste this’ was something we played when we were quite a bit older. It involved one person being blindfolded and the other players pulling out an assortment of various foods or condiments. The blindfolded person would choose a number 1 through 4. Each number corresponded with a mystery food that the person would need to taste and then try to identify. There would usually be one positive, two neutral, and one horrible choice. There was an element of honor involved. You absolutely had to taste whatever you picked...no cheating. Mom forbade us from playing the game following that one time when I was blindfolded and threw up all over the kitchen after making a poor choice and getting a heaping spoonful of mayonnaise in my mouth (you would have vomited too!) We made the mistake of telling our kids about this one, and poor mom had to deal with the generation of grandchildren playing ‘taste this,’ when the cousins would gather at grandma’s house. Lauren read this post as I was writing it and recalled getting a mouthful of coffee grounds, but on the other end, gave her cousin a spoonful of the liquid from a jar of gefilte fish. The game was banned yet again. No worries, the band of cousins created their own set of unique games. When my daughters were young and playing with each other at home, if there were any games that caused vomiting, they flew under my radar. I started thinking about all of this because the other day Sandy and I took a long overdue stab at clearing out the storage room behind our garage. Both my girls joined us in helping us decide what old toys and games were worth saving. What a trip down memory lane! There were bins of crafts, costumes, board games and well loved toys. Among the treasures is a huge bin of beanie babies with the tags still on. (One of these days we need to figure out if those are worth anything). There was a doll house that Sandy had made out of old wine crates. The walls were covered with wallpaper from a wall paper book and carpeted with remnants. That was a great project, but the house was a bit worse for wear from sitting in the storage room for 20 years, so it didn’t make the cut for things we are saving.  Some classic toys that survived their years in storage will now get to be played with again by little Elliot. So here is today's message. Please make sure that your kids have lots of opportunities to play, create their own games, and use their imaginations. If you don’t have a Marjie in your lives for whom no props were required, have some basics that games can be built around such as: a doctor's kit, a toy cash register, dolls or stuffed animals. The dolls that we made for our wine crate doll house were made out of pipe cleaners and felt. Expensive toys with lots of bells and whistles are not necessary. You can also get your kids started with some Improv games . Click the link in the last sentence for a list of these that my daughter Lauren, who is a teaching artist, complied at the beginning of the pandemic. If your kids don’t have siblings to play with, try to connect with other friends who have kids of similar ages. Once kids are older than 2 years or so, there is no real substitute from the learning and growing kids can get from interactive play.

Things we take for granted

 

Things we take for granted

The world is full of horrible things and fabulous things. The problem is that the horrible things are the ones that make all the noise, capture our attention and of course, catch the headlines. It is pretty easy to forget to notice the wonders that are around us. This week I was taking a walk and I decided to focus on, and give some appreciation for things that I often take for granted. I started with the fact that I can easily walk several miles. I am blessed that I am within walking distance of Golden Gate Park and that day my destination was in fact the botanical gardens. I went through the checklist of my senses. There was plenty of beauty to see. Along the way I couldn’t help but find joy at watching a dog deliriously playing fetch with a stick.  The flowers that I passed along the way were stunning. Each lawn was worthy of stopping and marveling at. The colors are miraculous.It got even better once I got to the park. If you are in SF, get over there (but beware of coyotes!) I could hear birds; I felt a nice breeze. I delighted in some fog, knowing that so many friends of mine have been struggling with heat and humidity. Next it was time to focus on smelling. I was sniffing and not smelling anything for a block or so. The first odor I was able to identify was cigarette smoke, courtesy of a guy who was sitting in a parked car. I was glad to have confirmation that my nose was indeed working. Happily, a block later that smell was replaced by the wafting aroma of baking cookies.  I confess that I usually don’t bother to pay attention to things that work the way they should. Like most people I only notice when they are broken or not working. It brought to mind a quick story of how we take things for granted. Many years ago, I was walking our beloved golden retriever Java. This was when she was pretty young and exuberant. I was holding the leash in a very foolish manner (I learned that lesson!) and it was wrapped around my little finger. As we were going down some steep steps, Java started to pull me, I jerked back and my pinky snapped. Ouch indeed! (For the record, finger and toe injuries are especially painful due to all the nerve endings) The reason that this tale of woe is at all relevant is to illustrate a point. I was much more impacted by a broken pinky finger than I ever could have imagined. I had never given much thought to this particular finger. Of course it was my right and dominant hand. Without the ability to bend that finger, I was not able to hold a pen, or more importantly since I was still actively working in my job as a nurse, I was not able to give shots for many weeks. Go ahead and try to pick up a pen and write something while your little finger stays straight, It doesn’t work. My double lesson today is first of all to be mindful of all the things that are working well. If you don’t have a headache, sore throat or congestion, hooray! Pay attention. We usually only notice when there is an issue. Secondly, if you are dealing with tough stuff as many of us are this year, don’t let the difficult things completely eclipse the lovely stuff that is still surrounding you. Listen to music, go someplace and be wowed by nature (the botanical gardens are a great option.) Seek out a delicious and comforting aroma; you can light a candle or even bake some cookies. The good stuff is easy to find, you just need to pay attention to it. It can be something as simple as taking a page out of my sister-in-law Barbara's book and grabbing a martini and watching reruns of the Big Bang Theory While you are at it, pay a bit of homage to that all important pinky!

July 4th 2021

Last year with the pandemic in full swing, the holiday was a bit quieter, but this year I see people slowly getting back to normal.

I am updating my old July 4th safety post. Most of these tips have kept their relevance. I have made notes where things seem like they need an update

The phone calls that I get following the July 4th holiday are fairly predictable so here are some tips that can help you all have a safe & healthy holiday weekend.

Since some of the holiday festivities may involve large crowds, I have some recommendations for dealing with situations where you might find yourself in a throng of people. Dress your child in bright clothes that stand out from the pack. Take a photo of them before you set out, so if heaven forbid you get separated, you have a current picture to pass around that shows exactly what they are wearing. Another sensible and creative idea is to write your phone number on your child's wrist and cover it with liquid band-aid to make sure it doesn't wash off. (2021 update - I personally still would not want to be in a large crowd of strangers, even outdoors!)

Make a solid plan with your older children. What should they do if they lose sight of you? Where should you meet up? This is a good time for the : 

Will it be loud? Loud music and fireworks can be damaging to your child's sensitive ears. Consider getting some ear protection if you are going to be someplace that can put hearing at risk:

How loud is too loud?

Please be very careful of fireworks. If you are skipping the organized shows and planning on setting them off yourself, make sure your kids don't have any access to the fireworks or matches ahead of time. Do an inventory and know exactly what you have on hand. Keep the kids at a safe distance during the actual fireworks. Have a bucket of water or a hose nearby. (2021 - with such a dry season PLEASE avoid setting off any personal fireworks!)

Try to keep your pets indoors with windows closed. There are items such as the Thundershirt or medications that you can give them if you know your animal has a tough time with the booms of fireworks. Stressed out animals need to be observed especially closely with any interactions with your children and babies.

(2021 - my poor grand-dog, Bowie who is an enormous fierce looking shepherd/husky mix, is absolutely terrified of fireworks and we will be dog sitting this weekend… wish us luck!)

If you are in San Francisco chances are you probably don't have to worry about the heat. When my kids were growing up, our July 4th fireworks watching usually included warm blankets, hot chocolate and lots of thick fog. I remember one year when Lauren was 3 or 4 and we were driving to a vantage point, she saw a traffic light through the fog. "Is that a firework? It's beautiful!" Ah, our San Francisco babies.

For those of you escaping the city make sure you stay well hydrated and protected from the sun.

Get in the habit of doing a skin sun exposure check at least every 30 minutes (more frequently for fairer kids) to see if it is time to reapply the sunscreen. Be very wary about applying any of the aerosol sunscreens around a heat source (like a grill.) These are flammable and there are horror stories out there about terrible burns that have occurred.

Sunscreen post

Let's move our discussion over to grills. I was watching the news and a story came on about the hazards of metal bristles coming loose from utensils that are used to clean your grill. These metal strands may get lodged into pieces of food. People have been reporting mouth injuries and worse. Happily, that is one call that I have never gotten, but it seemed like a caution worth sharing. Check your utensil brushes to make sure there is nothing loose. While you are at it, check the grill surfaces to make sure there are no pieces of any foreign objects that can get stuck in the food.

Make sure your child can't get anywhere near any type of grill. The danger begins from the moment you light it and are waiting for it to be ready, until long after the cooking is done and you are certain it is completely cool.

If you are cooking meat, make sure that it is thoroughly and safely cooked. Food borne illnesses don't just love under-cooked meat; other foods can transfer the bacteria also. Pay attention to any picnic foods that will be out of refrigeration for several hours:

Food Safety post

If your picnic/meal is outside and you will be spending time in grassy, wooded places, make sure you do a head to toe check for ticks once back inside:

Tick Post

Ticks are rampant right now. Finding them early before they have been attached for a couple of hours will vastly decrease any concern about disease transmission.

No, it is not okay to keep your child in bubble wrap; that isn't my intent. Go forth and have a festive, fun and safe holiday. Happy 4th of July!