Dr. Richard Lampe offers tips to avoid travel sickness

• By KCBD Newschannel 11. Karin McCay, Anchor
• April 6, 2017

LUBBOCK, TX (KCBD) -

With Spring Break coming up next week, you may be packing for a road trip and hoping that someone in the family doesn't get car sick.

Dr. Richard Lampe, a pediatrician and Texas Tech Physician, suggests rather than planning a food stop after you get on down the road, begin your trip AFTER eating something.

He says, "Never start hungry. Light food will work. Snacks, a cheese sandwich, ginger snaps may be an alternative."

Ginger has been a home remedy for motion sickness for centuries. It may not work for everybody, but it's cheap, especially in the form of ginger snap cookies.

As for air travel, Dr. Lampe says there are simple tips to help ease ear aches at high altitudes.

He says, "For a young baby, a pacifier to swallow because that process of swallowing opens the Eustachian tubes if there are some middle ear issues."

For older kids, he says chewing gum is good therapy in making a child swallow to open those tubes and lessen the pressure during a flight.

If you are planning international travel, Dr. Lampe suggests checking with the Texas Tech Travel Clinic. He says they have a lot of information that can help you prevent travel issues while abroad. Or he says you can always go to the CDC website to see if there are any vaccines recommended for the country you plan to visit.