SEA Sickness

[ebbtide]

hi all
i know this isnt the best sounding topic but it mught help some .
ive been a fisherman on the atlantic for the last 15 or so years
i am 31 now . and after all this time on the water , i still get seasick its just something that ive become accustom to ive tried all the remideys you can think of ! and the only one that werks for me is to let it happen and then EAT some bread or crackers after wards so that the dry heavs dont set in , ive spent up to 3 days on the water with them and they arnt fun learned my lesson i did !
now ive taked gravol and other sea sickness pills most of all will make you drowsy ! the patch behind the ear still throws me off balance . so i ask you how do YOU handle it and does it hapen often to you ,
best advice stay cool above deck, open air is real good for ya .
for me it is even happened under water ! now thats an experience ide like to forget hahaha

 

[ScubaJorgen]

Geee, I thought you could get over sea sickness :spew: ...

I am afraid getting sea sick. This still stops me taking part in wreck diving on the North sea. Wrecks on the North sea lie a number of hours sailing from the coast. I've heard bad stories about sea sickness.... :waaaa:

 

[ScubaBaby]

I got through my Advanced O/W and Rescue Diver while I was asleep. Well...while I was on deck.

I was forced to take sea-sickness pills which I were told were non-drowsy....huh - you try telling that to me when my head hits the deck quicker than you could say "a".

The only way I've ever felt better is by getting in the water - however dont try getting in the water when the boats moving !

I've always suffered from sea-sickness - even on large ferries. I havent found a miracle cure....but if you know of one - let me know!

I would love to do a live-a-board but my sea-sickness puts me off - and I like to enjoy my holidays not sleep through them!

 

[Drew Sailbum]

I guess some people are more susceptible to sea sickness. uke:

Aside from the available medicine and/or sea band type treatments, I've found a few things which help out some people.

Fresh air and staying out on deck seem to help. Choose a position away from any engine fumes, and face into the prevailing wind. Be careful, and be ready to run to the downwind side of the boat if you feel sick. (As the song states, "You don't spit into the wind.")

Look out toward the horizon, and don't focus your eyes on up close things, like reading :read: material. Failing that, close your eyes!

One theory is that sea sickness is caused by confusing signals coming in to the brain. The spatial senses in the inner ear tell your body that you are in motion, but if your eyes have an unmoving image, your brain gets confused with all the bad results that brings. :spew:

 

[caymancase]

All the things that Drew said... and we had the opportunity today to try out a new product that I've never seen before. And.. it worked!
We had a little bit of wave action here today and 1 of our divers was feeling a bit queesy. One of our divers from a previous trip left behind a product called "Motion Eaze" that he swore by. Just a couple of drops of this herbal liquid dabbed behind her ear did the trick. Don't know if it was psychosymatic (sp?) or not, but she felt a whole lot better. The only problem is that you need to reapply about every 15 minutes or so.
Might be worth checking into? Can't hurt...

 

[k4sdi]

My first trip to blue water was to West Palm beach florida. We left KY about 6PM sunday night and drove all night and most of the next day. We put our 22 ft sailboat in about 3PM Monday.
*Note: Being this was my first dive trip in salt water, and I was pretty excited, I hadnt slept at all on the drive down. Also, being excited, I had forgotten to eat anything, except for that xtra large bag of twizzlers. (yea, the whole bag). Now, I've been in pretty heavy seas in our local lake, 3 - 4 footers aren't too uncommon, but I guess the open ocean waves are timed a little different or something. (Or maybe it was the twizzlers) but ughhhhhhhhh.
(wow! it IS possible to throw up through your reg!) Since then, I ALWAYS take dramamine no matter if I think I'll need it or not.


Side Note:
A friend of mine swears by those watch like electronic things to help her not get sick. Its funny to watch her hand twitch every second or two though!!!

 

[scubabunny]

One of the best sea sick remedies I have heard of is ginger. I was first introduced to it in Indonesia. I don't know how it works, but when I put it in my coffee...it helped with the sea sickness..and made the coffee taste really good!

I know there are some ginger seasick pills on the market. Trident has some, so if you shop can get Trident, see if they can order some for them.

Go to www.tridentdive.com to get the stock number.

Seabands help me sometimes, but it might just be the power of suggestion. But, that isn't bad either!

 

[sunfish]

I have been seasick twice in my life. Once was about seven or eight years ago when I was in crew. There was dense fog and I couldn't see the shore or even a few feet past the bow. It freaked out the rest of the crew because I was the one who was supposed to be steering! The second time was about two weeks ago, on my last dive. We did two boat dives, and I got seasick both times. It was a windy day (though there was little drift below, and once we got started it was fabulous). The boat had tarps around the deck to keep out the wind, which made for a warm ride, but I couldn't see the horizon, and I think that got me seasick. I think the visual input has a lot to do with it...it certainly does for me!ut:

 

[DivingDoc]

Originally posted by ebbtide
hi all
now ive taked gravol and other sea sickness pills most of all will make you drowsy ! the patch behind the ear still throws me off balance . so i ask you how do YOU handle it and does it hapen often to you ,
best advice stay cool above deck, open air is real good for ya .
for me it is even happened under water ! now thats an experience ide like to forget hahaha

Hmmm -- I get seasick too. Usually I try all the things that have already been mentioned: stay above deck, avoid deisel fumes, get the wind in your face, and focus on the horizon. Failing that -- if I know it's going to be rough, even 1/4 of a dramamine (which, I think is now formulated as meclizine -- often prescribed for vertigo) taken ahead of time (before getting on the boat) -- will often be preventative. I heard that the coast guard used to use a combination of 25 mg phenergan (often prescribed for nausea, but makes you sleepy) and 25 mg ephedrine (which wakes you up, but is no longer available in the US). Phenergan is even available in a suppository as well as by injection or in a pil (all by prescription). Perhaps a combo of phenergan and sudafed would work!

There is also an allergy remedy called Mescolor (not sure of spelling) which is a combo of an antihistamine, pseudoephedrine and a scopolomine-like agent (which is what is in the behind-the-ear patches) which could work -- just a theory.

 

[DocVikingo]

Hi DivingDoc,

Dramamine now comes in two flavors, Dramamine Original Formula (dimenhydrinate) & Dramamine Less Drowsy Formula (meclizine). Both make many folks drowsy, although less so with the latter. Research has indicated that the former is not a good mix with scuba.

Mescolor is an antihistamine/decongestant/drying agent that contains chlorpheniramine, pseudoephedrine & methscopolamine nitrate (Transderm Scop uses straight scopolamine within its delivery system). Mescolor might be helpful against mal de mer, but I certainly wouldn't recommend it for scuba unless the diver also had signs/symptoms of allergic rhinitis, sinusitis and/or a common cold.

Best regards.

DocVikingo