Severe motion sickness in infants and children

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Neurology
• Vestibular Disorders
• Otolaryngology

Background:

• Severe motion sickness is poorly understood in children, especially infants and toddlers.
• This study addresses the lack of data on pediatric motion sickness risk factors and treatments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe risk factors and treatment responses in children with severe motion sickness.
• To evaluate the impact of motion sickness in infants and toddlers.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective review of patients under 18 with motion sickness.
• Data collected from a pediatric vestibular program over a 6-year period.

Main Results:

• 23 pediatric patients with motion sickness were identified.
• Migraine variants (47.8%), vestibular deficits (23.5%), otitis media (39.1%), and motor delay (30.4%) were common comorbidities.
• Meclizine, ondansetron, cyproheptadine, and vestibular rehabilitation showed symptom improvement.

Conclusions:

• Motion sickness can affect children from infancy.
• Comorbidities like migraine, vestibular impairment, otitis media, and motor delay may contribute to pediatric motion sickness.
• Cyproheptadine and vestibular rehabilitation warrant further investigation for treating pediatric motion sickness.