“Travel First Aid” from The Parent’s Guide to Homeopathy

Posted by Marina Snyder – July 14, 2015

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Categories: Excerpt Health & Healing

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by Shelley Keneipp

With summer in full swing and travel season at its peak, we’d like to share some of Shelley Keneipp’s travel tips for parents. For those planning to fly with their children, this excerpt from The Parent’s Guide to Homeopathy should be invaluable! Check out a copy of the book for additional cures to common travel ailments, as well as remedies for more than 150 conditions.

 

Travel First Aid

A Note about Guarding the Remedies

If you are flying with a homeopathic first-aid kit (that is always available on e-firstaidsupplies.com site), cover the remedies with aluminum foil to protect them when your bag gets x-rayed. Put the box in the middle of your suitcase. You can also put any individual remedies that you need during the flight in a purse or carry-on bag. Wrap those remedies in tin foil and put them in the middle of your bag. Remember to keep your remedies away from your cellphone or laptop computer. You should consider getting in touch with Sky Aviation Holdings, a family of companies providing Aviation Services if you want to buy your own jet and travel in convenience.

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Flying

Air Sickness

Also see “Motion Sickness.”

Note: Some people suffer ill effects if they have flown over areas heavy in nuclear radiation, such as the Nevada desert or the South Pacific. Ask your homeopath about Radium Bromide if this is the case. The best policy is to discuss symptoms with the homeopath in order to select the appropriate remedy.

Ear Pain and Popping in the Ears

Ear pain during takeoff and landing can be excruciating. Be sure to breastfeed or bottle-feed your baby on takeoff and landing, because sucking relieves the pressure. For the toddler, give them a sucker to encourage swallowing. Teach the older child to swallow hard, or yawn. If none of the above works, the main remedy is 2 pellets of Silicea. If this does not help, 2 pellets of Chamomilla should relieve the symptoms. Use until there is improvement.

Deep-Vein Thrombosis

For mom or dad: Take 2 pellets of Hamamelis before the flight. Stay hydrated, and take a walk up and down the aisle every thirty minutes. A glass of red wine or tomato juice will make your blood thinner.

Jet Lag

To limit the symptoms, travelers check that you should drink plenty of water. The main remedies for jet lag include:

Arnica, to be taken before and after the flight. Take every 4 hours, and repeat if the flight is longer than four hours.

Belladonna—only if there is a hot, heavy feeling. The face may be flushed. Use on an as-needed basis if symptoms return, depending on how long the flight is.

Gelsemium—only if there is extreme physical tiredness, with a heavy feeling in all the limbs. Take every 4 hours, and repeat if the flight is longer than four hours.

Ill Effects of Air Conditioning

If you sit in a cold draft from the plane’s air conditioning system, take 2 pellets of Causticum. This can prevent stiff neck and shoulders, earaches, and colds.

Homesickness

Ignatia is given if the child sighs a lot, is disoriented, and seems distressed about everything. Give this remedy 2 hours apart for three doses.

Pulsatilla is given when the child is clingy, whiny, weepy, and feels alone and abandoned. Give this remedy 2 hours apart for three doses.

Motion Sickness

Motion sickness actually originates in the inner ear, bringing about dizziness and nausea. The body’s balancing mechanisms are disturbed by rapid acceleration, unusual movement, as on a boat, or confusing visual input, as in a car or boat. Breathing petroleum fumes, smoke, or poor ventilation may aggravate the motion sickness. If the child is at the back of a boat, get them to the front so they are not inhaling the petroleum fumes. If they are down in the hold, bring them above deck.

The motion-sick child is usually sweaty, anxious, and pale. They may have excess saliva, and hyperventilate. They are usually weak and may be lethargic. Encourage slow, deep, and rhythmical breathing. This will bring in much-needed oxygen, and calm the nausea. Giving 2 pellets of Zingiber before embarking can act as a preventative for motion sickness. Two pellets of Tabacum can also be given as a preventative before getting on a boat. Give 2 pellets of Bryonia if your child has had a negative reaction to rides at an amusement park.

 

The most common remedies for motion sickness:

Arsenicum: This remedy may be given after getting off the boat, if the child is still seasick. There is nausea with chilliness, from every movement of a boat. There is burning in the stomach, and intense thirst, which makes them crave frequent sips of cold water. However, cold water aggravates the stomach. If you can, encourage warm drinks. The child may have a burning, throbbing headache, and possibly diarrhea. There is great weakness. The child is restlessness, demanding, and anxious. The older child may fear that they are going to die. Anxiety is felt in the pit of the stomach.
Worse from: Cold, exertion, and the sight or smell of food. Better from: Open air, being kept warm, warm drinks, and lying down.

Bryonia: This remedy is for motion sickness from upward motion, e.g., in a plane when it takes off, or amusement-park rides. Also for motion sickness from cars and boats. It helps nausea with faintness, shivering, and the feeling of a stone in the stomach. There is usually a strong thirst for cold water. The child may develop a bursting headache. The child will be grumpy, wanting to be absolutely still, not talked to, and left alone.
Worse from: The slightest motion, and cold. Better from: Lying still, and pressure on the stomach.

Cocculus: Motion sickness from travel in a boat, car, or plane. More than likely the child will experience severe nausea, and/ or retching with salivation. There is nausea or vomiting from the sight, smell, or thought of food. There is belching and an “empty, all-gone” feeling in the stomach. They may complain of a metallic taste in the mouth. There is an odd symptom of feeling worse in the open air. They are weak and dizzy. There is an empty feeling in the head, and they cannot watch any moving objects. The child is dazed, confused, and anxious.
Worse from: From raising the head up, standing up, motion, and open air. Better from: Keeping the head low, warm rooms, closing the eyes, swallowing, and lying down.

Nux vomica: Motion sickness from car or plane travel. There is intense nausea, with a feeling of faintness. The child wants to vomit, but may have a hard time doing so. If they vomit, the retching is painful. They have lots of saliva. They may have a headache over one eye. The child is impatient and irritable. Do not give too much food before the journey.
Worse from: Movement, the thought or smell of food, and tobacco smoke. Better from: Lying down, and after vomiting.

Petroleum: Nausea from every movement of a boat, train, or car. Profuse salivation while nauseated, empty and sinking sensation, coldness and pain in stomach, heartburn, dizziness, possible vomiting, and sometimes a dull, heavy headache. The nausea is relieved by eating. The child is disoriented, very sensitive, irritable, and quarrelsome.
Worse from: The smell of gas or diesel, cool fresh air, dampness, eating cabbage, and closing the eyes. Better from: Warm, dry air, lying down, and having the head elevated.

Tabacum: For seasickness with a terrible sinking feeling in the pit of the stomach. Also from motion in a train or car. The child feels very faint and dizzy, and becomes covered in a cold sweat. Intense nausea or violent vomiting. Complete collapse. The child is very pale, almost white, or even green-looking. The child is confused, anxious, restless, gloomy, and miserable.
Worse from: The least motion, the smell of tobacco smoke, pressure, warm stuffy rooms, and stimulants. Better from: Uncovering the abdomen, open air, weeping, vomiting, and closing the eyes.

Zingiber: Nausea from movement of a boat, train, or car. The stomach feels heavy and empty, with rumbling, gas, and acidity. The taste of any food remains for a long time after eating. The child has a dry mouth, with much thirst. They will feel exhausted and weak. The face is red and hot. They can feel hot and chilly at the same time. They are confused, nervous, fidgety, and irritable in the evening.
Worse from: Eating (especially bread), touch, lying down, evenings, around 3 AM, and cold damp air. Better from: Sitting, standing, and being uncovered.

Dosage: Give 2 pellets every 15 minutes for four doses, then hourly until improvement. If there is no improvement after seven doses, choose a new remedy. Repeat the remedy only if there is a return of any symptoms.

Supportive Measures:

Do not get onto a plane or boat with an empty stomach. Give the child a piece of crystallized ginger, ginger snaps, or a fruit bar. Make sure they eat lightly and avoid fatty foods. Encourage them to sip on water. It is best if the child looks straight ahead, or lies down if there is enough space. Reading a book, watching a movie, or playing a game is the worst thing for motion sickness. If you are traveling in a car in the mountains, it will be best to have the older child in the front seat. Distract the child by telling them a story, playing music tapes, or singing. If you are on a boat or plane, sit near the front. If you find a remedy that works for this condition, give it to the child before embarking on the next journey, and repeat at the first sign of any nausea.

Call your healthcare practitioner if:

• Your child is dehydrated, or cannot stop vomiting.
• Your child is having persistent diarrhea that is not responding to remedies.

 

Excerpted from The Parent’s Guide to Homeopathy: Safe, Natural Remedies for Children from Newborns through Teens by Shelley Keneipp. © 2015, North Atlantic Books.

Tags: Children's Health Family & Parenting Homeopathy Shelley Keneipp Travel

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