Dealing with seasickness, how to.

[ozdigennaro]

I like many of the answers, especially "put her at the helm, looking forward"
For drugs I escalate through Dramamine (placebo value only), Meclazine to Scopalamine. My personal choice is Meclazine.

[safariKY]

Meclazine is a miracle for me. I take one every morning and every night, to keep blood levels consistent. I also start taking it the day before I arrive.

[Comix Bay]

"How long does it last? Is it a recurring problem? Do you get through it then your O.K.? Does it come on overtime you set sail? Does it come and go while sailing?"

Back in my 'Navy Days', I had a CPO who got sick every time we slipped the lines, and this was on a DDE. Stayed that way until we were tied up in port again! But then, again he had only been in for 25 years!!! Myself, I got sick almost every time we went out after a few weeks lay over in port. Lasted about 24-36 hours. Still get woozie on my son's boat.

Ted VA7YQQ

[Captdd]

*Stay Aft looking at the horizon
*Do not eat or drink before getting underway
*Anything Ginger (Ginger Ale works for me) snaps, ginger root tea
*Clothes pins on your earlobes

Captd

[partingclouds]

Yes, the Acu Band works because it's stimulating the acupuncture point called "Neiguan" which is a Master Point on the PericardiumMeridian, good for treating any complaints in the entire torso; specific for the heart, chest and stomach. THE point to know to treat nausea, palpitations, faintness, etc. It's a powerhouse acupoint, and can be stimulated just by using rotational thumb pressure for a couple minutes. Use it bilaterally for best results, but even just one wrist works.
Try it and see.

Thank me later. (Ell-o-ell) 😎


Partingclouds

[LLCoolDave]

For my first offshore passage this summer I bought Dramamine, Motion Eaze (herbal mixture) which you rub behind your ear and Sea Bands which is the acupressure system others have mentioned. I figured one of them was bound to work. Each was pretty cheap so I didn't the wasted cash if they didn't work. Turns out I'm one of the lucky ones who doesn't get seasick. Yay! I still keep all three in my sailing bag just in case.

[Chas.7]

Hello,
I would eat pretzels or dry foods, stay on deck looking at the horizon if possible. Always try to get fresh air below decks. Change direction, I alway felt a following sea on the quarter was the worst. One time off Cap Hatteras I tied my self to stern towing bits to sleep because I couldn't take the smell of the diesels. I believe after a few days you'll get use to the motion the sickness will disappear.
Good luck

[Mikado]

While I'm sure that ginger, wrist bands, Dramamine, etc work for some people the one remedy that seems 100% effective is a Scopolamine patch behind the ear.

Just go to your Dr and tell them you are going cruising for a few weeks and they will subscribe. You will have plenty for you and your crew if needed.

The only side effect I have heard of (me included) is extremely dry mouth for a day or so. If the person is really sensitive to sea sickness, start on the patch a day before you go out. The patches last 24 hrs. If you are on a long cruise you will acclimate to the motion over a few days and you can probably get off the patch in a week or so.

I'm ok without them now but I keep them on my boat for guests just in case.

Nothing can ruin a cruising experience short and long term for guests and crew worse than seasickness. Afterwards most people swear that they will never set foot on a boat again.

That's the last thing you want to hear from the Admiral :-)

[vlathom]

I am ready with a bottle of ginger tablets (capsules). The minute I start to feel nauseous or unsteady, I take two to three right away and then more in about 15 minutes if it's still around. Has worked for me every time, but need to get on it immediately. Once seasickness really gets going, it's hard to stop. I did not find ginger snaps or ginger ale concentrated enough to work.

(ginger inside the capsules can also be used for cooking.)

[JPA Cate]

My quals to discuss this: over 30 yrs. of trying stuff to alleviate seasickness. The only thing I haven't tried is the electrical stimulus bands. Meclizine and marezine work for me to some extent. Ginger, not really. Dramamine puts me to sleep, so I don't suffer, but I don't want to spend my sailing time zonked out. Scopalamine patches give me a very dry mouth, but I don't hallucinate with them like some people.

No, my drug of choice is Stugeron, cinnarizine HCl, I feel "normal" with it, and it does not make me drowsy. I take one 15 mg. tablet before we leave, and then, one every 8 hrs. Stop taking on the third day out, if it is a passage Coastally, would usually use one, only when it is rough, as my body doesn't like jerky motion. It was a many years process before I found what works best for me, and I truly think anyone who gets seasick or motionsick in cars or planes should experiment to see what works best for them. One does learn lots of little tricks to handle it, and I find standing at the helm, and "driving" the boat does help, if you do it from early on. Act as soon as possible with your prophylaxis, as mal de mer is like pain: it is harder to make it go away than it is to keep it from getting established.

Stugeron is not sold in the US, or Australia, but it is otc in Mexico, England, Belgium, and Vanuatu. I've been told people in the US get it via the Internet from Canadian suppliers. It is probably available in many other places, those are only the ones I know of.

Ann

[Don C L]

The ginger thing may work for some but it made my buddy worse a while ago. I believe a big part of seasickness is the anxiety that comes from trying to reconcile living on a moving surface and not being confident deep down that the motion is normal and safe. If someone is quietly fearful that the motion relates to some kind of impending doom, sea-sickness is much more likely IMO. Once you know the motion is normal or even fun, this tends to calm the overactive nerves. All these responses here are good, SteadyHand seals it up well. Some folks have very severe forms that may last 2 or 3 days... really need to check that because it can be dangerous, the body functions start to shut down. On the positive side, my good friend bought a boat a year ago and had not been out sailing in a while. He usually got seasick previously so he took meds, but to no avail on the delivery. I had to drop him off along the way because he was just too sick. BUT we went out this summer on his boat for five days and he had NO problem in or out of the boat the whole time. He was quite pleased with himself and his decision to buy the boat. His love for the sea and the local islands were very powerful motivators for him to push though the initial negatives. Make sure your significant other is having LOTS of FUN no matter what, if you want her to overcome her fears and push through the negative times.

[MuirdeWet]

Dear All

Apologies for repeating previous information and it might have even been mentioned in this thread but consider EPANUTIN (Phenytoin).

There was a recent seasickness thread and I paste here what I wrote there:


Re: Persistent SeaSickness - Discouraging
Hello all!

I am (or was, before I started boat building!) an aviation- and diving medicine specialist and have worked a lot with motion sickness in divers as well as pilots. Just a few thoughts:

We get our sense of position from 3 sources:

1. Vision (+-80%)
2. Inner ear (semicircular canals, sacule and utricule +-10%)
3. Proprioception (signals from your joints and muscles,+-10%).

Motionsickness pops up, to a greater or lesser degree, when your brain struggles to make sense of the confusing data it gets from these 3 sources ( on a bouncing boat or rolling aircraft).

StuM, thanks for clearing up the BPPV thing. I guess there is always a chance that someone might have both phenomena (they have overlapping symptoms), but essentially they are two completely different things. The maneuver might still be soothing?

MEDICATION: PHENYTOIN (EPANUTIN) 100MG once daily; ALLOW 4 DAYS FOR SEALEGS

The final word in medical treatment for motion sickness, as far as I know. You'll have to get a prescription. It is an interesting drug as it was developed for the treatment of epilepsy, but somewhere along the line they discovered that low dosages works wonders for motion sickness.

All drugs have side effects and contraindications, so see your GP before taking it, but the basic idea is 100mg 24h before boarding and 100mg daily for 3 or 4 days.

Most other drugs have anti-histamine properties and will make you drowsy, but I know there are some newer ones that are even approved for (or about to be approved for) fighter pilots. Phone your nearest air-force base and ask to speak to the flight surgeon! Keep on working your way through them till you find one which works for you.

Not much more to say. The other sailors (more experienced than me!) have given good advice. There are no shortcuts unfortunately (accept for the drug above) if you are motion sensitive. Once you spend more than 4 days at sea in stead of a few hours then you'll be sorted.

Lastly, someone mentioned singing. Made me think: A while ago my brother and I were part of a crew taking a 38ft catamaran from Cape Town to the Caribbean. I am extremely motion-tolerant; I sort of just feel ever so slightly fuzzy the first 3 days at sea; but even the slight fuzziness vanished completely every time I popped in-ear-earphones in my ears and listened to moderately loud music! So try that every time you lie down!

All the very best and happy sailing!

Muir

[Sea Dreaming]

Originally Posted by Don C L

The ginger thing may work for some but it made my buddy worse a while ago. I believe a big part of seasickness is the anxiety that comes from trying to reconcile living on a moving surface and not being confident deep down that the motion is normal and safe. If someone is quietly fearful that the motion relates to some kind of impending doom, sea-sickness is much more likely IMO. Once you know the motion is normal or even fun, this tends to calm the overactive nerves.


Make sure your significant other is having LOTS of FUN no matter what, if you want her to overcome her fears and push through the negative times.

Being anxiety prone this makes sense to me. Anxiety is really an overblown fight of flight response. This means that your rational side KNOWS the "fear" is a physiological response, not an emotional one, but once activated you feel out of control. Being able to connect "fun" to the appearant danger of the moment can really help. Non-anxiety prone people will recognize this as the same feeling of anticipating a roller coaster ride.

I would say, if you are the sea worthy type but your partner is more anxiety prone be as light hearted as possible. Make the experience fun for the other guy by shelving recriminations and blame. It might sound silly but pull out all stops and be silly, just as you do when you are enticing a toddler to eat by playing airplane spoon. Be light, keep your attitude light and the anxiety prone person will usually come around I think. At least to the point where they can relax and be easy even if they are sea sick.

[KJThomas]

Sit under an apple tree.

Most people get over seasickness within a few days regardless. Which is why most remedies work.

[Sailor647]

Originally Posted by Steady Hand

1. Put her on the helm from the start, looking forward. Do not have her sit below or sitting staring at the side of the cockpit. Start her out by having her look forward at the helm or as the boats "lookout" always with her eyes on the horizon, NOT down in the cockpit or below.
2. You do the cooking until she is comfortable..
3. Avoid greasy foods or alcohol before sailing.
4. Sleep on the boat overnight before a voyage or sailing in seas.
5. Stay in protected waters and mild winds until she gains confidence about being on a boat.

Agree with all of the above. I occasionally get seasick - even after being on the water for years. For me, preventing it in the first place is better than trying to cure it once it sets in.

I eat a high protein/high carb/low fat meal the night before we depart. The morning of departure, I don't eat until I know that I'm not going to be sick. I do drink coffee though. If I feel even a twinge of nausea, I immediately take the helm - usually 3-4 hours does the trick. Then I have a light lunch - usually a cool cucumber sandwich and a glass of water or 7 Up. Once I get past the first six hours, I don't have to worry about getting nauseous or sick for the rest of the time / days on the water.

I don't use wrist bands, ginger, Dramamine (too sleepy), or any of the other cures/fixes. Again, preventing it from occurring in the first place seems to work best for me.

Before I figured out my routine, I'd vomit within 20 minutes of being out in rough water. It is completely incapacitating. I was literally "sick-sick" and would have to sleep it off. But, after I woke up, I was always "better" and didn't get sick for the rest of the trip.

Best of luck and hope you figure out what works for her. Being on the water is so worth it! Cheers.