jpatokal

A few weeks ago, we took jpatokal jr jr on the plane for the first time. Five hours into a ten-hour flight, with no warning at all, he vomited (and spectacularly, not a little milk burp). A week later on the way back, despite being careful not to overfeed him etc, he did it again. On both occasions, it happened after the plane hit a tiny bit of turbulence and we were instructed to lift him out of the bassinet where he'd been sleeping happily.

We're fairly sure this is specifically about planes, since he's never vomited before, between the flights, or since, nor do we have any reason to suspect ear infections, gastro, etc. He had his 6-mo checkup shortly after we returned and passed with flying colors. He's also completely OK with boats and cars, including twisty mountain roads, and he's eating solids happily.

Unfortunately we've got the same pair of flights coming up again 3 months' time, and this time one of them is a daytime flight, which is likely to be even worse.

So, without further ado, how do we stop him from throwing up next time he's on a plane? I'd definitely be open to (real) medication, but no homeopathic hoo-ha or anything lacking actual evidence of effectiveness.

icedancer

Love your bluntness about this!

Is ginger tea homeopathic hoo-ha? Perhaps you could give him some lukewarm in a bottle, although it's not the most pleasant-tasting thing, IMO.

Eclipsepearl

To be frank, if the ped's not worried, I wouldn't be either.

So he threw up once on each of two flights? That's really not a big issue. If he went into a series of uncontrolled vomits and dry heaves, yes, I'd be concerned.

Often babies and children threw up during turbulence, sometimes on take-off and a lot during landing. The ever-dreaded "holding pattern" was the worst. Luckily, it didn't happen often but miserable for anyone who even mildly gets air sick. I always told them, sit up, look forward, breathe and try to stay calm (with a plastic bag on the ready). Not easy instructions for the diaper gang!

Mine are very motion-sickess prone. Apples don't fall far from the tree and I was bad as a child. My middle child, I swear, you only had to show her a picture of a car and she'd start. She was better about flights than in the car. Partly, I credit the fact she was never a lap baby. She had her own seat from birth and I think sitting upright, staring ahead, helped. Who knows?

Babies do throw up more easily than adults do. I know I have to be really sick for anything to come back up. But babies can be like cats (which you'll understand if you ever had a cat!) Like cats, I think it's a protection mechanism that's at work. Your ped will confirm that the risk of throwing up in infants is dehydration and a one-off incident won't put your little one at risk.

I never found any "natural" remedies that worked. Some just didn't taste good. She refused to wear the bands (especially since they weren't small enough for her wrists). Because of concern about regulation and ingredients, I never gave my children homeopathy.

I was just one of those parents who always had a bottle of water, a few plastic bags and at least one change of clothes, on the ground or in the air. Ziplock bags are good for really sealing in the odors and wetness of the mishap. I never managed to get mine to throw up in the ziplock. A regular bag worked better than that (and certainly not those fiddly air sickness bags in the seat pockets!)

Just a friendly reminder my former coworkers would appreciate that I passed on... Please don't hand any vomit-related material to a Flight Attendant. Hygiene regulations mean they can no longer serve food and drink. It can be disposed of in the lavs, not in the galleys (different trash handling). Your crew may prefer that it go in a "bodily fluids" bag so you may want to ask. Throw it in the trash only if you think it won't create any smell and that you can send it down the chute (like sealed in the ziplocks).

If it happens on landing, I'd have the passengers simply bag it and leave it in the seat. I'd then signal to the cleaning crew what and where. Other airlines have different procedures but we did this mainly to get everyone off quickly. No ground staff were allowed on board (except GA's) if any passengers were still on board.

jpatokal

Thanks for the FA tips. I'm not really concerned about the baby's health: this is our 2nd child so we've already learned that puke happens, and it's quite obviously only motion sickness. It's just a serious nuisance to have to deal with a pukey baby on a plane. Since he's only 6 months old, there isn't really any time to dig up bags etc: one moment you're holding a happy baby, the next you've got technicolor yodel all over your clothes, seat, floor, etc.

I've seen ginger come up a lot in the folk remedies column, but I've been unable to scrounge up any scientific evidence that anything short of actual drugs works. This includes those vaunted accupressure bracelets, which won't even have a placebo effect on a baby. And as for homeopathy, this pretty much sums it up.

Eclipsepearl

Since she's only 6 months, you may want to hold off on the solids for the flight. I didn't start solids with my two girls until 7 1/2 months, due to a lot of reasons. Easier when it's just milk coming up and she doesn't need solids at this young age. It was hard since I didn't have the luxury of having the other parent with me and later one and two other small tots as well.

We just dealt with it. I was just ready at any moment for the volcano. Luckily, she slept well and on flights, she'd be fine in her car seat. With a lap baby, be sure to have the car seat at the gate and see if you can score a free seat to use on board. I think it will help.

It's hard when they're awake and want to crawl around. Also, if with lap babies, even with a bassinet, since they have to be removed in turbulence.

mkbkk1

My younger son has been vomiting since he was a young baby. Whenever we traveled long distances (6 hrs plus) we realized too late that his crying meant vomit was coming up. Took about our 4th car ride home to in-laws to rule out everything out. There's a couple stretches where the road was curvy/bumpy so then we went an alternate route. When we fly he's been my vomiter. Sigh. Imagine our transcon flights-it's not fun. He's so used to it now that he'll tell me since he recognizes the nausea and has been telling me since he was two. He's 5 yrs old now. I'm always prepared. When he was little I had those baby bibs that has arms and a catch-all pocket in front for the first projectile when you least expect it. I used the kushies brand. Bought a few. I had about 10 gallon size ziploc bags, handful of plastic shopping bags and stack of vomit bags from the airline. The vomit bags went into the ziploc bag. The soiled clothes went in another. All garbage collected into shopping bags. Wipes, extra clothes within reach. The bib goes into a bag until you get a chance to rinse it meanwhile you've got another one on hand. Don't forget clothes for parents. Use those disposable paper diaper change liners to drape over your lap, another one on baby's lap if you observe signs of fussiness. Hard to keep liner on fussy baby so maybe have something at the ready. Oh-another liner to protect car seat if you have one. If vomit gets on it then it'll be wet and uncomfortable. Tried the ginger only recently but he hates the taste. To answer your question specifically, a friend suggested Kids Dramamine. I would of course suggest you check with your pediatrician. I've actually tried it for a car ride and it didn't help (road especially bumpy) but on two other rides it seemed to help. I've used less than the recommended dosage because I'm not into medicating if possible but will have it for our next trip. Btw-I suspect but do not have anything to support it that the air pressure and any congestion/ear pressure creates an imbalance or vertigo feeling/nausea and vomiting in some kids. We've been in only one really high turbulence flight and he was ok. Even though baby may not be congested you might want to check with pediatrician what to give prior to flight if appropriate. Also in three months time maybe it'll be a different experience.

mkbkk1

My younger son has been vomiting since he was a young baby. Whenever we traveled long distances (6 hrs plus) we realized too late that his crying meant vomit was coming up. Took about our 4th car ride home to in-laws to rule out everything out. There's a couple stretches where the road was curvy/bumpy so then we went an alternate route. When we fly he's been my vomiter. Sigh. It's not fun but he's so used to it that he'll tell me since he recognizes the nausea and has been telling me since he was two. He's 5 yrs old now. I'm always prepared. When he was little I had those baby bibs that has arms and a catch-all pocket in front. I used the kushies brand. I had about 10 gallon size ziploc bags, handful of plastic shopping bags and stack of vomit bags from the airline. The vomit bags went into the ziploc bag. The soiled clothes went in another. All garbage collected into shopping bags. Wipes, extra clothes within reach. Don't forget clothes for parents. Use those disposable paper diaper change liners to drape over yours or baby's lap if you observe signs of fussiness. Tried the ginger only recently but he hates the taste. To answer your question specifically, a friend suggested Kids Dramamine. I would of course suggest you check with your pediatrician. I've actually tried it for a car ride and it didn't help (road especially bumpy) but on two other rides it seemed to help. I've used less than the recommended dosage because I'm not into medicating if possible. It helps that you both are traveling with him and can tag team. Good luck!

lost*in*cyberspace

I have read that usually infants do not suffer from motion sickness. If a baby does have it, I'm surprised he or she got it on a plane. Some suggestions at the link below:

http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/yellowbo...otion-sickness

mkbkk1

Agree. In our case my son did have extremely enlarged adenoids according to 3 specialists which accounted for a lot of health issues and potential dev. Issues. The infections, sinus issues, cabin pressure, ear conditions etc (unavoidable traveling) created nausea and vomiting. We found this out only by chance when we had an X-ray done for something else. We waited till he was two b/f we did surgery and would've waited longer but it wasn't an option. Given our relocation overseas we wanted U.S. surgeon.

aBroadAbroad

Studies on ginger are inconclusive, at best, which in invariably translates into "not more effective than placebo" in terms of reliable science, so it's probably more woo than fact. Also, ginger can cause gas and other GI distress, which would be somewhat counterproductive.

Two instances of vomiting could be nothing more than coincidence, especially at this age, and particularly if your son doesn't experience a problem in other situations, i.e., carsickness.

That said, there are no effective meds that would be advisable in such a young child, and certainly not for something that is essentially nothing more than a nuisance. Fortunately, he'll be a toddler before you know it... if after reaching age two it turns out he's reliably motion sick, you might try a mildly sedating Benadryl-type antihistamine.

jpatokal

My sympathies, but as said, we have no reason to suspect this was anything but motion sickness. He's built like a six-month-old tank and, aside from a runny nose once (and those two out-of-the-blue plane pukes), he has quite literally never been sick in his life.

My wife checked with our pediatrician the other day, and as expected, scopolamine, antihistamines etc are not recommended at this age.

Eclipsepearl

So glad that I wasn't the only parent who has suffered!!!

We once had a car ride. Oops. First child. Stop. Clean up. Keep going... Oh no! Second child. Stop. Clean up again. On the road again and guess what??

I also spent my 40th birthday, pregnant, on the side of the road, in the snow, digging through the suitcase for ONE pair of tiny socks (procreated late). I had thought ahead to put a change of clothes on the ready but forgot the socks.

With that visual, you don't need to make the same mistake (especially on a plane where you can't get to your bags!!) Complete change of clothes, on the ready!

Seems that at the age we can give them something, that's when they outgrow it. Even my middle volcano baby outgrew hers'. A few years later, I sent her on a bus for a gymnastics competition in the South of France (8 hour ride) without hesitation. Felt like the end of an era...

mkbkk1

^