Motion Sickness: Acupressure wrist bands to the rescue!

Are you one of those people who do not enjoy travelling simply because ‘movement’ makes you sick? Do winding roads and Ghat Sections make you dread those trips to...
acupressure wrist band - seaband2

Are you one of those people who do not enjoy travelling simply because ‘movement’ makes you sick? Do winding roads and Ghat Sections make you dread those trips to breathtaking hill stations? Do you hate having to pop those pills just before you set out on a road trip or a flight? I might know of something that could beat that nausea – the acupressure wrist band.

I’ve been waiting a whole year to tell you all about this. Last summer as we were getting ready for our holiday to Hawaii, hubby’s eye fell on something called Sea Band* when he’d gone to pick up some medicines.

These were acupressure wristbands that promised to relieve motion sickness without any kind of side effects. All you have to do is put on the bands and position it in such a way that the convex side of the plastic stud on the band rests on a certain point (Nei Kuan point) between your wrist tendons. It sounded perfect for our toddler who has motion sickness. So we thought we’d give it a try. He had it on for the whole of the trip – through those drives through the hills and valleys, and curving roads of Big Island. Since then, we’ve never left home without it.

If only we’d known about this band earlier! The kid has always loved travelling and going on drives, and all was well during his first year. But when he graduated from the rear-facing infant seat to the front-facing child seat, all hell broke loose. Motion sickness took over and insisted on accompanying us on our trips and since then, there’s been a lot of Β throwing up. I’ve lost count of the times I’ve had to clean his car seat. I even have a long history of having to do some quite-embarrassing cleaning up at restaurants (after long drives), once outside a winery, at a Safeway store and a whole lot of other places.

I don’t say the Sea band eliminated all of the vomiting but it has made our trips a whole lot better, such that it has become something I’ll never travel without. I would like to note that it was not enough for sea sickness – it didn’t work on a whale-watching adventure we went on last November and there were a few other times when there were little accidents simply because the small white stud was not in the right place. But in the past year, we’ve had many a pleasant and un-eventful (read puke-free) drive and we are happier for it.

They say the effectiveness of the acupressure wrist band (you’ll find other brands too) differs from person to person. If you are suffering from nausea of any kind (both adults and children can use it), I suggest you try this. In the last year, I’ve seen this band to be up to 95 per cent effective and for me that is a really big deal.

acupressure wrist band

These acupressure wrist band (s) have been such a blessing for us, so much so that I swear by them. I hope it works for you too.

Travelling with kids who have motion sickness is not easy. Here are some other things we take care of, that might be of some help to you:
  • Avoid milk products before/during the trip
  • No hot dogs, corn dogs sausages, even egg before or in between a road trip (even if it is a small drive)Β 
  • Preference – easily digestible food
  • We always carry paper towels (Bounty, another of my favourite products), a box of plastic bags Β and air freshener– just in case.
  • To make sure you don’t have dirty clothes, use mealtime bibs (the ones with the catch-all pockets) if you can. After having tried the regular vinyl bibs, we moved to the rubber ones. They are more sturdy, thicker and more durable. Squish a sheet or two of thick paper towels into its pocket and you are good to go. You don’t have to worry about pulling over by the side of crazy, busy (and obviously dangerous) freeways if there’s been a bout of throwing up. The towels can handle the situation for a few minutes – till you reach the next exit or find your way into a parking lot on a highway-side mall.
  • Keep the kid happy and distracted from the thought of throwing up. We use children’s music, a few toys and trying to make regular conversation with the little one in the back seat. And it goes a long way, believe me.

*There are other acupressure wrist bands in the market. I talk of the Sea-Band only because I have tried this and found it to work. This post is purely for your information. I HAVE NOT tried any of the other brands that this product comes in. If and when I do, I shall leave a note here.

You might also want to read – Tips and tricks for road trips with toddlers

*This post has some affiliate links. We may earn a commission from certain qualified products,Β at no additional cost to you.Β 
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Tips and TricksTravelling with kids

Dee (Divya) Blogger, Freelance Content Writer & Content Strategist. πŸ“Έ Loves tripping.πŸ›£ Tipsy from every TRIP!😬🫣 🏞Follow > for intoxicating virtual trips!πŸ₯‚πŸ˜‰
55 Comments on this post.
  • R.Ramakrishnan
    26 July 2012 at 1:49 am
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    This is a good piece of information. Hope it works equally effectively on adults too:)

    • dNambiar
      26 July 2012 at 5:47 am
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      They say both kids and adults can use it. I think it'll help adults too.

  • AmitAag
    26 July 2012 at 5:26 am
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    Nice piece! Informative and interesting..thank you Divya:)

    • dNambiar
      26 July 2012 at 5:50 am
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      I hope it will be of use to people who suffer from motion sickness.
      Thank YOU. πŸ™‚

  • saikat mbka ghosh
    26 July 2012 at 6:31 am
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    wow,,my mom suffers from this nauseating illness when ever c travel by road…nice crisp information..wll try out ..:)

    • dNambiar
      26 July 2012 at 6:43 am
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      Please do, Saikat. You should find acupressure wrist bands in medical stores. If not, I'm sure you'll find them online. I hope it will give her some relief.

  • R Niranjan Das
    26 July 2012 at 8:37 am
    Leave a Reply
    • dNambiar
      26 July 2012 at 4:47 pm
      Leave a Reply

      Pass it on, ok. πŸ™‚
      House of Royals? I'm coming by to read that.

  • Bikramjit
    26 July 2012 at 9:55 am
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    hmmm that is a good one ,and i bet it will help a lot of people, thankfully I am fine to travel but i got a couple I know who dread going on a drive, Will forward this info to them for sure.. thanks

    Bikram's

    • dNambiar
      26 July 2012 at 4:49 pm
      Leave a Reply

      Please forward it. πŸ™‚ I'm sure it'll of great help. It's been a big relief to us.
      Thanks Bikram.

  • Rahul Bhatia
    26 July 2012 at 10:00 am
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    Thanks, Divya for sharing this nice information. One keeps learning all the time:)

    • dNambiar
      26 July 2012 at 4:51 pm
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      This is news to a lot of people. I wish I'd known about acupressure bands much earlier. πŸ™‚

  • jaish_vats
    26 July 2012 at 10:41 am
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    Very useful piece of info . Whenever I had to travel in ghat section I have a few nutrine orange toffees with me . They r quite effective πŸ™‚

    • dNambiar
      26 July 2012 at 4:53 pm
      Leave a Reply

      I've heard that lemons help. Orange toffees work too? Do you have to keep chewing on them?
      Thank you for that info, Jaish.

  • Kishan P
    26 July 2012 at 1:23 pm
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    Ah! I should buy one for my wife…If I can find it in India πŸ˜›

    • dNambiar
      26 July 2012 at 4:58 pm
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      You should pick it up. I hope it's just as effective. I'm sure you'll find them online. I hear they come in straps too (like the watch straps; haven't tried those, tho')

      Hey Kishan, if you find them in your online search, could you put in a link here. It would be of great help, I'm sure.

      Thanks Kishan.

  • magiceye
    27 July 2012 at 12:43 am
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    Aah travel travails attacked effectively! Very useful info indeed.

    • dNambiar
      27 July 2012 at 7:08 pm
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      Motion sickness can make travelling so unpleasant, right? These acupressure bands have been very useful to us. And not many people know about this.

  • Rachna
    27 July 2012 at 6:17 am
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    Never heard of these. I wonder if you can find these in India! Great information.

    • dNambiar
      27 July 2012 at 7:12 pm
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      It was just by chance that we came across this bands. It has made travelling so much more better. I thought more people needed to know about this.

      It might be available online. I hope it is.

  • Ghazala Hossain
    27 July 2012 at 12:54 pm
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    I am fine with motion but my son kind of hates it πŸ™‚
    Thank you for informing~

    • dNambiar
      27 July 2012 at 7:22 pm
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      Same here, didn't know what motion sickness was, until 2 years ago. I wish my little one didn't have it too.

  • TTT
    27 July 2012 at 2:20 pm
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    wow … i suffer from motion sickness while travelling . I have tried lemon …avomin tablet…and god knows what else! I will definitely try this band . Already searching online to check out if i can get one πŸ™‚

    • dNambiar
      27 July 2012 at 7:27 pm
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      Oh No! Now I know how horrible it is, I'm so sorry. Try this one TTT, I really hope it works, then you can do without medication. The only thing you have to be careful about is placing it properly (it'll be in the instructions)for it to be effective.

  • Shrinidhi Hande
    27 July 2012 at 2:42 pm
    Leave a Reply

    never felt the need for these things

    • dNambiar
      27 July 2012 at 7:29 pm
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      You're lucky, Shrinidhi It can be sickening. It takes the fun out of travelling.

  • umashankar
    27 July 2012 at 4:04 pm
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    For a moment you almost sounded like a salesgirl for that band but you do have genuine reasons to promote it! πŸ˜€ There is a highly effective homoeopathic essence for motion sickness. Do try it out. Thanks for the tips in the box and all the best to your kid!

    • dNambiar
      27 July 2012 at 7:54 pm
      Leave a Reply

      I do sound like one, don't I? πŸ™‚ They owe me a little something for this ;).

      The kid loves going out. And he would throw up even if we were just going to a store down the street. It was really bad. These things have made life so much better, especially because I try to avoid medicines as much as I can. I've found that few people know about this. I was hoping that this would be useful info for people who 'suffer' from this.

  • debajyoti
    27 July 2012 at 8:23 pm
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    i felt, i am reading someone else's blog or may be a product site. moreover, i read Uma's comment before reading your post :D. i have to disagree with him, you didn't sound like a salesgirl, it was more like a homeshop 18 ad (at least the first paragraph). however, as i read the entire post, i realized the importance of this post. many of us suffer from motion sickness and if these bands are available in India, it would be a great relief for all of them (my mom would be the happiest person on earth because she suffers from car sickness, airsickness etc).

    as usual, i was simultaneously going through wiki pages while reading your post and i learned that nausea in Greek means seasickness (either i didn't know this or i didn't remember)!!!!

    great tips Nambiar!!

    • dNambiar
      27 July 2012 at 11:00 pm
      Leave a Reply

      haha! Yeah, it seems like a product promotion, right? πŸ˜€
      I just had to include the brand name only because I've used only this one brand's bands. So I didn't think it was fair to generalise. Like I say at the end of the post, if I try something else, I'm thinking I should include info about that in this post. Maybe when this one wears out…

      Gosh yes, Motion sickness is real suffering. It can leave you drained; and how much of travelling can you avoid, yeah! Let me know if you find something online, ok. Would love to hear about that. I'd would be of great help to the 'our-brothers-and-sisters' who stumble upon this post. πŸ™‚

      You impress me,Deb. I love how you make a learning experience out of everything. Oh, so 'nausea' is from Greek? Thank you for sharing that info. See, now I learnt something. πŸ™‚

  • Panchali
    27 July 2012 at 9:32 pm
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    Oh, I was not aware of these sea-bands! Do we get them in India…?? If yes,a lot of people will find it useful.Thanks for the tips, Divya.

    • dNambiar
      27 July 2012 at 11:35 pm
      Leave a Reply

      I'm not sure if you get them in India. I tried looking it up online but because of the location-specific search results, I still get info about the bands in the US market, (even when I add 'India' to the search :(). I looked it up on Junglee and found only what looked like plain wristbands ie. without the stud that presses onto the point that's supposed to arrest nausea.

      I'll keep looking. If I find something, I'll let you know. Have a great weekend.

      Btw, when do we get to read the Andaman stories? πŸ™‚

  • Meoww
    30 July 2012 at 6:34 am
    Leave a Reply

    I am going to suggest this to my cousin in Singapore. She would find it really useful for her child.

    Thanks for visiting my blog and hope you got mehndi on your hands. I also miss the summer ritual of mehendi on my hands… It is not yet available in Seoul… πŸ™ And i do get my ideas from mehendi designs too πŸ™‚

    • dNambiar
      30 July 2012 at 11:59 pm
      Leave a Reply

      Please do. It's painful to watch kids get sick.
      I hope it works just as it does for us, or better.

      Mehendi designs should be picking up inspiration from your artwork. πŸ™‚

  • Richa
    30 July 2012 at 8:08 am
    Leave a Reply

    I usually have motion sickness on winding roads and all I do is suck a peppermint between clenched teeth. I wish I could lay my hands on one of those bands if they really do work!

    • dNambiar
      31 July 2012 at 12:04 am
      Leave a Reply

      Peppermint's good too? Thanks for that piece of info.

      I've found it to work if the pressure is applied on the right point. You've to take care to place it properly. You'll find instructions in the box.

      Try it out. Would love to hear if it's been just as effective for you, Richa.

  • P.N. Subramanian
    2 August 2012 at 10:07 am
    Leave a Reply

    It must be a wonder gadget but is it available in medical stores here in India?

    • dNambiar
      2 August 2012 at 11:33 pm
      Leave a Reply

      I'm not very sure of that. I'm thinking you'll be able to find some brand of these bands online, at least.

  • Come At Me Bro
    2 August 2012 at 10:01 pm
    Leave a Reply

    This is great!

    • dNambiar
      2 August 2012 at 11:33 pm
      Leave a Reply

      Isn't it? πŸ™‚

  • ashok
    3 August 2012 at 5:08 pm
    Leave a Reply

    never heard abt this before πŸ™‚

    • dNambiar
      7 August 2012 at 5:07 pm
      Leave a Reply

      Now you have.:)Sounds cool, right?

  • sm
    8 August 2012 at 12:10 am
    Leave a Reply

    useful tips

    • dNambiar
      9 August 2012 at 4:52 pm
      Leave a Reply

      I hope atleast a few people benefit from this.
      Thank you, sm πŸ™‚

  • Raj
    9 August 2012 at 3:17 am
    Leave a Reply

    Wow.. this was sort of an eye opener post. πŸ™‚ Did not know about this. Very informative and glad that the band has helped in reducing motion sickness. You have also described adeptly several other ways to take care of motion sickness as well. Very well written and an important post. πŸ™‚

    • dNambiar
      9 August 2012 at 5:10 pm
      Leave a Reply

      Yes, Raj — to a very large extent. I'm so thankful for those bands. They say adults can also use it.
      I hope this post will be useful to people who have motion sickness.
      Thanks Raj.

  • Shrinidhi Hande
    18 August 2012 at 12:21 am
    Leave a Reply

    I thought those bands are often put on for fancy purpose. Didn't know they served medical conditions

    • dNambiar
      18 August 2012 at 11:00 pm
      Leave a Reply

      Shrinidhi, if it's got a bead like thing on it, it must be an acupressure band. πŸ™‚

  • DeViL on WheeLs…
    8 January 2014 at 12:33 pm
    Leave a Reply

    Thank you so much for pointing on it. I am going crazy with my Himalayan Drives with my little kiddo as he really suffers from Motion Sickness !! I will try to see how I can get this in India and test on one of the next drives. Thank you again πŸ™‚

    • dNambiar
      25 February 2015 at 5:51 am
      Leave a Reply

      You should.
      Since you do a lot of travel I hope this one works for your little one.

      You might have to shop online, though.

  • fahiamalam
    10 November 2016 at 11:16 pm
    Leave a Reply

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    Please visit: wrist straps

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    […] is behind you, you might want to consider starting your day with Saltine Crackers or try using acupressure wrist bands* that arrest the […]

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    […] is behind you, you might want to consider starting your day with Saltine Crackers or try using acupressure wrist bands* that arrest the […]

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    […] A regular cloth bib should work for a drooling baby, protecting his or her clothes from getting drenched with spit. However, if your baby is prone to throwing up during drives, silicone bibs are very useful, especially when you’re on the highway and you cannot keep stopping to clean up.These bibs that are made to catch food-spills can actually hold the barf until you’re able to stop the car and take care of it.Tip: Put a sheet of thick paper towel (the thicker picker-upper types πŸ™‚ ) and it’ll prevent things from flowing out of the bib too. Cool idea, no? πŸ˜‰ (We used this in the toddler stage too when our older one developed motion sickness. If motion sickness is something you have to deal with, you might also want to read this – Acupressure wristbands for motion sickness.) […]

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