How do you fight sea sickness?

[Notonboard]

What do you do if anything to avoid getting sea sick? Just curious if others drug up just in case.

[Ashland]

Nothing for us but our adult son occasionally does and Bonine (over the counter) works great.

[GastroGnome]

I have electronic sea bands - the thing that goes around the wrist and zapps you.  It actually works quite well.  Kwells are a UK based over the counter medication I've carried for DD but only used once.  I'm paranoid so do have scpolamine patches - but never had to use them.  Bonnie is only available in the US - or to buy on board.

 

 

It is a balancing act - if you drug up in case you never know if you are feeling odd because of drugs you did not need or the motion. (Or the drink...) But if you leave it until sickness sets in it can be too late.  I am paranoid about feeling sick - its my worst nightmare. But although I get very sick on RoRo ferries and hovercraft I have never felt unwell on a cruise ship.

[Suzanne123]

ReliefBand

https://www.reliefband.com/?gclid=Cj0KCQiA2b7uBRDsARIsAEE9XpG_2kKUgTkNiGNjeqlC3Zl0L4S2NwAYul4ZtTBNKjd9BcaZf2HYHdMaAokjEALw_wcB

 

[Bookish Angel]

I absolutely detest the taste of ginger in any form😠 but I have to say these sure work for us despite having an awful taste.  Having been extremely seasick en route to Antarctica, I wish I had taken these.  They worked great on other ocean trips.

 

Solaray Ginger Trips Chewable tablets. 

https://www.vitacost.com/solaray-ginger-trips-chewable-60-chewable-wafers-1

 

I have tried other forms of ginger that don't work nearly as well for us. 

Edited November 16, 2019 by Bookish Angel

[leaveitallbehind]

Aside from (or in addition to) preventative medications, one thing that you can do if you are susceptible to motion sickness is to reduce the motion effects on board by selecting a stateroom location that would be on the lower decks, mid-ship.  While motion will be felt anywhere on board, it will be felt with the least effect there.

Edited November 16, 2019 by leaveitallbehind

[Husky61]

If I was affected by sea sickness the first person I would see would be a physician, not strangers on a travel forum.

[MCC retired]

If you failed to take any precautions and start feeling seasick , do not retreat to your cabin .

Fight it .

Stay out and about , on open decks if you can , and  be eating something as frequently as you may.

 

[lenquixote66]

10 hours ago, Notonboard said:

What do you do if anything to avoid getting sea sick? Just curious if others drug up just in case.

My wife does bands and they work for her but not me.Last year I took Ginger pills which worked great but did not work at all last month.

When I take Bonine I fall asleep at the dinner table which tends to be rather embarrassing and fall asleep during the evening show.

I have no idea what I will do on my next cruise,possibly self hypnosis.

[Aplmac]

I'm a great sailor, but my stomach isn't?

 

1. Book a cabin on lower deck, amidships.

2. I board with a 6-pack of Ginger Ale -and 2 packets of ginger cookies!

3. When the waiter approaches for a drinks order...Ginger Ale again.

4. Larger ships don't rock as much.

[mom says]

11 hours ago, Notonboard said:

What do you do if anything to avoid getting sea sick? Just curious if others drug up just in case.

I've had a life long problem with motion sickness, so I take preventive measures rather than waiting until it strikes. It look a few cruises, trying multiple methods, before finding what worked best for me. Which is Bonine, taken daily at bedtime, starting the night before embarkation.

 

If one doesn't know whether or not they might have a problem with sea sickness, it makes sense to start with some of the non pharmaceutical measures first, progressing to medications if necessary. Trying any medication for the first time should always be preceded by a discussion with ones primary health provider or at the very least your pharmacist.

[Bizmark'sMom]

First, do talk to your doctor to make sure none of the sea sickness remedies will interact with any medications you are on, or any conditions you have.  That said, here is my experience;

I use sea bands, and take bonine if there is a lot of motion.

I cannot use scopolamine patches.

Ginger does help with the nausea, but not with the vertigo that goes along with motion sickness.

Whatever remedy you choose, use it as soon as you feel "off". Don't wait for the nausea.

[clo]

2 hours ago, mom says said:

preceded by a discussion with ones primary health provider or at the very least your pharmacist.

This.  A totally benign med might not be for YOU.  

[bbwex]

Seasickness is a fairly lengthy subject, but let's look at several things.

 

If you do not get motion sick in other circumstances, you could still get seasick for a day or two, but you would be less likely to be someone to suffer more than a little.  That being said, and though I have taken some flak for saying this, the latest thinking is that seasickness is primarily caused by a conflict between the eye and the inner ear.  If you are down below or anywhere where you cannot see the horizon, and therefore the fact that you are moving, the eye will tell the brain that you are not moving and the inner ear will say that you are moving.  And before people start to yell, some people still get seasick, but the conflict theory is the most current.

 

To avoid the conflict, stay on deck and watch the ocean go by.  The fresh air will help as well, but if you must go below, try to stay in a place where you can look out a window and see the horizon.  Obviously they don't have windows in the bathrooms, but minimize the time you are away from where you can see the horizon.

 

Although it is going to seem counter-intuitive, you want to eat at normal mealtimes.  An empty stomach is not helpful.  That being said, I would not over eat or eat a lot of greasy foods, but do have something in your stomach.

 

In most cases (yes, I know, not all cases!!), seasickness will pass in a few hours or a day.  DW always gets a little discomfort for the first day, but then is fine.  Most people (yes, I know not ALL people) will adjust to the life of motion in a day or two at the most. 

 

A large cruise ship does not have anything like the motion of a small boat if you have been out fishing or something of that sort.  However, the ocean is a whole lot bigger than any ship man has created, and every ship moves with the seas to some degree.  If the seas are fairly calm,  you might not even realize that you are moving, but if the seas pick up, the ship is going to move.  How much any ship moves in a given sea state is exceptionally complicated, as there are many factors that get involved.  There could be situations where a larger ship moves a bit more than a smaller ship due to some of those factors, none of which I will bore you with here.

 

There are some things you can do to lessen some of the movement.  If your cabin is closer to the middle going from the bow to the stern, known as "amidships," then you will move the least when the ship is pitching -- the bow and stern are going up an down.  Think of it like a seesaw -- the movement is less and less the further you are towards the center, with almost nothing in the dead center.  The more common motion, however, is rolling which is a side-to-side gentle rolling motion.  To be in the center, you should have a cabin in the middle going from side to side, but that would put you in an interior cabin where you cannot see the horizon.  Not a good idea!  You would be somewhat better off in a lower cabin, as the arc of motion is shorter.  They used to say stay as low as you can go.  That gets us into some of the complicating factors I mentioned earlier.  The Center of Motion on some of the modern, very high ships is not as low as it used to be.  But still staying away from the highest decks is a slight advantage.

 

The first thing I would say is to not talk yourself into a problem.  There is a psychological component as well.  If you keep worrying about getting seasick, you might just talk yourself into it.  If you have not had motion sickness in a car, bus, etc., then don't worry.  As I said, even if you sense a little at first, it will likely pass.  At sea once, I had a young officer on my team who go seasick as we left the dock. The motion was not noticeable at all unless you looked at the buildings on the shore and they were moving.  In that case, he had talked himself into being sick.

 

Staying away from actual medicines, some people do quite well with ginger to ease any nausea.  Ginger can be found in ginger snaps, ginger ale (if it has real ginger in it) and there are ginger pills available in a drug store.  There are the seabands that have been mentioned, and these help some people.  The next step would be an OTC drug such as Dramamine or Bonine.  All of these should be started before the ship sails, preferably the day before.  Not so much the ginger, as this can be started closer to when the ship departs.  As with any medicine, check with your doctor or pharmacist to see if Dramamine or Bonine would interfere with any meds you might be on.

 

There is the last resort -- the scopolamine transdermal patch.  While a lot of people want to start here as it is the "best" thing.  That is really not the case.  It is a very strong drug, and should be used as a last resort when you have tried other options and nothing has worked.  There are a whole bunch of side-effects, some mild, some not so mild, and this should only be after a discussion with your physician (this requires a prescription), and for those that are thinking about it, try it on dry land first to see how you react to it.

 

I hope this has helped at least a little.

[Shmoo here]

16 hours ago, Notonboard said:

What do you do if anything to avoid getting sea sick? Just curious if others drug up just in case.

I'm sure there are those who pop a pill, or use some other form of medication "just in case".  Often, they would probably not have any issues.

 

Our first cruise, my husband got the patch from his doctor, but he had a history of sea/motion sickness for years.

 

I didn't do anything prior to the cruise, but I did take Bonine along, as well as MotionEze (herbal product).  Didn't need either.

 

My husband could tell, even when wearing the patch, that he would have had problems on our first few cruises.  By the time we did our 3rd or 4th one, he was having more issues with the side effects from the patch than he felt he would without it, so he took it off.  Since then we just travel with the Bonine and have gotten sea bands for him to use (when he needs something).

 

 

Edited November 16, 2019 by Shmoo here

[NCbmwmom]

Ive had horrible seasickness our last 2 cruises on the last night. To the point of almost losing my cookies in the comedy club. I did have patches for the last cruise, and they worked for the whole cruise until they wore off on the last night, and I was too cheap to waste another patch. I’ll plan better next cruise for sure. I have no idea what changed in my system. I’ve been on a lot, and just recently started having trouble. It’s very frustrating. Especially for dh who ended up having to pack, and spend the evening without me the last night. 

[Host Kat]

The original inquiry made by @Notonboard has been answered. And now that this thread has had numerous hijacking and off-topic posts removed, this thread is closed.

 

Happy sails to all,

 

Host Kat