We continue with our Babies special and more dedicated to travel by car with children. And as we have a son educated in responsibility, while we travel he tries to distract himself as he can without bothering us, waiting patiently for us to make a stop from the ones we had planned next to him, he tells us things along the way, he hums… And suddenly , we notice that he doesn't say anything anymore, that he is silent. How strange ... We ask him if he is well ... and although he answers us with a musty "yes" we find that his face has lost color.
He has become dizzy. And if we do nothing, we will end up vomiting, so even if we don't want to, we get nervous and we start to sweat while we wonder what we could do to avoid ... what ends up happening. Horror. The clothes he wears, to wash. And the upholstery, made a mess. And the poor kid, who does not understand what happens and has begun to cry like a cupcake. And we just left home, like who says. What a trip awaits us ...
How can we prevent the child from getting dizzy in the car?
What is dizziness and why does it occur
He kinetic dizziness or motion sickness It is a disorder caused in the system that regulates our perception of balance. When we get dizzy, we suffer an unpleasant sensation of instability that is accompanied by symptoms such as cold sweats, paleness, yawning, salivation, nausea and vomiting. Some of these symptoms, such as vomiting, are due to the nervous center that causes vomiting is located in the brainstem, very close to the organ of balance.
In itself, kinetic dizziness occurs when the information received by the central nervous system from sight, from the ear and from the musculoskeletal system does not block. The sensation of movement that comes from sight does not correspond to the sensation of acceleration that comes from the inner ear or the sensation of body position that comes from our bones and muscles, and this produces a loss of orientation and balance We call kinetic dizziness.
There are people more predisposed than others to kinetic dizziness. This derangement is uncommon in children under two years, due to the immaturity of your central nervous system, and sensitivity to dizziness usually decreases after 12 years, although there are people who beyond this age continue to get dizzy for life. It is also true that some emotional factors such as fear or anxiety may act together with the movement to promote an episode of motion sickness. In fact, it may even happen that if a child knows that he is prone to dizziness, he becomes more easily dizzy from suffering anticipatory kinetic anxiety, so tranquility It will be one of our best allies against dizziness.
Distract without paying attention
As the symptoms of dizziness occur gradually but are triggered very quickly, the ideal is fight the causes from the root. Therefore, if we know that dizziness is caused by an uncoordination between the various information provided by the eye, the ear and the musculoskeletal system, it is best to work so that this information is not so inconsistent.
Thus, it is usually recommended Let the child look towards the horizon through the windshield, by the front of the car, and if it can be with the head somewhat elevated, since this decreases the visual sensation of speed. It is also usually advised that the child does not look at a book or on a DVD screen, for example, since the fixed and focused gaze does not match the sensation of movement that the inner ear perceives. And there is also talk of making more stops of the account, on the one hand for the child to air and also for to move physically, which will put the musculoskeletal system in peace with the inner ear.
On the other hand, it is good that we encourage the tranquility of the child distracting him from the feeling of dizziness playing to have cars of a certain color or see-see, or to start singing ... whatever, less focus on dizziness. In general, these types of measures will help to prevent the child's dizziness, but they are not the only ones we can carry out.
Planning seasickness prevention
More than one thing we can do to prevent motion sickness begins before the trip, even much sooner. It is a matter of having them present.
If we carry the clean car inside, without strong odors of tobacco, food or even some air fresheners that can be frankly annoying, if we keep the cabin cool with the help of the air conditioning and if we open the windows from time to time to renew the air, we will be avoiding Good appearance of dizziness.
It is also often said that a light diet helps prevent dizziness. In general, avoid overloading the child's stomach before traveling. It is preferable to eat dry food and rich in carbohydrates and not take soft drinks or milk, and if during the trip the child is hungry we can give him some cookie or some bread stick, always in small quantity.
Further, with our driving style we can avoid dizziness ... or we can help it. In general, if we minimize the alternating sensation of acceleration and deceleration and if we are gentle with the controls, we will be avoiding dizziness. Faster speed, more smoothness. If we dedicate ourselves to accelerate strongly and then brake abruptly and suddenly releasing the brake we will sink the accelerator while we blow up… we better prepare for the worst.
And if all this fails ...
In case the child falls asleep, can wake up wanting to vomit, since the inconsistent information of sight, hearing and musculoskeletal system will have been uncoordinating to our child's organism during sleep. Therefore, this circumstance must be planned and prepared to help you if necessary.
Normally, we will have to carry water, wipes and some bags in an area near the child's seat. If we travel with him on the back of the vehicle, we must be prepared to act quickly, since the vomit may appear suddenly and precipitously, and if the child is older, we may have taught him to use a bag just in case.
On the other hand, when the child vomits he loses water and mineral salts, so it is advisable to rehydrate drinking sugary water at small doses, but frequent. In addition, the child will appreciate that we place a damp cloth on his forehead, which will refresh him and help him to have a bad drink.
And all, very calmly, that the nerves will only make the situation worse. After all, he is not to blame for getting dizzy in the car, and he is also bad.
The club detail
Sponsor:
At the Opel Meriva Baby and More Club, we propose a space to share ideas, experiences and promotions related to the car as a vehicle for the family. Stay tuned to this section and you will have access to all the information you need about children and babies as a decisive factor when buying a car. A page that aims to provide valuable content for all parents who are in the complicated situation of choosing a car. Good car to travel comfortable and safe with the little ones.
