Seasick

[socaldiver]

To the Merry Tunemaker from Fla, and Mr Congeniality/Matchmaker in Texas, and to all the other seafarers that talk to Ralph I ask this question.

How rough do the seas have to be before you ah, well chuck it up? I got sick once way way back in the 60s when we hit a hurricane in the Med. I was bent over a diesel fuel cleaning tank cleaning parts with no air circulation when I was offered a blueberry muffin :boom: they held me over the rail for awhile. But that has been the only time. I have been out on 10 to 15 feet seas and it hasn't been a problem.

Best advice I can offer is if you are feeling woozy, go to the bow and breath the fresh air deep into your lungs, look straight out at the horizon and engage in a conversation with someone that will get your mind off the pitching and rolling.

 

[TexasMike]

How rough does it need to be? Why do you think I take showers and not tub baths?

Seriously, for me it depends on lots of different conditions. Including what I've eaten and if I was good about putting the Meclazine into my system. I have also noticed that its possible for me to psych myself out and worsen the problem. In otherwords, the old, "I just know this is gonna make me sick, I just know this is gonna make me sick." So it does. Thus my point about trying to find a comfy spot in the salon and sacking out on the way to the dive site.

But I have noticed that once I'm acclimatized to a particular area, aka got my sea legs, I have no problems.

 

[The Chairman]

That the Ralph which thou doest so casually speak thereof is duly a God. For I kneel to pray to him constantly when I am on his rolling shrine, and I offer up a multitude of sacrifices. Yea verily I do cast mine bread upon the waters and Ralph observes such and says this is good! I puke only in his putrid name. Ralph doest have a last name which is Ahoy. He is related to the cookie god Chips, who also sometimes issues forth as a sacrament from my nostrils.

3-4 ft I get woozey, with a possibility of control...
4-8 ft I am now probably going to go ballistic when the boat stops.. ie Ralph Ahoy!!!
8-10 ft (yes I have dove in this!) It's a done deal when we stop, even when the boat is under weigh I do not feel good.
10+ ft I become Ralph's monk! I see no one but Ralph and verily do I pray to him mightily.
14+ Blood will start mixing with the vomit... and vomit will start to issue from the nostrils as well (see comment about the god Chips Ahoy)

 

[Warhammer]

14+ Blood will start mixing with the vomit... and vomit will start to issue from the nostrils as well (see comment about the god Chips Ahoy)

LOL!! Those are the times that it is truely a blessing to be on a large boat, cattle drive or not, it sures beats the heck out of getting your brains beat out.

 

[JustJules]

LOL, Pete.

There's a second side to this thread, I think... what do (don't) you want your fellow divers onboard to do while you're feeling less than fresh? I got to thinking about this after last weekend's yak-a-thon off of West Palm Beach. My current list of things I don't want other people on the boat to do includes:

-Be NetDoc. No, seriously, I don't want to see anyone getting sick. That will make me do it, too
-Say they feel bad for me. Trust me, I'm feeling bad enough for myself. Be social, not sympathetic. I don't want to be reminded of how woozy I am.
-Offer helpful advice. If you want to help, offer to get me some water. Don't tell me how Aunt Edna used to get sick just from sitting in the back seat her to the grocery store until she learned to hang her head out of the window like a dog.

Just a few thoughts ...

Julie

 

[The Chairman]

I forgot ONE thing to do...

I was diving off of West Palm as well through what seemed a tropical storm (close to ten foot seas) and was waiting for SOMEONE to call the whole thing off. I was a new diver and not sure if I should stay or go. The DM on that trip took one look at me and DUMPED a whole bucket of C-O-L-D water (yes it had ice) on top of my head, and down the back of the neck of my wet suit... Took care of it just like that... so did getting into the water QUICK!!!

I do NOT someone saying "there he goes again..." I WILL puke on you just to make you vomit too! (Yes, I have done that too!!!) Get my mind off of the sickness and DON'T keep reminding me of it. Most are amazed when they go out with me and see just how many cookies are tossed in Ralph's putrid name, that I still function. Heck, diving or fishing I came out for some fun.

 

[Ber Rabbit]

I get seasick when I look at a boat. I start taking Dramamine 2 days before diving. I take one in the morning and one at night and continue this regimen for the entire trip. Morning of diving I eat a bland breakfast, toast and maybe melon because it comes up easy if the need arises. I ALWAYS take saltine crackers with me. I eat a few (3-6) right before I get on the boat. I sit away from any fuel fumes then eat a couple more crackers right after getting on the boat. As soon as we start moving, you guessed it, a few more crackers. Any time I feel the slightest hint of getting woosey (often a slight headache for me) I eat more crackers. I also drink LOTS of water for a couple days before the trip as well as during the trip. I feel better if I stay as close to the water line as possible while watching the horizon, no high spots on the boat for me.

If you are getting sick my friend has found that this method works to give you relief, temporarily. Get off the boat! Put your gear on at the dive site and get in the water, go to the safety stop if you don't feel you can actually dive and hang on the bar/rope/whatever is available, preferably with a buddy. My friend said you WILL feel better. She said she couldn't believe she went from too sick to put her own gear on (her buddy dressed her and basically threw her overboard) to being able to complete a dive. She said she got sick again as soon as she got on the boat though and was happy to get off again at the next site.

Just my .02

Ber

 

[JustJules]

Getting in the water is a time-honored bit of advice about how to solve seasickness. I must say, though, if the waves are big and there's a surge, descending to safety stop depth won't help me. Floating on the surface or getting knocked around by the surge is just as bad to me as being on the rocking boat... I've got to get to a depth where things are calmer!

Julie

 

[Bob]

Hello All,
I don't get seasick, but if I swallow just one little bit of sea water, I get violently ill almost immediately. I break out in a cold sweat and in five minutes I'm throwing up. This doesn't get better until I get off the boat. Needless to say, I breath through my reg until I'm on the boat. Forget the snorkel! :tree:Bob

 

[NAUTICAL NOBLE]

I like this link on it http://diverlink.com/medicine/seasickness.htm hope this helps