motion sickness in cars implying susceptibility to seasickness?

[keyway]

I have read. On another forum. That one foam earplug placed in one ear before setting out will prevent seasickness. Don’t have much issues with seasickness so I can’t personally verify this but might be worth a try. In combination with some of the other methods might provide drug free relief

[Cadence]

As a kid I'd got car sick from reading, a comic book, and I feel sure the peripheral vision. Never been sea sick in my life.
I don't think they are related.

[Martkimwat]

I use to get terribly car sick right up to my early to late twenties and even when I first started to learn to fly (I'm a retired airline pilot) I initially felt queasy on my first flights. I started sailing dinghies when I was 10 and if the sea was at all rolly (little wind but with a swell, I would start to feel queasy. I started sailing cruisers when I was 40 (33 years ago and could not spend more than five minutes below without feeling seasick unless I immediately laid down. I tried acupressure bands which helped but the real breakthrough was the electronic 'watch' type anti-seasick device (can't think of its name at the moment) which really worked. Over the years with continued exposure to sailing I have slowly become immune and now rarely suffer except possibly for the first couple of weeks of the season.
My personal feeling is that you tend to be more prone to motion sickness if you feel you are not in control and are under stress. It is possibly why giving a suffere the wheel ( on a boat) often helps, less so with a tiller which is not so intuitive until you have been sailing for a while after which you don't even think about it, a bit like driving a car or flying an aircraft after many years experience.

[Sequoyah]

My trick is candied ginger. I keep a bag of it in the galley and chew a piece whenever a queasy feeling comes along.

[Sailorgirl86]

I've always had carsickness if I ride in the back. I don't get seasick. A friend was with me on my last 25miles trip, felt a little queasy, ate a hardboiled egg and quickly vomited. Just an FYI

[chasfgr]

Definitely connected - I've suffered from both.
Don't ride in the back seat or try to read in the car.
Give yourself 24 hrs on the boat before setting out to sea, and be wary of chrtwork below in a seaway.
Means preparation and planning before setting out.

[Kim Klaka]

Originally Posted by warfquartz

Hi,

I really want to go sailing on long voyages and am currently taking all the prep steps to learn and get to the right level.

One thing that worries me though is that I easily get motion sickness in cars; for example when reading on the phone while looking down it only takes a couple of minutes to fee woozy.

My worry is now that this also means I will easily get seasickness on a boat which would then eliminate my dream how to spend the later years of my life.


Does anyone have practical experience whether motion sickness in cars correlates with susceptibility to get seasickness?

thanks.

Anecdotally I get car sick quite often but I have never (yet) been seasick in over 50 years of offshore sailing. So that might be good news for you.

More generally, the sensory conflict theory is the most widespread, but still contested, explanation of Motion Sickness. One of the differences between car sickness and sea sickness is that in a car, most of the accelerations are lateral whereas on a boat they are mostly vertical (and rotational). Causes of and solutions for sea sickness is a vast topic; a Google search will reveal some of the research findings and an overwhelming number of anecdotal statements. There is even a section on motion sickness in my book "Sailing Yacht Design: a guide for boat owners, crew and buyers".

[ftamburrano]

I sail on a 28 feet boat since 1990. Never got sick, but I discovered that sailing longer LOA boats (lower oscillation frequencies), I would get sick. To make it short: every one is particularly sensitive to a certain FREQUENCY. A car is like a short boat, hence the oscillation frequency is higher. Not necessarily if you get seasick on a car you will be seasick on a sailboat. My daughter gets seasick while travelling on a car, but does not on my boat. I did get sick on a 60 feet sailboat , not on smaller ones. So, you have to find out which is the frequency you are most sensitive to. Experiment sailing short, medium and long LOA boats, and you will find out. In any case, do not stay below, do not smell gasoil or fried oil smell, try always to look at the horizon, breath deeply, steer yourself, avoid drinking, eat something dry (crackers are OK). The use of anti-seasickness drugs indeed helps, but also makes you sleepy. But, I repeat, make the right chhoice of your boat: experiment and make you own relationship with boat length. Do not buy a boat if you have not experimented this link (seasickness- LOA of the boat). Another point: there is a relationship seasickness-age. The older you get, the less you feel seasick. If you were sensitive when you were young, probably after 50 or 60 you won't any more. Good luck!

[SailSonoma]

I'm really surprised that in over 30 posts no one has mentioned the Scopolamine patch. I recommend this for all of my charter guests who have a history of motion sickness. So far we haven't seen any significant side effects, no drowsiness. One application is good for 3 days. Typically after those three days you are fully acclimated to the boat and a second patch isn't required other than in an extreme cases.

[ftamburrano]

Scopolamine is considered a drug and may be sold only with a medical prescription, here in Europe. In Italy definetely you cannot buy it w/o prescription. Collateral effects are many (as you may find out easily), and it can be given under medical control. But you are right, it would definitely help in case of seasickness (hoping that no secondary effects do something wrong)

[Bluechart]

My wife has always been subject to motion sickness, cars, boats, sailing…..looking at maps, books or iPhone would immediately cause problems!

We learned about “ Bonine “ from an MD who works at Cal Maratime Academy, Vallejo, CA

Now My wife takes 2 chewables a few hours before a car trip, and can read, work on computer and not look up for hours on long trips, no motion sickness!

At Cal Maritime they taught us to start with one chewable daily for 3-4 days, then go sailing…in 2010 we sailed to Hawaii, Connie continued to take one a day, and never felt queasy.

I gave Bonine to my boys several hours before shoving off, to go deep sea fishing out of SF, and while many on the boat got sick, my boys said “what’s wrong with those guys”?

Even though I have not been “ sea sick” in 30 years, I still take one chewable the morning of an ocean trip, to get me over the hump, and I’m good got a day trip, or multi day.

[no9tme6w]

I get seasick at times as well but:
I always take a box of cheese-its to nibble on
Sip on ginger ale during cruise
take a Dramamine before outing
Usually am at the helm which causes you to watch the horizon
Don't think about and keep busy and have fun

[Auspicious]

Originally Posted by warfquartz

One thing that worries me though is that I easily get motion sickness in cars; for example when reading on the phone while looking down it only takes a couple of minutes to fee woozy.

My worry is now that this also means I will easily get seasickness on a boat which would then eliminate my dream how to spend the later years of my life.

Yes and no. See below.

Originally Posted by Gary Matthesen

The bottom line is...A discrepancy between visual sensory input, and inner ear vestibular input. When they contradict each other you become sick as a defense mechanism to lay in your bunk or on the cabin sole, until the discrepancy passes.

Gary's observations line up with my understanding. Here is the basis from a US Naval Research Study dating from the 70s. I believe it was performed in concert with NASA. I've not been able to track it down again. I know it was in my father's library and he never throws anything away so when he dies I may find it.

The study identified four factors. One is a general level of sensitivity to discrepancy in sensory input as a function of frequency. If you consider a curve of amplitude versus frequency this is the amplitude. Second is the frequency of maximum susceptibility. This is where the curve peaks. Third is the susceptible bandwidth. This is the difference between a narrow peak and a broad one. Together these first three factors explain why some people don't get motion sick at all, some get motion sick easily, and some people get sea sick but not car sick or air sick. It all depends on the shape of your curve.

The fourth factor is psychological. You can "talk" yourself into motion sickness. The more you stress over it the more likely you are to suffer.

That's it for science from me. Everything else I have to offer is empirical and experiential. I can't honestly tell the difference between real effect and placebo.

The prescription medications seem to have the most consistently positive effect. I have seen overdoses from some, including scopalamine. The results of overdose look like sea sickness which is ironic. Note that your specifically NOT supposed to cut the patches. Read the package insert. My recommendation is to choose a chemical in concert with your doctor and ask for it as a suppository. You can't throw up a suppository. *grin* Take up is fast.

I've seen consistently good results in mild cases from various forms of ginger. Ginger ale seems best if allowed to go flat. Crystallized ginger works well. Ginger snap cookies work well. My ginger chicken first night out gets good reviews.

Acupressure bands are pretty hit or miss.

Most sufferers feel a lot better after throwing up. I think the message is to just go ahead and throw up; don't try to tough it out.

It is what it is. I've been sea sick twice in my life. That has been plenty to commiserate with those who suffer regularly. Don't be embarrassed. I'll share the story of my first experience.

I'm an active delivery skipper and have been for a long time. A few years ago I got a call. Heavily accented voice. Without identifying himself said "Dave I need you to move my boat from Newport to Annapolis. I have conflicts and can't do it." So I made that happen, shifted my schedule, crew and provisions on the boat. We're getting ready to push off and the owner walks down the dock. "My schedule cleared so I'm going with you, you're in charge, I have a lot of work to do." The guy is a machine. He ate, slept, and sat at the oversized custom nav station and wrote (well, typed). A few hours from the mouth of the Delaware Bay I started to feel off. Not particularly bumpy. When I came off watch at 4am, owner pounding away at the nav station, I went in the aft head and heaved up about half a liter of stomach acid. Now I'm pretty quiet and very tidy. I cleaned myself up, checked for *ahem* debris, and went out to the salon to check the boat before sleep. Owner is still pounding away and I thought I had escaped detection. Nope. He said "did you make it?" *sigh* No matter how you feel about getting seasick, you'll know that there is an experienced delivery skipper who got sea sick in front of Jimmy Cornell on Jimmy's boat. If that doesn't make you feel better I don't know what will.

It would not hurt to have some emesis bags.

[Martinini]

Just chew gum for the first few days on the water. That keeps the tiny bones in the ear moving and alleviates sea sickness for me. If that part of the inner ear is kept busy it makes it harder for them to cause trouble!

[sv_pelagia]

Originally Posted by Martinini

Just chew gum for the first few days on the water. That keeps the tiny bones in the ear moving and alleviates sea sickness for me. If that part of the inner ear is kept busy it makes it harder for them to cause trouble!

A small, perhaps pedantic, correction: The "tiny bones" (ossicles) are in the middle ear, not the inner ear. Not sure if chewing actually causes movement of the ossicles or affects the vestibular system (the part of the inner ear involved in balance and thus sea sickness), but if chewing gum works for you, then great.