Jetlag & Motion Sickness pills

I take Ambien to sleep and ginger chew candies for motion sickness.

I hope you have a great trip!

My daughter has a problem with motion sickness and pills never helped her. On our most recent trip, to Costa Rica, she tried SeaBands, accupressure bands you wear on your wrists. They worked great -- in fact, she even wore them on the bus, on days when we were on the winding roads a lot. She doesn't plan to travel without them again. You can get them at pharmacies, as well as sporting goods shops (hers came from a dive shop).

"Motion sickness" pills work by a similar mechanism to benadryl... they basically work as an anti-emitic (anti-nausea) and a sedative. So, yes, if most people take an adequate dose, they do the job. If the problem is truly vertigo (which usually is a problem in the inner ear), motion sickness pills aren't as effective.

Jet-lag... everyone has found their own method that works best for them. For me, sleeping pill on the flight, meal, shower, short nap, stay active the rest of the day, then get a good first night of sleep. Realize that for most people, jag-lag is a fact of life and it isn't possible to completely avoid it. Your goal, however, should be to adequately plan for it (ie, don't go nuts sight-seeing your first day) and don't let it affect any more than the first day or two of your travel.

John,

I've used the No Jet Lag Pills on several occasions, but I'm still undecided on whether they actually work. At best I would say they help to minimize jet lag to some extent.

Part of the reason I don't have a definite opinion on these, is that I always forget to take the darn things on schedule. I'm usually busy watching the movie, "enjoying" airline food or chatting with other passengers.

I can't offer any comments on the Motion Sickness pills, as I've never had any problem with that so don't need pills.

Happy travels!

I've been suffering from extreme motion sickness for years, so I can definitely relate. I would definitely try a combination of Sea Bands and Dramamine. They've worked for me in the past.

The following is going to sound strange, but it works some of the time for me: When I'm feeling very, very queasy on a flight, for instance, if I'm watching something familiar/something that I love on my iPod, or listening to something, or reading something familiar, it can help calm me down to where I can relieve my motion sickness. It's not fool-proof, of course, but it does delay my reaction (ie, vomiting) sometimes. Just an idea (as I get motion sickness nearly 90% of the time if I'm a passenger in a car, or on a flight. It's awful.)

As for the jetlag, from this forum I've learned that you should sleep on the plane as best you can, don't nap when you arrive, and go to bed at a normal time for your new time zone. That's what I'll be doing - I'm doing my first Europe trip in late August.

My daughter has trouble with motion sickness riding in cars and on trains and prefers Bonine over Dramamine…apparently doesn’t make her feel as drowsy. She doesn’t experience motion sickness when flying, however. Danielle’s prescription for jetlag is spot on. Even though I may be feeling wiped out that first day, I’ll see some sights and keep going until normal bedtime that night. I prefer to stay in the city that I fly into on the first day. I’ve stepped off a plane and into a rental car or on a train before…too much after a long transatlantic flight.