Sea Sickness Thread....Again

[Hydra]

Some people feel better when they stop drinking coffee at sea.

Some time ago, when I wasn't yet accustomed to the motions of combat ships in a seaway, the smell of coffee was enough to make me throw up.

Alain

[rognvald]

Unbusted, I would agree with Capt58 suggestion for ginger. Myth busters did a program on motionsickness where they tested various treatments on the participants as they did a continual Chinese jibe in a NASA space chair. The only item that worked for everyone was Ginger while the other pharmaceuticals had little or no effect except drowsiness. Others have suggested an inner ear problem which could also be a culprit, but I will go out on a limb and say that there are some who never get seasick and they are largely from countries that have a long tradition of seafaring. I believe Science will one day fully decode Man's eternal sequences of DNA and show ,like tolerance to alcohol, there are some who rarely get seasick based upon their genetic makeup. Is it a coincidence that Northern Europeans are represented in the sport of sailing in disproportionate numbers and that they also statistically are the greatest consumers of alcoholic beverages in the world? Of course, there are always exceptions, but the numbers speak for themselves. In your case, good luck with your problem. Try the tablets from a good health store. Good luck and good sailing.

[donradcliffe]

I've been through the benign postural vertigo thing too. I think what brought it on was the gyrations I was going through cleaning the bottom of the boat with snorkel gear.

Its pretty easy to diagnose and differentiate BPV--have someone watch your eyes when you tip your head back. It also hit me hardest when I would try to lie down in my bunk. Fortunately in my case it responded well to the maneuvers to put the rocks in your inner ear back where they belong. I met one woman who suffered all the way across the South Pacific and was cured in a few days by a NZ doctor using the Epley maneuver.

[unbusted67]

For those of you thinking about BPPV please have a look at this interesting link:
Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV) | Vestibular Disorders Association

I am definitely going to go to an ENT and get checked out for this. Thanks. See new things do come from old discussions!

This one is also interesting. My wife pulled it off of the Women Who Sail Forum. Lots of people say sea sickness is largely mental but this article argues that being sick can actually affect your mental state.

http://www.theverge.com/2013/8/21/45...e-your-stomach

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by donradcliffe

I've been through the benign postural vertigo thing too. I think what brought it on was the gyrations I was going through cleaning the bottom of the boat with snorkel gear.

Its pretty easy to diagnose and differentiate BPV--have someone watch your eyes when you tip your head back. It also hit me hardest when I would try to lie down in my bunk. Fortunately in my case it responded well to the maneuvers to put the rocks in your inner ear back where they belong. I met one woman who suffered all the way across the South Pacific and was cured in a few days by a NZ doctor using the Epley maneuver.

The first time I had it, the BPPV was misdiagnosed. After being miserable for months, I researched it on line, found the Epley maneuver, called my doctor. Now I can just stop it in its tracks.

But one reason you need the differential diagnosis by an MD is just that -- it tends to come back, but if you can deal with it right away, it's very short-lived.

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by unbusted67

For those of you thinking about BPPV please have a look at this interesting link:
Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV) | Vestibular Disorders Association

I am definitely going to go to an ENT and get checked out for this. Thanks. See new things do come from old discussions!

This one is also interesting. My wife pulled it off of the Women Who Sail Forum. Lots of people say sea sickness is largely mental but this article argues that being sick can actually affect your mental state.

Gut feelings: the future of psychiatry may be inside your stomach | The Verge

Oh, seasickness does affect your mental state. Or, I should say it affects the mental state of the friend of mine who gets it. That's one reason they strapped her to the mast. She just wasn't thinking clearly to the point that she was a danger to herself and others.

I've only been seasick once. We were the committee boat, anchored in rough seas. the boat hobby horsed for hours, and finally I just ... let go ... over the side and downwind, thank you.

then I was fine. That's much milder than what my friend goes through although it didn't seem mild at the time!

[Steve Bean]

Has anybody tried the anti-seasickness goggles/glasses? They're available on line as of a few months ago. They have little tubes around the rims which contain a blue fluid that gives you an artificial horizon. I might try making some.

[captain58sailin]

Exhaust from gas boats bothers me.

[unbusted67]

Originally Posted by captain58sailin

Exhaust from gas boats bothers me.

Yup, goes without saying.z

[goodlife247]

Sea sickness is my kryptonite. From my experience I'd recommend Scopolamine capsules from scopace.com .. Steven's Pharmacy took over production of the equivalant of Scopace

[captain58sailin]

I really don't like the hallucinations that scopolamine can bring on.

[Teknav]

There are about a handful of motion sickness medications available, in addition to their derivatives. You need to keep in mind that if you're taking other medications, that there will be a possibility of a "conflict" between the drugs you're taking. That is why a motion sickness medication may work for someone, but not for another. A pharmacist should be able to tell you if there's such a "conflict" among the medications that you're taking. Motion sickness medication has a slow mode of action, but is long lasting. Once you've found one that doesn't have too many side effects, take it the night before the day of sailing. When the fluid in each of your ear canal "bounces", while your eyes are telling your brain that the horizon is flat, you get motion sickness; confused brain. Dulling of your senses is how these drugs work; can also cause you other ailments as side effects. Take care!

Mauritz
Knows and sees all...coconut ice cream maker is busted!

[john540]

Okay so to answer your question I have tried, Bonine 24 hr, dramamine, dramamine 12 hr, stugeron, ginger, marijuana (don't judge its an antiemetic and I wasn't a captain at the time), the shocker bracelet (worked surprisingly well) and a low oil diet for 48 hrs before the passage. Of the three meds I have taken stugeron worked the best but was still accompanied by some serious nausea at times. Bonine and Dramamine equaled the nausea in being debilitating. The low oil, no alcohol for 48 hrs diet really helps but I ended up pretty sick any way.

You didn't mention how the marijuana worked compared to the other remedies.

[unbusted67]

Originally Posted by john540

You didn't mention how the marijuana worked compared to the other remedies.

No effect, I still felt sick, just baked and sick.

[JPA Cate]

Hello again everyone,

I am reviving this thread because I just read an article in the New York Times for Sept. 24, 2013, called "Rethinking Motion Sickness", in which the author suggests that the cause is loss of balance related, rather than vestibular disruption. He suggests that that is why some of the medications only make people drowsy.

Personally, I think that there may well be a loss of balance component to sea sickness, but that the author is mistaken about the inefficacy of medications. NASA developed the sccopalomine patches over 40 yrs. ago, for the astronauts, and it worked for them. Stugeron works for me, excellently (less side effects than the patches.) The cocktail type combination worked less well, and meclizine HCl also worked some. But everybody's different, and it has taken experimentation on oneself to find something that is compatible.

The article is of academic interest; the author does not suggest a different remedy.

FWIW

Ann