Well after last week’s fairly intense post, today is on a much lighter note—and certainly less research intensive! For those of you who found the information especially helpful and wrote to tell me that, thank you! For those who want the ‘regular’ post content…here you are! It is a pleasure for me to serve everyone with information about homeopathy and how you can use it to keep your families healthy and well, in prevention and treatment.
I GET THE WINDOW SEAT!
Although today’s content may be lighter, it can be just as important if you or your kids or travel partner suffer with travel sickness.
As a child, we had many long road trips, travelling back and forth from Winnipeg to Weyburn, Saskatchewan. Imagine this if you can…four kids, one toddler, one dog, gramma Beryl, and my parents in a 6-7 hour car ride. The length of the trip was dependent on pee breaks, picnic lunches, gas stops, fan belt repairs, flat tires, and…which kid was feeling carsick. Fresh air often did wonders! So guess who got the window seat? The one who was likely going to get carsick. The window kid also had to share the wind and fresh air with the family dog, Herbie. Quite a ride!
Long before we set out on the highway, the shouts went up…I get the window seat! Of course, with only two windows and four kids, you can guess how the day went for my mom. God bless her. Not only did she nurse each one of us through infectious childhood illnesses, she made it through the annual summer holiday road trip! And she can still laugh about most of it.
There were times that my mom resorted to Gravol…blessed sleep, no carsickness/nausea, and a quiet drive. Travelling at night was another strategy, and I have to say that as a child, there was something quite magical about driving in the dark on a moonlit prairie night.
I also used Gravol when travelling with my own kids when they were very young. I knew of no other alternative as this was before my days of learning about homeopathy.
So today you can learn what I wish I had known in my early parenting years: there is an alternative to over-the-counter anti-nausea medications. Homeopathy has some brilliant remedies—single and in combination—to help with travel sickness whether by train, plane, bus, car, or boat. And who knows? The kids might even sleep!
TRAINS, PLANES, BOATS, BUSES, AND CARS
For the fast and easy route, which can be very effective in a pinch, keep a motion sickness combination remedy in your home and travel kit. Both Boiron and Hyland make one, and what do you know? Both have the same remedies in the formulation, just different potencies or strengths.
Boiron’s combination Cocculine
- Cocculus Indicus 4CH
- Nux Vomica (colubrina) 4CH
- Petroleum 4CH
- Tabacum 4CH
Hyland’s Motion Sickness
- Nux Vomica 6X HPUS – helpful for sour stomach and nausea that is especially worse after eating. The stomach feels bloated with a sensation of pressure.
- Tabacum 6X HPUS – for “sick” headache with nausea; may be accompanied by a sensation of dizziness. Vomiting may occur and is aggravated by the least motion.
- Petroleum 12X HPUS – nausea accompanied by a sensation of dizziness. Stomach has a sensation of heartburn. May be accompanied by belching.
- Cocculus Indicus 30X HPUS – is helpful for symptoms that include sensation of dizziness and nausea, especially while sitting up and riding. The nausea may be accompanied by faintness and vomiting or with hiccoughs.
FOR MOM HOMEOPATHS WHO WANT TO ‘GET’ THE SINGLE REMEDY
For those of you who are learning to exercise your ‘homeopathic’ muscles to find the best single remedy in an acute health challenge, here are some ‘keynote’ descriptions for the remedies most often used for motion sickness, whether you are travelling by car, boat, bus, plane, or train. Any time a rocking motion makes you sick, nauseous, or dizzy, there is a single homeopathic remedy that can match your very individual symptoms.
Cocculus
This remedy will cover any number of motion sickness scenarios from car rides to plane rides, and seasickness. Covers the following symptoms:
- Nausea.
- Vomiting.
- With seasickness, oddly enough, the nausea is better when closing the eyes. This is what we call in homeopathy a strange, rare, and peculiar or something that is characteristic about the remedy that you would match to the person who needs this remedy. They will actually tell you “Closing my eyes seems to make the nausea better.”
- Fear when riding in a car.
- Dizziness when riding in a car.
- Aversion to food and even loathing at the sight of food (think ocean cruise).
- Dizziness and nausea rising up from bed or from sitting.
- Loss of sleep (think weeks of preparing to leave on the trip and instead of sleeping, you worry yourself awake).
- Better lying in a warm room and lying quietly.
Tabacum
How will you know if you need Tabacum rather than Cocculus? It is the unique symptom of being better for fresh air. These will be the people who, rather than stay quietly in a warm room (Cocculus), will want to go on deck on a boat or have the windows wide open for air while driving.
- Dizziness on opening the eyes.
- Look like “death warmed over” with motion sickness-gray skin.
- Feel better in the open air and after vomiting. (Think ferries and boats—the people on deck vomiting over the edge… Not great for everyone around them but they sure feel better!)
- Deathly nausea with dizziness and vomiting that’s better with fresh air, and you’ve got the remedy you need for your sick travelling companion.
Nux vomica
You likely already have this remedy in your home kit. It is useful for so many acute illnesses from flu to hangover (really!) to constipation while travelling. Here are some important symptoms when choosing this remedy for a case of motion sickness:
- Nausea and vomiting after eating.
- Constant nausea. You might hear them say, “If only I could vomit, I know I’d feel better.”
- Sour or bitter burping.
- Rising of water and bile from the stomach (ugly burps).
- Can be quite irritable and crabby; not wanting to talk.
- Can be quite chilly.
Petroleum
How do you know if you need to give Nux vomica or Petroleum? This is called differentiating in the homeopathic world. Here are the symptoms of Petroleum:
- Good general remedy overall for nausea when riding in cars or boats.
- They can have a feeling of being drunk or intoxicated.
- Nausea that is worse with motion and dizziness.
- If the person is really sick with nausea and dizziness, they say strange things like, “There is someone in the bed.” And you know there is definitely no one in the bed with them!
Petroleum might be a good choice if there is nothing else to go on for symptoms and you have the person saying things like, “I’m seasick. Give me something.” This happens more frequently than you would like when you are the mom homeopath! Your homeopathic ‘muscles’ can get a workout another day and to save yourself some exasperation, a combination remedy might just do the carsick trick!
To buy your homeopathic motion sickness remedies—combination or single—check out Xerion Homoeopathie. And be sure to pick up some Mozi-Q for getting ahead of the mosquitoes this summer! Say good-bye to stinky repellent and hello to sweet prevention!
Have wonderful journeys this summer with family, friends, and companions!
