The Best Motion Sickness Meds?

[cruizing with teens]

Does anyone have any suggestions for medications to deal with motion sickness if it should arise?

I would prefer over the counter stuff if possible.

And does it really work? Any side effects?

We are going in 3 weeks and want to be prepared.

[meaty_petey]

I had the same question myself and discovered excellent advice under the existing thread http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=302362&highlight=sickness

[LHP]

I take one Bonine before getting on the ship and one every morning like clockwork. No drowsiness. No side effects for me.

 

I take another at night only if I feel like I need it. (which I rarely do, but we have been blessed with pretty calm seas all these years).

 

Get it at Walmart, although it is a little hard to find sometimes..they keep moving it!! (Now that is motion sickness! )

[musicmansmom]

i am not an expert and this is just my opinion, but i like bonine. it is over the counter and it works great for me. the trick to avoiding sea sickness is to take something before you even get on the ship.

i take a pill the morning of the cruise and then another for a couple days. after that i do not need it. ginger works good also for some. i hope you dont have a problem and have a great cruise.

[disneylynn]

The myth busters did a show on this topic and they found ginger pills to be the best thing to help motion sickness.

[Ehpride]

I've been prone to motion sickness for as long as I can remember. I brought ginger with me and took one every day (found at GNC I think). I took bonine for tenders and that was the only place I ever felt I was going to get sick, even with the bonine because the tender was moving all around and going up against the ship while they were loading it. We had some rough seas the last day and my stomach felt fine. I just watched what I ate (I know what to avoid!) and tried to get someplace where I could see the water that was relatively midship. My head felt worse than my stomach did that day!

[D&MCRUISERS]

Are ginger pills something you get by the vitamins and stuff or is this a health food store kind of thing. I've tried Bonine and it seems to make me so sleepy. Now maybe this is due just because I'm so busy all day on the ship :D but I certainly dont like being groggy.

[Ehpride]

Are ginger pills something you get by the vitamins and stuff or is this a health food store kind of thing. I've tried Bonine and it seems to make me so sleepy. Now maybe this is due just because I'm so busy all day on the ship :D but I certainly dont like being groggy.

 

If you have a GNC or vitamins specialty store, they have them there. I've also heard they have them at drug stores/Wal-mart. But I didn't look there.

[cruzn4life]

Bonine works well for some people...DH and I find that it makes us VERY sleepy (it's worse for him than for me).

 

Our last cruise had LOTS of movement (they had barf bags hanging by the elevators 2 days) and ginger worked GREAT for me. I bought ginger root capsules at Wal-Mart for like $3 or $4 and started taking them twice a day three days before our trip and took them throughout the trip until I returned home. I would guess that 80% of the people on the ship were in their cabins the worst day (and many crew members) and I had NO problems (other than walking straight). ;) I have had problems during rough weather on previous trips without ginger.

[LUPY48]

I took Bonine....one day prior to sailing and one every morning on the ship. I had no side effects whatsoever.

[Nikkoli110]

Not hi-jacking your thread, and this might seem like a silly question, but how could you test it out to see if it works for you? I'm a little worried about this myself, I get motion sick on alot of themepark rides, the carosels, even sometimes on a swingset! :o Should I take some and then go try to do one of these things? I want to take what works best, and I don't want my trip ruined if something doesn't work for me. :)

[SunTravels]

ginger pills always work great for me, even on a little sail boat (which makes me far more seasick than a cruise). You can get them at a vitamin shop.

[musicmansmom]

bonine did not make me drowsy. i had no side effects from it at all thank heavens. i have heard that passengers have ginger cookies in the cabin just in case they need something extra. ginger ale from the ship is available also.

[musicmansmom]

Not hi-jacking your thread, and this might seem like a silly question, but how could you test it out to see if it works for you? I'm a little worried about this myself, I get motion sick on alot of themepark rides, the carosels, even sometimes on a swingset! :o Should I take some and then go try to do one of these things? I want to take what works best, and I don't want my trip ruined if something doesn't work for me. :)

 

you could try it. of course the only way to see if anything works for sea sickness is too be on a boat or ship. but it is worth a try. im glad i have very little problem except on really rough seas. good luck with your trial-run.

[Ehpride]

Not hi-jacking your thread, and this might seem like a silly question, but how could you test it out to see if it works for you? I'm a little worried about this myself, I get motion sick on alot of themepark rides, the carosels, even sometimes on a swingset! :o Should I take some and then go try to do one of these things? I want to take what works best, and I don't want my trip ruined if something doesn't work for me. :)

 

That's why I took dramamine (which I've taken since I was little) for the flights because I knew it would work. Then I took ginger before I got on the ship since I'd never taken it and wasn't sure that it'd work.

 

Ever felt yourself get queasy during an action sequence in a movie?? Not good...

[HeidiHo]

Are ginger pills something you get by the vitamins and stuff or is this a health food store kind of thing. I've tried Bonine and it seems to make me so sleepy. Now maybe this is due just because I'm so busy all day on the ship :D but I certainly dont like being groggy.

 

I found the ginger tablets in the vitamin section at Walmart. The label says Ginger Root 550 mg and comes with 100 capsules. I think it was less than $4.00.

 

My daughter is the only one in our family prone to motion sickness so on our last cruise she took 1 Bonine every night before bed and she had no problems. I picked up a pkg of Walgreen's own brand (Wal-DramII) of the Bonine (meclizine 25 mg) for her for our upcoming cruise. It comes in a 16 tablet pkg for around $5.00. Because this cruise will have 3 tender ports, I picked up the ginger root for the rest of us just in case.

 

I had a lot of trouble finding the Bonine in the stores because I was looking in the wrong place. I was looking for it by the stomach remedies. I finally found out that it's usually with the pain killers so look there if you are having trouble finding it. Even when I asked for help at Target and Walmart they told me if it wasn't by the stomach remedies then they didn't carry it. Then I asked for help finding it at Walgreen's and they showed me where it was in the pain killer section. Since then I have looked in the pain killer section at Target and Walmart and sure enough, there it was.:confused:

[smitch57]

Motion-eaze

Oil that you put a drop or two behind your ear every 3 hours or so.I am prone to sea sickness and found that this works for me when others haven't. It contains all natural ingredients and every one I've let try it, likes it. It can even be put on after symptoms appear. Do an internet search for it, I've even seen it on e-bay.

[zqvol]

You really have four choices as to what to do regarding sea sickness.

 

You have Prescription medication - these work the best but tend to have more side effects than others, and of course require a prescription.

 

OTC meds such as Bonine and Dramamine - these also work well but with side effects for some people.

 

Herbs - things like ginger - they work for some people and not others, but they are easy to get and really won't have any side effects.

 

Mechanical devices - things like sea bands.

 

Mythbusters did a show and found that the mechanical devices simply did not work. GInger worked about as well as a placebo, the OTC drugs did a good job and were the best of all tested (they did not test prescription meds).

 

Good luck with what ever you choose.

[paminohio]

You really have four choices as to what to do regarding sea sickness.

 

You have Prescription medication - these work the best but tend to have more side effects than others, and of course require a prescription.

 

OTC meds such as Bonine and Dramamine - these also work well but with side effects for some people.

 

Herbs - things like ginger - they work for some people and not others, but they are easy to get and really won't have any side effects.

 

Mechanical devices - things like sea bands.

 

Mythbusters did a show and found that the mechanical devices simply did not work. GInger worked about as well as a placebo, the OTC drugs did a good job and were the best of all tested (they did not test prescription meds).

 

Good luck with what ever you choose.

 

Not trying to be disagreeble, but on Mythbusters, the ginger DID work for one person, when the placebo did NOT. In fact, it was the only rememdy (besides medication) that worked for him. (The OTC meds made him drowsy and they were looking for a non-med remedy that did NOT cause drowsiness)

 

Bonine made me drowsy so I will try the ginger.

[sunray]

What do they carry on the ships? I had motion sickness on the Miracle, and the purser gave me a packet with two pills and told me to take one every twelve hours. These worked (it took 24 hours to get in my system) and suprisingly did not make me drowsy. I can take Tylenol PM and I am OUT!!

[Ex Aussie Guy]

I had a kidney transplant just over a year ago and my wife my step daughter and I are going on our first cruise on May 14th on the Valor.

 

I went to the kidney specialist to check that everything was alright to go on the cruise and one of the questions I asked was "Is it okay to take Dramamine or Bonine or Ginger with the kidney?"

 

He told me that ginger might be a bit of a problem because it is a blood thinner because I am on blood pressure medicine but otherwise Dramamine or Bonine would be okay.

 

Very good to know this stuff...

 

Looking forward to the cruise.

[cruizing with teens]

Many thanks for the great information, just what I wanted to know!!!

[scsagh]

Does anyone know how big (size-wise) the ginger tablets are? Thinking of getting some for my DD 14 who often has problems with motion the first few days. I ask about size because she has trouble swallowing pills. I assume they are swallowed whole, or can they be chewed first. Usually use liquid meds for her. Thanks for any input!

[MDavis23]

Does anyone know if Bonine is ok for younger kids? We are going on the Miracle in June and our 4 year old will be with us.

[DiveSkip]

I take a litlte ginger with six or seven martini's --no problem except for waking up in the lifeboats.