Shore diviing motion sickness

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krispykritter

krispykritter

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Location
santan valley AZ
# of dives
200 - 499
This past week I was in La Jolla to dive at the shores. I hired a guide to take me out on a 2 tank dive. Being a new arizona diver this was the first dive in the Ocean. The begining of the dive went great, got through the surf fine, dropped down everythink was feeling great. We explored the walls of the canyon, all ok. Time to head back we head up over the walls of the canyon, saw the sand, felt the surge and then BAM! My vision blers and my stomock starts reeling. We were close to shore so I swam as far as I could and surfaced and began puking. Boy its was hard getting back in after that. I did'nt feel good about doing the other dive so I called it a day. What a let down the big first trip and this happens.
The back story is I was sick about a week before. A head cold and lots of stuff coming from my sinus's. I felt good, I could equlize but not the normal pop more of a squeak, I thought It was ok. I also dove 2 days before and at the end of the first dive I also got sea sick but not so bad. I took a break and was Ok to dive again. Could the cold cause the seas sickness to come on easer? I am prone to motion sickness but it never happend before diviving (only 12 dives). How can I avoid this in the future? Most of my diving will be in San Diego and I dont want thi to happen again. Also why was the whole dive great until the end?
A few days later I went snorkling in lepord shark city and floated in the surf for an hour with no effect. I saw about 40 or so sharks in about 6 ft of water. They are beutiful they were a about 6-8 ft.
 
Take some drugs beforehand....The good kind....I mean, the LEGAL kind


Surge can do that to you, as your body is going from forward, to backward, the fluid in the inner ear is sloshing, telling the brain one thing, and then your eyes are telling it another. Something like that.
 
krispykritter:
This past week I was in La Jolla to dive at the shores. I hired a guide to take me out on a 2 tank dive. Being a new arizona diver this was the first dive in the Ocean. The begining of the dive went great, got through the surf fine, dropped down everythink was feeling great. We explored the walls of the canyon, all ok. Time to head back we head up over the walls of the canyon, saw the sand, felt the surge and then BAM! My vision blers and my stomock starts reeling. We were close to shore so I swam as far as I could and surfaced and began puking. Boy its was hard getting back in after that. I did'nt feel good about doing the other dive so I called it a day. What a let down the big first trip and this happens.
The back story is I was sick about a week before. A head cold and lots of stuff coming from my sinus's. I felt good, I could equlize but not the normal pop more of a squeak, I thought It was ok. I also dove 2 days before and at the end of the first dive I also got sea sick but not so bad. I took a break and was Ok to dive again. Could the cold cause the seas sickness to come on easer? I am prone to motion sickness but it never happend before diviving (only 12 dives). How can I avoid this in the future? Most of my diving will be in San Diego and I dont want thi to happen again. Also why was the whole dive great until the end?
A few days later I went snorkling in lepord shark city and floated in the surf for an hour with no effect. I saw about 40 or so sharks in about 6 ft of water. They are beutiful they were a about 6-8 ft.
Click to expand...

Oh,no; so sorry to hear this!!! :hugs: I get seasick in surf, too.

There are so many things you could try - the cheapest is meclizine - IF you go talk, to the pharmacist and get a bottle of 100 from behind the counter! You have to know to ask for it. It is the active ingredient in the non-drowsy forms of motion sickness medicine.

If that doesn't work - talk to your doctor about what is the prescription strengths for meclizine.

Lastly - there is prescription-only Scopolamine - patches or pills. They have a side effect of dry mouth - it's worse the first time you use it, but gets better. Jolly Rancher candies work great for that!

Good luck!
 
Crystallized ginger Root is worth a try along with any other ginger items. The crystallized root is intense and yummy. It's actually sort of chewy like dried pineapple. It short circuits the ability to vomit.

My wife and I are each prone to sea/motion sickness and don't like the effects of medications. It's working well for us. Find it in your market's natural foods section.

Pete
 
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I have never heard of someone getting sea sick in the water before. I have been on boats with divers who are prone to sea sickness but as soon as they hit the water that feeling always goes away. Not sure what caused your problem but I do not think it was motion sickness. Could have been your cold effecting your inner ear giving the impression of motion and there by the sickness. A mild form of the bends could also account for the same problems occurring at the same time. You may have felt sick not because you were now in the surge but because you were getting closer to the surface.
 
Last edited:
richkeller:
I have never heard of someone getting sea sick in the water before. I have been on boats with divers who are prone to sea sickness but as soon as they hit the water that feeling always goes away. Not sure what caused your problem but I do not think it was motion sickness. Could have been your cold effecting your inner ear giving the impression of motion and there by the sickness. A mild form of the bends could also account for the same problems occurring at the same time. You may have felt sick not because you were now in the surge but because you were getting closer to the surface.
Click to expand...

Being an avid shore diver I have no reason to doubt the OP suffered form motion sickness. Been there, done that. The motion of bottom sand or swaying seaweed can be out of sync with your body sensations and cause the same disconnects people feel on boats, roller coasters or even the backseat of a car.

I agree there is always the chance of some underlying infection lack of hydration or other manageable contributor.

Pete
 
richkeller:
I have never heard of someone getting sea sick in the water before. I have been on boats with divers who are prone to sea sickness but as soon as they hit the water that feeling always goes away. Not sure what caused your problem but I do not think it was motion sickness. Could have been your cold effecting your inner ear giving the impression of motion and there by the sickness. A mild form of the bends could also account for the same problems occurring at the same time. You may have felt sick not because you were now in the surge but because you were getting closer to the surface.
Click to expand...

Maybe you should get out more . . . :blinking:

I got seasick snorkeling in Hanauma Bay - tossed cookies three times on the way back to shore. I got seasick in 6'-8' seas on my 10' safety stop in West Palm Beach, Fl, spewed once before I got on the boat. I got seasick in Key West, FL, when I got into the surge and it bounced me up and down ~4'.

For those of us that get seasick, the elevator motion at the surface is a sure-fire way to go there. Oh, yeah . . . go into a head while at sea. :shakehead:
 
Thanks for the tips, I believe it was motion sickness. I been sick like that before. It realy chops down my confiedense knowing that this may happen but I'll be more proactive next time. Next time I'll drink more water, use some medicine, chew some ginger and so on. Now I need to get back as soon as possible to slay the surf beast!

Richkeller,
Before I moved to AZ I grew up in Riverhead NY. I did'nt think much about diving when I lived there, I had to move to the desert to start diving....Ha! How the diving around LI?
 
Hey, Kritter, even if you feel ill, or do spew, make sure you drink, drink, drink!!! You can dehydrate very quickly.

Also, spewing something is way better than dry heaves. :yuck:
 
In my experience, on even the most benign shore dives, it'll get ya if you have partied too much the night before.
 
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