Sea Sickness - Best Preventions

[JPA Cate]

Originally Posted by snort

Just read an article in a sailing magazine about this topic. A lot of votes for Stugeron, but an MD advised against it. (Maybe someone else can remember where this article was located....Latitutde 38?)
At any rate, one suggestion that would be easy to try would be wearing an earplug in your non-dominant ear-if you're a righty, wear one in your left ear and vice-versa.

Snort, that was in a CF thread here about 3 or 4 seasickness threads back.

A different doctor came in and explained more about the potential side effects as related to dosages.

We use Stugeron. It works well for us, with little side effects for us.

Ann

[EngNate]

In Mexico I found the best by far, the only one I know of that does work after you are sick. It is made by Pfizer and several years ago it was called 'Bonazin'. The earlier name was 'Bonadoxina'. It contains Meclazine and Piroxidine. I've never used it myself - I don't get seasick, but have the firsthand observations and feedback from dozens: no side effects, works pretty fast and even if you're already there. I've only seen it in Mexico.

[TheOffice]

I've tried the earplug and it works! Just looks funny having a piece of orange foam sticking in your ear.


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[jipcho]

When I was in New Zealand, I heard about the local concoction called Paihia Bomb, but does anyone know what's in it exactly, or how to find out?
My girlfriend has tried all the others, Stugeron, Scopalomine patches, Bonine, etc. None work. We're desperate.
Thanks,
David (Jipcho)

[JPA Cate]

Originally Posted by jipcho

When I was in New Zealand, I heard about the local concoction called Paihia Bomb, but does anyone know what's in it exactly, or how to find out?
My girlfriend has tried all the others, Stugeron, Scopalomine patches, Bonine, etc. None work. We're desperate.
Thanks,
David (Jipcho)

Hi, David,

Yes, I tried that, too. The Paihia Bomb was two meds: ephedrine, and I think phenergan, an antihistamine. The antihistamine phenergan tends to make people drowsy, and the ephedrine was to keep you awake, incidentally also raising blood pressure. Two different bottles, and the instructions for when you took what came from a doctor there, but golly, it was 26 yrs. ago! I don't remember the dosages.

Some people never get over their sea sickness. If your girlfriend is one of those who keep on vomiting after she's empty, she might ask the doctor for compazine suppositories. Ideal would be to have a doc who is a sailor and who can sympathize with the problem. There is always concern about the possibility of dehydration if she cannot stop throwing up.

The wrist bands may help keep her from throwing up, but for some people it is the nauseous feeling that is the worse part of seasickness, more a problem than the actual throwing up. At least for me, the wrist bands worked to keep me from throwing up, but the nausea and the shakes were not effected at all.

Good luck, I hope you find something that will work.

Ann

[JPA Cate]

David,

I just remembered this, and it is crucial. For some people, they need to start taking the Stugeron before the day they sail. One of our friends used to start them three days before leaving. That was the only way it would work for him.

So, before your girl friend gives up on it entirely, she might try that method, and continue taking them for at least 3 days at sea on passage. I can get by fine taking it when I get up in the morning, then leaving, but if that was what she tried, and it didn't work, she could try getting it the night before, anyway, if just for a weekend sailing, and then keep up the medication in her blood for the whole weekend.

She really needs to talk with a sympathetic and well informed doctor, because they, or the pharmacist, will know best about the timing of the doses. We use the 15 mg Stugeron, according to the directions on the box. I understand it is marketed in higher dosages, but I don't know anything about those ones. I hope professional guidance will help your girlfriend.

By the way, it's unlikely (a) that you can get the Paihia Bomb these days, and (b) unlikely that it would work for your gf in any event, as she has not responded to the other anti-histamines, either. But in the case of Stugeron, maybe our friend's method might make the difference for her. He said it was the only drug and the only way of using it that worked for him.

Ann

[Dauntlessny]

Originally Posted by jkindredpdx

Transderm Scop Patch Transderm Scop (Scopolamine) Drug Information: Description, User Reviews, Drug Side Effects, Interactions - Prescribing Information at RxList or if you want to try to stay natural consume Ginger.

I have found the patch to most effective for long periods, they are supposed to last three days.

I have found that If I am already seasick, they will not have any affect until I go to sleep.

The only pills that I have found effective for me is Promethazine 25mg. They work very quickly If I am already seasick.

Lastly, for whatever reason, I get more seasick now, then I did three years ago. So it not always about getting accustomed to something.

Richard

[hellosailor]

Gravol is the same drug as Dramamine in the US. And Dramamine has had several different ingredients over the years, it pays to know the actual real drug you are taking.


I've tried Sturgeron, found it works about as well as a placebo for me. OTOH Scopolamine, which is rx only on the US market but available on the shelf (as Kwells and other brands) in the former British Empire, works very well. Except, it is a powerful drug and you need to read the list of possible problems, and try it out on shore, where medical aid is available should you need it.


The "NASA cocktail" has also been changed, I'm told, to now use scopolamine and one of the other ingredients. They were partnering with someone to make a nasal spray but that's gotten nowhere.


But everyone seems to have missed the electric "Relief Bands'. These are not just buttons on the wrist, but they send an electric pulse into the nerves, adjustable strength. FDA approved to prevent morning sickness in pregnancies, so it has actually been tested and found to work. The truly waterproof version is an expensive throw-away, the batteries in it cannot be replaced. The "pregnancy" version uses replaceable batteries. Go figure.


It isn't Scop but it comes real close. If you have it turned up on "5", it feels like a rat chewing on your wrist, but if you've ever been seasick, that's really quite acceptable. Especially considering there are no medical complications, and it can be turned on and off and adjusted as needed.

[Lepke]

I've been going to sea for 50+ years and the best treatment was Dramamine the evening before. It makes you sleepy, you get a good nights sleep and the next day your fresh and don't get sick.
I've taken lots of people out that get sea sick, and this always worked for them.
Also avoid spicy and greasy foods the night before. Don't be hung over.

[cathnath]

You can call the Paihia Pharmacy on +64 9 4027034 Paihia Pharmacy - Paihia's local pharmacy, pay for them using Credit card and they will turn up in a few days. They did help me, however not sure they are any better than Sturgeron.

Handy tip I find, go Carb free with you diet a few days prior to sailing.

[poiu]

I don't suffer really, so no personal experience of drugs, but I can say as a counter to the positives about Stugeron is it makes some people so dopey they can't function. My pal, who relies on the stuff is particularly badly affected by sea sickness. After taking it he can't remember how to tie a bowline and sits (when not asleep) looking into the distance with a vacant stare of the half dead.

[Ribbit]

Originally Posted by poiu

I don't suffer really, so no personal experience of drugs, but I can say as a counter to the positives about Stugeron is it makes some people so dopey they can't function. My pal, who relies on the stuff is particularly badly affected by sea sickness. After taking it he can't remember how to tie a bowline and sits (when not asleep) looking into the distance with a vacant stare of the half dead.

Aye the recommended dose (2 x 15mg tablets here) can have that effect.

Having been seasick just the once (F10+ Bay of Biscay, and only when I went below), it was so unpleasant, I don't want to repeat it, so use Stugeron as a preventative.

What works for me (as you can feel the effect of it, but not feel sleepy with it), is taking a half of a tablet (7.5mg total) about a half hour before getting on a boat. Others are fine with the same dose, up to a day before. Others need one tablet (I've not met anyone needing two tablets a period before, but I am sure they exist).

I repeat that half tablet dose every 24 hours then, until I am sure I have my sea legs.

The only time I use two Stugeron, is for people that are already seasick. I tell them to let them dissolve under their tongue, so they get it in their bloodstream, as they will probably throw them up if they swallow them. I've never seen it fail in curing seasickness like that (about 20 minutes and they are ok, but getting sleepy. Time then for them to have hot drinks and something to eat like toast and marmalade (marmalade was a seasick cure too - comes from the name mal de mer), then lie down in the warm and have a sleep.

Anybody really worried about being seasick, having been seasick before, I'd probably tell them to take one tablet 24 hours before going aboard, then take a half tablet within an hour of going aboard. That might take care of most sufferers ok.

If that doesn't quite do it and they are starting to feel queasy, then one tablet under the tongue for them should be enough, and they may well avoid being sleepy. People just need to fine tune it to what suits them best.

As Stugeron aren't available in USA, I'm going to order some 30mg tablets, and take a quarter of one for the 7.5mg. Should have plenty spare if I come across anybody suffering then (most of my Stugeron always seem to go to people that don't have anything to take).

It's worth taking very close note of the dosages on the packets, as I think even 90mg ones are available in places like Mexico. These high dosages are used in the treatment of illnesses like Raynauds. I'd still buy them, but cut them up to reduce the dosage dramatically (a half a tablet would give me 6 days of doses, so potentially very economical, and 6 days should be fine for getting my sea legs).

PS. Just noticed Ann said this: "One of our friends used to start them three days before leaving. That was the only way it would work for him." and it doesn't surprise me at all. We're all different, and different amounts and different acclimatisation periods affect each of us in different ways.

I don't know which one it is, but there's a local anaesthetic that does affect me, but not as a painkiller. It makes me laugh. In absolute agony, I was laughing my socks off.

Thankfully I've only had that one once.

[hellosailor]

A lot of the seasickness meds are antihistamines, all with varying "sleep aid" side effects or primary effects, and a double dose of them can certainly do that. Some of the meds, i.e. Scop, are in totally different categories. Before I met Scop (which was on the shelf, not even OTC at that time) someone gave me two something-or-other-zines when we headed out into a stormy night and the storm got the best of me. I literally tied into a stanchion and slept on the cockpit coaming, so I couldn't fall overboard but could easily feed the fish if need be. (Happily wasn't.) But somewhere in the middle of the night someone shook my shoulder and slapped a winch handle in my hands and said "Can you help us reef?" and I looked at the winch handle, now in my two hands, and said "Uh?" and he had the sense to take it away again.
Nossir, the only guaranteed effect of the antihistamines is that you probably will sleep through the bad weather. OTOH, the other categories are all outright dangerous for some folks, not to be casually shared with friends.
When the FDA put scop on the "by rx only" list, I laid an old Egyptian curse on the head of the FDA: "May all the camels in Egypt trod upon your leftmost toe!"
Might as well put my morning coffee on an rx list...

[JPA Cate]

What you say about the scopalomine is true. Before I tried it, my doc told me to try it ashore, as some people hallucinate with it. Not good on a sailboat. Bad enough on land.

ann

[jackdale]

Originally Posted by Ann T. Cate

What you say about the scopalomine is true. Before I tried it, my doc told me to try it ashore, as some people hallucinate with it. Not good on a sailboat. Bad enough on land.

ann

My wife is a pharmacist. She does not recommend scopalomine as it can affect cognitive ability. And some of us have enough issues with cognition already.