Flying-benedryl?

Lesleyjking

We are taking our daughter to Maui- its 5.5 hr flight. She  does NOT do well on flights, mainly because she cant sit still and cannot stand being "restrained" to any degree. Someone suggested I give her benedryl. Im a bit nervous to do something like this. Has anyone done this? If so, what dosage and how long did the effect last for?

nunzchucks

@joyfullyfound is usually on the SAHM board if you want to page her there.

joyfullyfound

Hi! Wow, it's been forever since I've been back on our BMB  

Lesley, I did post about this exact same thing not that long ago! We were going to Maui as well, and I had the exact same concerns. My mom suggested benedryl, and when I asked about it on here, I was definitely flamed, haha. In the end, I didn't bring any. I brought children's Tylenol and children's Gravol with me though, just in case DD's ear hurt, or she was motion sick, etc. Didn't end up using either though. 

Our experience flying was about 10x better than I thought it would be, honestly. DD hadn't slept in my arms for months, but did no problem on the plane, and was out for about 2 hours, which is a normal nap length for her. She didn't have her own seat, either, so we had to have her on our laps the whole time, but I'd sit forward on the seat, so she could stand on the back of it. I loved all the attention from the other passengers, and made lots of friends, who were a welcome distraction! We did a LOT of walking up and down the aisles... a LOT of it. And we'd take her to the bathroom with us whenever we had to go, just for a change of scenery. 

I brought I pretty huge carry-on, haha. First, I sippy cup (that I filled with water after customs) so she could suck on something  during take-off/landing to help her ears pop. TONS of snacks! Chewy granola bars (again, for her ears) and then various crackers, teddy bear grahams, fruit leathers, nut mix... anything small that takes awhile and some concentration to eat. I brought books too, the more flaps the better. And I bought some Melissa and Doug magnetic puzzle books, which were a hit. Her favorite teddy came along, and a doll she could dress up, some Fisher Price plastic animals.... some sticker books. I tried not to let her play with anything beforehand either, so it was all mostly new. 

Like, I said, it was a lot better than I thought. Hope it goes well for you too! Enjoy you vacation! 

eyenigh

I'd ask your pediatrician. Maybe he or she has some alternate suggestions as well.

Lesleyjking

Thank you all, and thank you Joy so helpful! I'd like to steer clear of meds ( I dont even like to take ott myself) so these are great suggestions!

yhaener

My parents gave my two brothers benedryl for a flight once.  I think they were around 2 and 5.  It knocked out one of my brothers and made the other one CRAZY!  My mom says it was a very difficult flight because of how much more active the younger brother became after taking the benedryl.  I don't remember any of it, but I guess at one point one of the stewardesses offered him an ice cream in hopes of helping him calm down and he slapped it out of her hand and continued carrying one.  Maybe you should give it a trial run at home, so in case it makes her more active versus the desired sleepy you won't find out on the airplane but rather at home.  I have no idea about the dosage (I would probably give the amount the bottle suggests for the age or weight of the child). 

fanofanne

my family will be flying to houston for xmas and benadryl was suggested as well.  a friend of mine used it with her twins, and she said it worked like a charm.  like others, i'm not a big med-user, so i'm probably not going to use benadryl.  another friend said to not let them nap so that they'd nap on the flight.  that's probably the way i'll be going.  good luck!