freewillie
Contributor
Motion sickness 101.
The unpleasant feelings you experience from motion sickness is essentially a disconnect from what your inner ears are telling your brain about where the body is and what your eyes are telling your brain where you body is. The symptoms are then expressed and nausea and abdominal discomfort.
Non-medical ways to deal with motion sickness include focusing your eyes on a fixed point like an object on the shore/horizon. Ginger as an herbal remedy is commonly recommended. It can be straight ginger itself, tabs, or gum. General recommendations to avoid heavy greasy meals prior to diving and having a light snack are sometimes helpful. It is also advisable to limit alcohol the night before as a hangover obviously won't help.
Some people with more severe symptoms my need to try medications. Over the counter medications are in general antihistamines with anticholinergic properties. Most common is meclizine. This goes by the brand names Antivert, Bonine, and Dramamine. (they are all the same active ingredient) Kwells tablets are hyoscyamine which is an anticholinergic drug. It's available in the US as Levsin but as prescription only. It has anti-nausea properties and has anti-spasm activity to help with the stomach cramps. Transderm Scop is also an anticholinergic drug that is available in patch form. The pill forms seems to be unavailable these days.
Any of the medications both over the counter and doctor prescription should be used with caution. One of the common side effects is lethargy and sedation. This is also frequently exacerbated under water. Just a thought but if we tell people not to dive with even one drink because of mental and motor impairment we should exercise the same caution with sedating over the counter drugs as well.
You didn't mention how you felt when you actually got under water. A lot of divers feel better once they get under and start their dives. If that is the case then you should devise ways to limit your exposure to being at the surface and trying to get in the water and submersed as soon as possible. This may include discussing your dives with your buddy or guide. While it's generally not a good idea to go down first and wait for your buddy that my be one way if visibility is good. Safer option is to have your buddy aware of your desire to get under quickly and to have them suit up and get in the water with you without delay.
In any event I hope you find a way to manage your motion sickness.
The unpleasant feelings you experience from motion sickness is essentially a disconnect from what your inner ears are telling your brain about where the body is and what your eyes are telling your brain where you body is. The symptoms are then expressed and nausea and abdominal discomfort.
Non-medical ways to deal with motion sickness include focusing your eyes on a fixed point like an object on the shore/horizon. Ginger as an herbal remedy is commonly recommended. It can be straight ginger itself, tabs, or gum. General recommendations to avoid heavy greasy meals prior to diving and having a light snack are sometimes helpful. It is also advisable to limit alcohol the night before as a hangover obviously won't help.
Some people with more severe symptoms my need to try medications. Over the counter medications are in general antihistamines with anticholinergic properties. Most common is meclizine. This goes by the brand names Antivert, Bonine, and Dramamine. (they are all the same active ingredient) Kwells tablets are hyoscyamine which is an anticholinergic drug. It's available in the US as Levsin but as prescription only. It has anti-nausea properties and has anti-spasm activity to help with the stomach cramps. Transderm Scop is also an anticholinergic drug that is available in patch form. The pill forms seems to be unavailable these days.
Any of the medications both over the counter and doctor prescription should be used with caution. One of the common side effects is lethargy and sedation. This is also frequently exacerbated under water. Just a thought but if we tell people not to dive with even one drink because of mental and motor impairment we should exercise the same caution with sedating over the counter drugs as well.
You didn't mention how you felt when you actually got under water. A lot of divers feel better once they get under and start their dives. If that is the case then you should devise ways to limit your exposure to being at the surface and trying to get in the water and submersed as soon as possible. This may include discussing your dives with your buddy or guide. While it's generally not a good idea to go down first and wait for your buddy that my be one way if visibility is good. Safer option is to have your buddy aware of your desire to get under quickly and to have them suit up and get in the water with you without delay.
In any event I hope you find a way to manage your motion sickness.
