sea sickness

[jackdale]

Originally Posted by Kai Nui

I think that is the most valuable advise I have seen in awhile

I did forget to add one:

Take the helm. Nobody get sick driving.

Jack

[Chief Engineer]

Cuban Cigars and smoked oysters work for me







It is a joke The Captain and I said we were gonna play on the owners/guests on a yacht we worked on years ago.

Never did

[dacust]

Originally Posted by jackdale

Take the helm. Nobody get sick driving.

Well, there IS a way to get sick driving.

Only time I've been seasick was going across the Gulf in Florida at night. I was experimenting with the GPS and switched to the 3D view (actually a road navigation view). I found it was imprecise enough that I naturally stopped micro-correcting my course and driving became more relaxed than aiming down that narrow line on the 2D view. Only problem was, I started getting sick. Didn't realize what was causing it as it came on slow. My mate was downstairs working in the motion and diesel fumes and starting to feel a little queasy, so he came up and took over for me so I could go lay down. When he looked at the display, he immediately got the effects from it and switched it back. When I got back up there, I left it on the 2D and felt just fine the rest of the night.

So, I agree with you, jackdale, you might never get sick driving, as long as you're looking forward.

Off subject here, but as to the micro-correcting, I read in an article that an experiment was done comparing a beginner and an experienced captain. They held a straight course over 4 miles. The results were that they both traveled the same distance in the same amount of time. But the beginner made about 4 times as many course corrections. It was remembering that article that prompted me to experiment with the GPS views that night.

-dan

[Chiroeurope]

Once in a while I get sea sick and I follow Lord Nelson solution. I go down into the belly of the beast and sit by the mast for a half hour or a bit more and I am good from that point until I set foot on land again and it may come back or not.

Michael

[TexSail]

I have heard some sailors say that an ice pack on the back of your neck helps.

[mikereed100]

An alternative to scopolamine patches that I don't see mentioned often is the oral form taken in 0.4 mg tablets 3x/day. The patches are ok but delivery of the medication varies with temperature, moisture, adhesion and location of the patch which may account for a lot of the side effects seen with it.

Mike

[Paul L]

Originally Posted by Louis Riel

Stugeron made by Jantzen works well. The Mexican 75 miligram ones work better than the British 15mg ones unless you take 5 of the Brit ones.
Candied ginger works for me most of the time.
Brent

Stugeron is gods gift to those of us afflicted with seasickness. I don't buy your advice to up the dose 5 times. The 15mg are for motion sickness. The 75mg used for treating other diseases. Stick with the low dose - it works.

Paul L

[ronbo1]

Paul L raises a vital point on dosage of Stugeron.

Fifteen mg is generally the safe prescribed dosage for motion sickness.

The 75 mg dose of Stugeron (cinnarizine) is used to treat other problems such as epilepsy and arteriosclerosis; it's a powerful antihistamine that can be harmful when used at this dosage.

Check with your doctor.

Ronbo

[billangiep]

Although I have never been severely sick I do occasionally get uncomfortable sailing off shore at night reading charts ext. and have found ginger capsules from the health food store to be extremely helpful for taking the edge off.
Bll,

[cooper]

Motion sickness...what a terrible thing it is...ginger does seem to work. Even the chemists car sickness ginger may be helpful. Get up and steer....( auto pilot off you are in control). Watch the sails, the horizon, the compass....and dont call me unless you have to. (Creating a focus, a need to look at the horizon, and a duty that may force you to swallow and keep going). I lose the plot with full on sea sickness medication. I havnt done it for a very long time so am not the best of advice. Will be soon though so, it is something that is important to me. I may well be (as skipper) in a crappy state of mind. Short handed on a small boat (38) with one other person....

[GordMay]

Basically, motion or sea sickness results from a conflict between the eye and ear: the inner ears detect that the boat is moving, but the eyes, focused within the boat, do not. The brain gets conflicting signals, and nausea results.

~ Focus on a distant point outside the boat, looking toward the horizon (in the direction of travel). This helps to reorient the inner sense of balance, by providing a visual reaffirmation of motion.

~ Closing your eyes, or napping, helps to resolve the input conflict between the eyes and the inner ear. Keep your eyes at rest, and don’t move your head too much.

~ Keep hydrated, by drinking plenty of water.

~ Fresh, cool air can also relieve motion sickness slightly.

~ An increasingly popular way to treat motion sickness is by applying acupressure, usual by placing a motion sickness wrist band on each wrist.

~ Ginger has also been used to treat motion sickness. You can drink it in a tea, consume fresh sliced ginger root, drink ginger ale, apply oil to your temples or neck, or swallow powdered ginger pills. Another natural remedy for motion sickness is peppermint tea, with herbal remedies ranging from carrot and apricot juice to parsley and unroasted seeds.
There is little evidence that any of these actually work - but just knowing you're fighting back might be helpful (placebo effect).

~ Vitamin B6 (bananas, beans, nuts), choline (eggs, meat, oatmeal) and Coenzyme Q10 (nuts, fish, spinach) are all touted as helpful in controlling nausea. But again, none of this has been medically verified.

[hellosailor]

Freetime, no one cure works for everyone. You would be most strongly advised to go out for a daysail and see if you get sick. Some folks get sick and stay sick for two or three days. Some folks get sick enough that they rupture the esophagus and need medical evacuation--it can be a deadly problem, not just an inconvenience.

No one medicine works for everyone, you'll find plenty of discussions about alternatives, but the bottom line is that nothing works on more than about 1/3 of the general population.

[sildene]

I recall a positive comment by Nigel Calder in Cruising World magazine about a wrist band generating electric pulses that ameliorates the conflicting signals Gord refers to. The product is called Relief Band and apparently works very well for some people, to the extent that it has an effect minutes after switching it on. You do not have to use it before the journey.

It costs around US$130 and needs replacement batteries and gel. Given the price, it would be nice to hear from anyone here that has had direct experience of Relief Band.

Martin

[Agility]

Originally Posted by sildene

The product is called Relief Band and apparently works very well for some people, to the extent that it has an effect minutes after switching it on. You do not have to use it before the journey.

Given the price, it would be nice to hear from anyone here that has had direct experience of Relief Band.

Martin

When we went on our year long cruise I wore the Relief Band on our first crossing. Early spring North Atlantic force 9 gale. We were beating into 15 foot seas. I had a cheeseburger just before leaving Norfolk. I didn't feel well at all but I didn't loose my lunch. I felt bad for 2 days straight but kept wearing the band. When we stopped in Bermuda I bought some Sturgeron and kept using is for the next year and never went back to the band. I never had the guts to be the Captain and feel that sick but I think the Band "may" have worked very well.

Anybody really put the Band through it's paces?

Tim

[max_hyde]

Bio-dramina with caffeine, absolutely awesome, not only stops you chucking (force eight on a fin keeler going to windward) the caffeine keeps you awake and stops you turning into a zombie, just remember to keep taking it every three to four hours, easy to forget when you feel good!!!! I have tried most of the over the counter stuff, and most prescription only medications and this has been the only thing to work consistently! Its available in most southern european countries and online! Stop taking it after 2-3 days and no more problems.