Ginger pills for motion sickness

[debandrickellis]

i would like some info on ginger pills versus dramamine for motion sickness. do they work and how many/often should they be taken. going on a liveaboard and do not want to be sick. thanks everyone.

 

[promocop]

I have tried the gum and the pills. Frankly Vernors Ginger Ale work best for me followed by the pills. The gum made me sick

 

[deco_martini]

i would like some info on ginger pills versus dramamine for motion sickness. do they work and how many/often should they be taken. going on a liveaboard and do not want to be sick. thanks everyone.

If you can't find a study showing they are more effective than a placebo, then they are probably no more effective than a placebo. Otherwise the ginger-pill makers would be able to make claims about the effectiveness of the pills.

Bonine and Dramamine do have efficiency studies and actually are proven to work for some people in them. If Dramamine isn't your thing, try Bonine.

On the effectiveness of ginger:
Ginger root is commonly thought to be an effective anti-emetic. One trial review indicated that sucking on crystallized ginger or sipping ginger tea can help to relieve the nausea,[16] while an earlier study indicated that it had only a placebo effect.[17]

So even with scarce data showing its efficiency, the one trial review that showed a greater than placebo effect did not use pills for its delivery mechanism.

There is no miracle cure for seasickness and no true remedy works for everybody. Personally, my dive buddy and I use bonine. On a rough crossing (like the old Blackbeards Miami to Bimini one), we got galley bunks and just laid up in our bunks with our eyes closed (and napped). Everyone else was up top with their dramamine patches, snake oil wrist bands, or no remedy at all chucking their guts out. I would hazard a guess that on that rough crossing, bonine alone wouldn't have saved us if we had tried the crossing on deck instead of napping in our bunks.

 

[paddler3d]

I've never used ginger anything for diving related. Frankly, knock of wood, I haven't been sea sick since the mid 80's. I used ginger tea for other simple stomach ailments.

It may be tricky on a live aboard, but it is real easy to make. You may be able to get the crew to make you a batch of it, or something.

Anyway, get a good chunk of ginger. Slice it, dice it, shred it, your choice. Simmer it in water for a while. Add honey to taste and drink warm or cold.

I tend to do $5-6 worth of ginger root to a gallon of water and simmer for 20minutes.

I have actually made some for a dive buddy, who the last couple of years seems to be developing sea sickness in his middle age, reportedly this is new, and it helped him out a lot.

He would drink 1/2 Nalgene before we'd get underway.

Don't forget proper hydration.

Good luck.

 

[spectrum]

Not all stores carry it but there are ginger Altoids out there. Those are the curiously strong chewable candies. My wife always keeps a tin handy. As for dosing I haven't a clue.

Pete

 

[deco_martini]

Not all stores carry it but there are ginger Altoids out there. Those are the curiously strong chewable candies. My wife always keeps a tin handy. As for dosing I haven't a clue.

Pete

Giving someone candy instead of real medicine.... Well. You just seriously told someone to take a placebo.

 

[DocVikingo]

Hi debandrickellis,

I suspect you'll find the following informative:

Tame the Technicolor Yodel: Managing Mal de Mer
Doc Vikingo's Sea Sickness Remedies

Regards,

DocVIkingo

 

[trigfunctions]

Bonine works best for me, but I have used ginger too. Get some candied ginger at the grocery store and have some before you get on the boat. Take it on the boat with you and have some if you feel an upset stomach.
http://ninecooks.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/2007/07/01/crystallizedginger_2.jpg

 

[The Mighty Thor]

For me, I had never had to "yodel" from motion sickness. Frequently, after the first dive, I had felt uncomfortable, and queasy, (and I had come close a few times). This also seems to get worse with age. I had always found that ginger before and during a dive trip, or drinking ginger ale/coke on the boat helped tremendously...that is until this weekend, when it hit me, and hit me hard, while in some moderately rough seas. Despite my efforts to stay still, look at the horizon, and not gear up, I ended up sharing my "technicolor" breakfast with the ocean. It seems there is always a fine line of when to gear up so that you are in the water faster, and when not to gear up until the sickness passes.

I dived a second dive, but had to cancel my later dives that day. Even on land, I felt like the last place I wanted to be was on a boat. I got my courage up, and I ended up doing a night dive, ate some ginger and although I felt better, I still could not fully enjoy the experience while aboard the boat. The DM suggested Bonine.

I took one Bonine pill before bed, and woke feeling quite fatigued (but that may have been from the dives and the first day in the tropics the day before, rather than the Bonine). I took another tablet in the morning before the dive. All I can say is that it worked miracles for me. I guess it is like the revelation that deep divers have when they first use trimix and realize how narced they used to be before trimix. I felt great and didn't have any real side effects. No noticeable difference in fatigue or sleepiness. Even after the first dive of the day I didn't feel any queasiness. Bonine really worked wonders, for me. At least for me, it seems that ginger helps alleviate the symptoms of motion sickness, where the Bonine completely prevented any symptoms.

 

[Randy43068]

For what it's worth...
Myth Busters did a segment on trying several sea sickness options. They discovered ginger to be effective. I don't recall if they tried it against Bonine and some of the other "real" medicines, however. Naturally, they were doing a show and it's not real science, but the evidence was enough I'd give it a try. Stomach upset seems to be an issue for those who take it I'm finding out as well.