Travel Sickness

Q. We shall be doing a lot of driving through France on holiday and I am concerned about my seven-year-old boy who gets very travel sick. S. Higgins, Totnes


Dr. Guy Staight replies: Motion sickness is an unfortunate disorder which often seems to affect children. Thankfully there are a large number of preparations that help travel sickness which are available over the counter. Some will make your child slightly drowsy which may be helpful if you are travelling through the night and these usually contain Hyoscine. They are very effective and should be given at least half an hour before the start of a journey. If you would prefer your son to be more alert during the journey, then Cinnarizine 15mg (also known Stugeron) can be useful. This generally last approximately eight hours, so is perfectly acceptable for the vast majority of journeys. Both preparations are free of side effects and very safe.