Rough Waters Vs. The Patch

[Sadere]

My family and I are planning on cruising in mid October. My question is how rough do the seas get is a ship is "advoiding" a Hurricane or Tropical Storm. My mother will be with us and she can get very seasick. She will be wearing the patch the entire time just in case, but I am worried about her getting seasick. This will be the first time we will have gotten her onboard and I don't want her to become ill. Will the patch be enough to get her through rough seas caused by a hurricane? Or should we try for another time of year. We haven't booked yet because of this and time is running short. Any advice would be great!

[HeresTweety]

Hi Sadere! I was on a September cruise to Cozumel (from Galveston) a few years ago when a hurricane developed in the Gulf. The waters were fairly rough...a crew member said it was the roughest he had experienced. I was wearing the patch (since I get motion sick VERY easily) and didn't have a problem with the motion at all. Many other passengers who were not wearing a patch (and maybe not using any motion sickness meds) were ill.

I am going on another cruise in November '07 and will definitely wear the patch...JUST IN CASE! Hope this helps.

Good luck!

[Sadere]

Thanks so much for the info. I passed it on to my mom and she is feeling much more at ease! :) I've contacted my TA to book:)

[Jovocrtt]

Here is a little tip about the patch though, make sure Mom tries it before she leaves. I got horribly sick on the patch....on dry land. I did far much better with Meclazine (prescription), which was chewable. I also wore pressure bracelets...they are a little bracelet made of cloth that has a pressure point in them. They helped both my daughter and myself. We never had a sea sick moment! I have horrible motion sickness and did very well with this. Good luck!:D

[noboat4u]

My family and I are planning on cruising in mid October. My question is how rough do the seas get is a ship is "advoiding" a Hurricane or Tropical Storm. My mother will be with us and she can get very seasick. She will be wearing the patch the entire time just in case, but I am worried about her getting seasick. This will be the first time we will have gotten her onboard and I don't want her to become ill. Will the patch be enough to get her through rough seas caused by a hurricane? Or should we try for another time of year. We haven't booked yet because of this and time is running short. Any advice would be great!

 

I am taking my 3 nephews this weekend on a western cruise, my sister works for doctors and asked them where she could find the patch since she has looked everywhere and he told her that they are taking them off the market soon, so if you can find them stock up now, we have had no luck finding any and he did not say why just that they are supposed to pull them off the shelves. Hope this helps, I always found the wrist band and bonine do the trick just as well, bonine does not make me tired like dramamine does. Have a great trip.

noboat4u

[CraigRDR1]

My family and I are planning on cruising in mid October. My question is how rough do the seas get is a ship is "advoiding" a Hurricane or Tropical Storm. My mother will be with us and she can get very seasick. She will be wearing the patch the entire time just in case, but I am worried about her getting seasick. This will be the first time we will have gotten her onboard and I don't want her to become ill. Will the patch be enough to get her through rough seas caused by a hurricane? Or should we try for another time of year. We haven't booked yet because of this and time is running short. Any advice would be great!

 

 

The patch works very nicely (wrote a script for my wife before our first cruise to Alaska)..We both wore it one night in rough seas off the coast of Alaska...and did well... My wife's only complaint was a dry mouth... which is a side effect...but it doesnt make you sleepy or feel "off" like the other meds... That was the only time we ever used any meds... never had an issue after..this will be our 6th cruise. Try to have your mother go out on deck and looking at the horizon alot. My daughter also wore the pressue wrist braclets..she says they work...

 

Seas off Alaska can get rough... and we had no real issues..Im sure you'll do fine...

[*Mach*]

You might think about Ginger supplements.

 

Having been associated with Air Education and Training Command for many of my 20 years flying for the Air Force I can tell you that ginger goes a loooooong way to eliminating motion sickness.

 

Very early on in pilot training students aren't allowed any meds to control motion sickness. Testing the ability to tolerate a dynamic environment is part of the screening process that the kids go through. Ginger has saved many a tender tummy student from numerous trips to the flight surgeon and/or possible elimination from training.

 

To the best of my knowledge, cruise ships do not normally go straight up, straight down or roll about their longitudinal axis (at least I hope they don't!!!) the way military training aircraft do.

 

I've never needed anything for motion sickness but I know of hundreds of kids that did and now swear by Ginger!

[gr81]

You might think about Ginger supplements.

 

Having been associated with Air Education and Training Command for many of my 20 years flying for the Air Force I can tell you that ginger goes a loooooong way to eliminating motion sickness.

 

Very early on in pilot training students aren't allowed any meds to control motion sickness. Testing the ability to tolerate a dynamic environment is part of the screening process that the kids go through. Ginger has saved many a tender tummy student from numerous trips to the flight surgeon and/or possible elimination from training.

 

To the best of my knowledge, cruise ships do not normally go straight up, straight down or roll about their longitudinal axis (at least I hope they don't!!!) the way military training aircraft do.

 

I've never needed anything for motion sickness but I know of hundreds of kids that did and now swear by Ginger!

 

I have to agree 100% on ginger pills. We take them with us on all our cruises. We have hit rough seas a couple of times and they were just awesome. I helped with a web blog, and there is a post there about sea sickness and recomends ginger pills. It even relates the MythBusters and how they proved that ginger was the way to go. http://time2cruise.blogspot.com/ is the site.

[*Mach*]

Checking around a bit, ginger root supplements sell for around five to six bucks for a bottle of one hundred. Pretty darn cheap.

 

I've seen references on the web that suggest 250 mg three times a day is the way to go.

 

I'm not sure what it is about ginger that works against motion sickness but I've seen it succeed time and time again. Great stuff!

[Keith1010]

Every cruise we have taken is different even when you cross the same areas. I think a patch is probably a good idea. There are other remedies such as Bodine but a patch is effective for many people. Just make sure she applies it correcty and after applying it washes her hands very well.

 

Keith

[arby70]

We were out in open seas once we headed back from Hubbard Glacier during our Alaska cruise, and we did hit a bad storm. My husband and I both used the patch. It worked very well for us until the end of the week when we hit that storm. The seas were very smooth tho until that day. My husband got seasick first, but I was ok until I went forward into the big theatre for a port talk on Ketchikan. The ship was hitting the surface at the bow due to big wave action, and of course there was a bunch of movement with no windows. Anyway, I got sick too. I read about people getting along well with Bonine and the like, but I think I must be more sensitive than others. There were alot of people sick on the ship that night, including some of the crew, so that might have been extreme weather we faced that day.

 

Anyway, long story short, it may or may not work for her. I hope it does, as I may be more prone to it than others. My suseptability to seasickness will not keep me from cruising tho. I hope I will get to the point in the future, that I cruise enough to get my sea legs.

[Scooter-n-GB]

I used the Scopatch my first two cruises, but after the last time, where the patch fell off due to a severe skin reaction to the patch (perhaps dermatitis), I have switched to Scopace, which is the pill form of the patch. Dosing is flexible, and it does not have to be appled 6 hours before motion. I take it the night before, just to get used to it though, and then 30 minutes before a flight, and if needed every 8 hours, on the cruise.

 

In January, for instance, we were in Nassau for 24 hours, and when off the ship, I felt no need to take it. During that four day cruise, I think I used 6 pills total.

 

The pill is a .4 mg dosage, and as mentioned, the dosage is flexible, and you're not "stuck" with a patch. I had no drowsiness, nor dry mouth, or any other side effects from the Scopace pill.

 

I find the efficiacy of the pill far exceeds that of the patch, but that is just my experience, and individual results may vary. :)

[ladyamazon]

So is it okay to use a combination of items? If you wear the patch, can you take any of the other meds mentioned? The band? I have some crystallized ginger, but I think I will look into the pills at GNC.

[Scooter-n-GB]

I would not suggest using the patch with any other pill medication (i.e. Dramamine, Bonine, Meclizine). May be ok to use with Ginger, and/or the bands though.

[Georgia_Cruiser]

If you ever get to feeling some motion sickness while in the dinning rooms (because it's difficult to see the horizon - you end up concentrating on the water leaning back and forth in your glass) simple ask your waiter or assistant waiter to bring you an apple.

 

On one cruise I wasn't feeling too well, :( I don't normally get motion sickness but this time we were playing dodge ball in the caribbean with a hurricane and the waiter picked up on my "look" right away. Before any food was delivered to anyone he came out of nowhere with a bowl of sliced apples. The motion sickness was gone! :o

 

That's the kind of service we've all grown to love!

[first_time_cruiser_sept06]

I am kind of funny about taking pills if I don't have to. I took the wristbands (bought them at a local drug store) and had them on hand just in case.

 

If you look online - I think they say anything with ginger root will help out with sea sickness. One thing I did read is that once you get on board and get sick it is tooooo late. You have to take something before you get on. I took a chance with nothing last time and I was good to go.

[tonitoot]

I can get motion sick driving my own car. I use the patch for flying and on the ship. I made it through hurricane Wilma. The seas were very rough. The only time I felt ill was in my room packing. We had a forward, inside room. As soon as I got out of the room and started moving around I was fine. I was able to go and enjoy my meal and watch the waves hit the dining room windows.

I do agree with the apples. Beer doesn't hurt either according to our tour guide.

Our cruise this October I will have 7 people with us and I do not know how they react to motion sickness so I will stock up on patches.

Toni

[In the Pink]

1. We are both VERY susciptible to motion sickness.

2. We always wear the patch.

3. Have been through the outerbands of a hurricane, and it was rough, but not horrible.

4. Have sailed in 20 foot swells with NO storm anywhere, just rough seas. Was horrible. More than half the ship, including crew, very sick. We were just fine.

5. We do take ginger with us just in case, as sometimes one of us will get just a little "not quite right" feeling and it helps. We also carry on our own Ginger Ale since during #4 above the ship ran out.

6. Different crew members on different ships have mentioned apples. I wasn't sure if it was apples in general, though, or green apples, as both times I was told they pointed to green apples.

[Ang in Miami]

Here's what we tell our charteryacht guests:

 

You may have to do some trials and experimenting to find what works best for you. Nothing works the same for everybody.

• Get plenty of rest before you go out on the water.

• Do not skip eating before sailing.

• Drink plenty of water. Eat an apple.

• Do not drink alcoholic beverages for several hours.

• Avoid the cabin and other enclosed spaces.

• The open air and ability to look out over the horizon are often more important than being in a shady spot.

• There will be less motion towards the center of the boat. You want to be amidships, towards the center, rather that at the bow or stern. The more sensitive to motion sickness you are, the closer you need to be towards the center, which is the calmest part of the boat.

• If you are beginning to feel a bit queasy, stand up and look out over the horizon.

• Eat Saltine crackers. They absorb the excess acidity very well. If the indigestion is really bad, take an antacid.

• Steering the boat is an instant remedy. However, I don’t think a cruiseline will let you do that. :)

• Drink Coke or Pepsi. These two drinks help reduce the chances of getting sick because they contain phosphoric acid, which is an ingredient in Emetrol, a drug to control vomiting. That's the medical explanation received from a doctor when asked why a Coke seems to settle the stomach.

MEDICATIONS AND NATURAL PREVENTATIVES

Ginger is a natural preventative.

Eating peppermint in conjunction with ginger is reported by as being even more effective.

Accupressure wrist band. It applies pressure to a particular point on your wrist which can prevent the feeling of nausea.

Immerse your feet in ice water. Anecdotal reports indicate it helps some people.

Dramamine is one that has been used for years. Meclizine and bonine are also effective. It tends to put you to sleep and when asleep, you miss the trip.

Scopolamine is used in the Transderm patches and is in pill form. Scopolamine is a prescription drug in the family of chemicals known as belladonna alkaloids. Scopolamine should not be used by people with glaucoma. Its side effects can include dry mouth, dilated pupils with blurred vision, drowsiness, disorientation, confusion, memory disturbances, dizziness, restlessness, hallucinations, and difficulty urinating.

There is no one I know of who can't get seasick if the conditions are right, but there are some things that can be done to reduce the possibility.