The beautiful and enjoyable holiday is coming again, and many parents choose to travel by car. When it comes to taking your baby in the car, there's one problem that can be hard to avoid – motion sickness.
What should I do if my baby gets motion sickness? Can those motion sickness tips on the Internet make my baby use? Today we will share some content in this regard.
Why do you get motion sickness?
Dizziness, headache, nausea, vomiting and other phenomena caused by motion sickness, seasickness, and airsickness are called "motion sickness" in medicine. The cause is simply the difference between exercise and intended movement that stimulates the vestibule.
Motion sickness is thought to be related to the vestibule, the body's inner ear balance organ. Excessive sensitivity or underdevelopment of the vestibular organs can cause dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system, which can lead to motion sickness.
The vestibule is located in the inner ear and is an important organ for maintaining the body's homeostasis. When we exercise, the vestibule assists the human body in adjusting its posture during human movement through the feeling of the position of the human body, so as to achieve body balance during movement.
When the vehicle in which the person is riding suddenly starts, bumps in the run, brakes urgently, or participates in some spinning games in the playground, the person is in a state of "being swung", and the bump makes the vestibular organ feel left and right, constantly sending out chaotic signals to the brain, and the regulatory function of the inner ear cannot keep up, and the person will feel dizzy.
When sitting in the car, looking down at your mobile phone, reading the newspaper, or looking at the scenery outside the window, you are more likely to get motion sickness, because when you do these actions, your eyes will feel that things are constantly running back, but at this time, the vestibular balance feels that the body is moving forward, and the sense of vision and balance is conflicted, and the brain will feel confused, and after a long time, you will get motion sickness.
Motion sickness and nausea are essentially a form of physical stress self-protection. Some parents think that their children are still young, how can they get motion sickness? It's like the difference between drinking in moderation and in excess. When excessive alcohol consumption occurs, stimulating the body to vomit is to avoid the damage that the body continues to absorb. The same goes for motion sickness, nausea and vomiting, which is an early warning to the body, so as to avoid persistent irritation through vomiting.
How can I avoid motion sickness in my baby?
Motion sickness is a reaction that many people have, but children are more likely to get motion sickness than adults. This is mainly because the child's body has not yet matured, and vestibular development at this time is the root of motion sickness, so it is more sensitive to changes and stimuli in the outside world. In addition, it should be noted that the way the baby sees is also different during driving, because many babies like to lie on the window to look at the scenery outside, which may also be prone to motion sickness. This causes the visual balance to affect the stress response caused by the vestibule, which is why the phenomenon of motion sickness is caused. In adults, because of the sound development of the brain, the vestibular balance is better, and the visual development is more sound, the proportion of motion sickness is far lower than that of babies.
Here are a few things to keep in mind during the trip:
1. Keep the frequency of rest when driving by car
When the baby has symptoms such as restlessness, sweating, increased salivation, paleness, dizziness, nausea and vomiting, it may be motion sickness.
For babies who can't express themselves, often crying, irritable, unintentional play, pale, sweating, yawning, refusing to eat, vomiting, the best way at this time is to stop and let the baby get out of the car slowly. Let your baby get out of the car in a safe area and get some fresh air to get relief.
2. Eat regularly during the trip
Before departure, ensure that the child's diet is reasonable, simple and light-tasting food, try to avoid eating too full, too much, too greasy, avoid drinking carbonated drinks that are easy to produce flatulence, and do not drink too much milk, millet porridge and other liquid foods. During travel, be sure to eat on time to ensure energy and nutrition supplementation, to avoid hunger can lead to dizziness, cold sweats, palpitations and other symptoms, which will also aggravate the symptoms of motion sickness.
3. Prepare spare parts for the ride
Items can be prepared with candy, nuts, fruits, teethers, pacifiers, etc., to help the baby complete the stimulation of sucking or chewing, thereby improving the balance of the vestibule of the inner ear and also helping the baby to be distracted.
4. Don't read books, cartoons, or mobile phones
Parents or babies don't want to see these, some will say that the baby doesn't look at it, and it doesn't matter if parents see it. So what does the baby look at? The baby needs to be accompanied by interaction. So if you don't watch it, you don't want to watch it. Take the baby to see the distant scenery outside the window, listen to songs, sing songs, take the baby to walk around in the carriage to familiarize yourself with the environment, etc., will be distracting and avoid motion sickness because of watching fixed objects during exercise.
Whether it is easy to get motion sickness is affected by factors such as vision, individual physique, mental state, and objective environment (such as air odor). If there are elders in the family who suffer from motion sickness, it may also be inherited. Therefore, if the baby is on a long-distance trip for the first time, it is not sure whether the child will get motion sickness or seasickness, but there are family members who have motion sickness, and it is best to make some preparations in advance.
1. Prepare a vomit bag
On public transport, trains and airplanes are the most common places to prepare vomit bags. Attentive parents will see the disposable inner waterproof paper bag that will be prepared in the bag behind the table and chair. This is a self-cleaning protection for irritating the body to vomit during the operation of public transportation.
2. Prepare snacks
Snacks are not limited to sweets, nuts, etc., but also contain teethers and pacifiers. Many people think that eating some candy will improve just because of the sweet stimulation, in fact, the essential reason is because the human body can allow the tongue to participate in the rotation through sucking, so as to complete the stimulation of the vestibular system.
3. Prepare your mask
The smell stimulus mentioned above, for example, when a person smells a chili pepper and sneezes, it is a representative of an odor irritation. Preparing a mask for your baby can reduce nasal irritation in sealed spaces. For example, the smell of tobacco, perfume, fuel, etc., so as to avoid nausea and retching due to odor irritation.
4. Ensure air circulation
When you get motion sickness, let the air circulate in the space. For example, the air conditioner in the plane and train, such as the car sealing, turn on the air conditioner external circulation. These ensure the basic gas exchange, which allows air to circulate in a confined space and thus allows breathing to be unobstructed.
5. Ensure basic sleep
Some parents think that their babies don't sleep well the day before yesterday and can sleep in the car. However, such a problem may be that when the baby is not sleep-deprived, the likelihood of motion sickness symptoms will be higher, so it is recommended to maintain sufficient sleep before the ride to avoid the triggers that may cause motion sickness. Because of lack of sleep, the brain's ability to self-regulate decreases, and it is possible to sleep, or it is possible to stimulate the brain's emergency response and make motion sickness more likely to occur.
Behaviors that predispose to movement disorder:
1. Read a book while taking a public transport
Babies should try to avoid highly focused behaviors such as reading, looking at mobile phones, and looking at tablets when riding in the car. Viewing during exercise may trigger decreased vestibular neuromodulation, leading to motion sickness. In addition, during the ride, it is necessary to keep looking far away and not near, and looking at movement but not quiet. For example, look at the far end of the road in the distance, don't just stare at the road outside the car. For example, look at the dynamic car driving, don't look at the static roadside trees. Looking out the window allows the brain to determine the signals of the balance system, confirming that the body is really moving, and helping to resolve the incongruity that causes motion sickness.
2. Be cautious about using motion sickness medicine
Most of the ingredients in motion sickness pills have a sedative effect, which can cause damage to the body, especially the nervous system and digestive system. Motion sickness medication has the side effect of causing drowsiness because it has sedative ingredients, so it should be selected and taken under the advice of a doctor. Even adverse reactions suggest that a small number of users may also cause symptoms such as difficulty urinating and vomiting.
In addition, motion sickness medicine should not be taken at the same time as cold medicine.
3. Avoid riding on a full stomach
Before taking the transportation, you should avoid eating too greasy things, these foods containing high fat, fried, and oily foods will induce symptoms of nausea and vomiting, and these things are relatively slow when the stomach is emptied, which can easily lead to motion sickness. A little fruit or nut can be eaten, which stimulates the brain, vestibular balance, and maintains basic energy intake by chewing.
Can children use all kinds of anti-motion sickness tips?
1. Liquids such as cooling oil and wind oil essence
Conclusion - it can't work!
The main components of wind oil essence include menthol, camphor, eucalyptus oil, salicylate nail, paraffin and other components. Menthol, camphor, methyl salicylate.
Cool oil is a kind of medicine made with menthol, camphor, cinnamon oil, eucalyptus oil, etc.
Menthol has neurodepressant effect, has a certain neurotoxicity, overdose can cause serious adverse reactions such as respiratory arrest, and is not suitable for infants and young children.
2. Motion sickness stickers
Conclusion - it can't work!
The menthol in the motion sickness patch has the same content as cooling oil and wind oil essence, and it is also not suitable for infants and young children. And another problem with motion sickness stickers is skin irritation. Compared with cooling oil and wind oil essence, the irritated skin lasts longer, and the irritated skin is more likely to develop allergic manifestations. Therefore, motion sickness stickers are not recommended for children under 6 years old.
3. Motion sickness medicine diphenhydramine (representative)
Diphenhydramine hydrochloride is a first-generation antihistamine, which is used externally to treat insect bites, neurodermatitis, itching, a variety of skin diseases and motion sickness.
Diphenhydramine hydrochloride, in 2015, the FDA made it clear that it is not recommended for infants and young children under 2 years old.
4. Smell the orange peel
Orange peel can prevent motion sickness, mainly due to the aromatic substances in orange peel. Oranges, oranges, and lemons all contain these substances in their peels, and sniffing them can give you a pleasant and relaxing feeling. However, please note that this method is not suitable for all babies, and you can try it under the premise of safety. However, in essence, it cannot improve the state of motion sickness, and can only alleviate the physical sensation of motion sickness.
5. Ginger on the navel
Ginger has a pungent and warm taste, has the effects of dissipating cold, strengthening the spleen, relieving nausea and detoxifying, and is often used to treat nausea and vomiting in daily life. Moreover, ginger contains gingerol and gingerol and other ingredients, navel ginger can improve the performance of motion sickness, and there are no obvious side effects, which can alleviate motion sickness, seasickness and airsickness. However, it should be noted that ginger is not suitable for all babies, and you can try it on the premise that there is no allergic reaction to the skin. However, in essence, it cannot improve the state of motion sickness, and can only alleviate the physical sensation of motion sickness.
Sensory integration games to reduce the symptoms of motion sickness
Since motion sickness, seasickness, airsickness, etc. are related to the vestibule, the sensory integration training that has been very popular is said to improve vestibular function, is it possible to let the baby practice?
Sensory integration training is sensory integration training, which refers to the training based on the baby's nervous needs to guide the appropriate response to sensory stimuli, this training provides vestibular (gravity and movement), proprioception (muscle and sensory) and tactile stimulation of the whole body movement, its purpose is not to enhance motor skills, but to improve the brain's processing of sensory information and organization and constitute sensory information.
Although there is no data showing that sensory integration training can effectively improve symptoms such as motion sickness and seasickness, from the perspective of letting children exercise more and parents accompany their children to do some targeted parent-child games, some exercise games for vestibular function in sensory integration training are still very good.
Vestibular sense training can take place in the following three directions
1. Balance training: Balance training is one of the core contents of the vestibule. Through a series of standing balance and walking balance exercises, you can help your baby keep the sense of balance at the core.
There are several dimensions to pay attention to in balance training, which are up and down, left and right, and front and back. These three dimensions are indispensable to achieve a 360-degree balance between the top and bottom and a 360-degree balance between the left and right. For example, swimming training! under the action of water buoyancy and accessories (swimming rings, etc.). It allows the body to complete three dimensions of balance training, which is also one of the best balance training methods. Among them, shooting training, stepping on plum blossom pile training, balance beam training, kicking training, and rope skipping training are all methods of balance training
2. Eye movement training: Eye movement training aims to improve the coordination between the visual system and the vestibular system. This includes exercises such as fixing on a stable object, keeping the target fixed while the head is turned, and more.
Eye movement training is divided into eye tracking training and distance determination training. Eye-tracking training is the ability to track the eyeballs of moving objects. For example, in the trajectory of a table tennis ball, the eyes should be able to follow the ball to complete the eye rotation, so as to coordinate the visual system and the vestibular system. Judgment distance training refers to the determination of the distance between the body and the object. For example, the trajectory of the ball is used to determine the landing point, so that the visual system can determine and direct the body to hit or dodge.
3. Vestibular adaptation training: Vestibular adaptation training helps babies adapt to abnormal sensations caused by vertigo and improve their body's adaptability through a series of actions such as head turning, tilting and pitching.
After the first two physical trainings, the active conversion from static to dynamic is completed, so as to obtain the stimulation of the vestibular of the body. The third point of adaptation training is to complete the training under the premise of moving, the body is balanced, and the premise of visual coordination allows the body to adapt better. For example, during the swing swing, kick the balloon with your foot. Find a visual balance in the movement that moves in both directions. It's a bit like shooting at a moving target while a soldier is moving. Daily babies can complete training through ball games, such as catching the ball while running, the main ball, basketball, badminton, tennis, etc.
01
Vestibular balance training / Babies under 1 year old
Shake the ball
Suitable age: 3-12 months
Support: Dragon Ball
Training method: Let the baby lie down or lie on the big dragon ball, hold the waist on both sides of the body with both hands, and push the ball alternately forward and backward.
Key points of operation: the speed of the process before and after should not be too fast, especially when moving forward, the initial speed must be slow, and the baby can be moderately accelerated after adapting. If your baby is extremely frightened during the process, stop the operation immediately
Training duration: 2-3 times a week, 2-3 minutes per session
Push the ball on your stomach
Suitable age: 3-12 months
Props: Small leather balls
Training method: Mother and baby face each other at an interval of 30-60 cm on the mat, and push each other with both hands
Key points of operation: In the process of pushing the ball, it is necessary to choose a gentle ball, if the baby does not lie down, the mother should lie down to do a demonstration. Do not use too much force in the process of pushing the ball to avoid the danger of the bullet hitting the baby's face.
Training duration: 2-3 times a week, 2-3 minutes per session
02
Vestibular balance training / 1~2 years old baby
Bouncy jump
Suitable age: 1-2 years old
Support: Dragon Ball
Training method: The mother uses her legs to fix the big dragon ball against the wall, holds the baby and stands on the big dragon ball, and holds the baby's arms. Let the baby first learn to stand firm-stand upright - help the mother to jump 10 times in the big dragon ball.
Key points of operation: fix the big dragon ball with the knees, so that the baby can learn to stand well in the process of jumping, standing, from the main auxiliary to the secondary assistance, so that the baby gradually detached from the mother to rely on independent standing.
Training duration: 3-5 minutes 1-2 times a week
Slap the bath bomb
Suitable age: 1-2 years old
Training method: Find a bath ball and hang it with a rope, the height of which the baby can reach, and guide the child to hit the bath ball every day. If the baby is relatively capable, you can also guide the baby to pat in the direction of the parents
Key points of operation: When hitting the bath ball, it is necessary to guide the child to exert force correctly, either with both hands or with one hand. When slapping the ball, guide the child to use their dominant hand to pat the bath ball, then slap both hands at the same time, and finally alternate slapping with both hands
Training duration: 3-5 times a week, 3-5 minutes per session
03
Vestibular balance training / Babies from 2 years old
Timing grabbing
Suitable age: 2 years old and above
Support: Dragon Ball
Training method: Let the baby lie on the big dragon ball, you can put a basket in front of the big dragon ball, and you can put balls or cards in the basket. The mother holds the baby's ankle with both hands and pushes the ball forward and backward alternately. Have your baby push forward each time to take a ball or card from the basket
Key points of operation: the speed of the process before and after should not be too fast, especially when moving forward, the initial speed must be slow, and the baby can be moderately accelerated after adapting. If the baby is extremely frightened during the process, please stop the operation immediately. Objects can change from large balls to small balls, from three-dimensional balls to flat cards.
Training duration: 5-10 minutes 2-3 times a week
Elephants go in circles
Suitable age: 2 years old and above
Booster: Foil (Animal)
Training method: The baby stands on the floor, put 4-6 flashcards around him, the baby begins to turn in circles after the mother claps, the mother stops clapping, and the baby stops where the card is what makes the baby say the name of the animal
Key points of operation: The baby can start to rotate with both hands freely, and can choose behind his hands without dizziness. The mother claps her hands to control the rhythm and the baby's rotation time, which can be from short to long. When the baby has vertigo, he can switch positions with his mother to play the game.
Training duration: 5-10 minutes 2-3 times a week