Persistent SeaSickness - Discouraging

[dnauhei]

I got a 100 ton near coastal license, which means I have over 360 days offshore. Yes, I get seasick. None of the "cures" people told me about worked. Medicine just made me feel weird. It took me years, but I learned that lying down made it go away almost instantly. After the first day, you'll feel fine. I understand the wristbands work too. But don't take the medicine! But if I could get 360 days of offshore time, there's hope!!!

[jackdale]

Originally Posted by dnauhei

I understand the wristbands work too.

The wristbands seem to have an effect on morning sickness which is a whole different mechanism than motion sickness.

[iancoombe]

Originally Posted by sartorst

There is a lot of truth to this .I read an article many years ago by a doctor doing research for NASA and they found that those who drank a lot were less likely to get sea sick I have found the same to be true of my crew members and myself I like to drink a beer a hour for the first few hours of an offshore passage and also agree with the seeping on board the night before and also that the Scopolimine patches do strange things to my thought process

Thats probably why I have stopped get sick and started getting lost

[hzcruiser]

Wow, 5 pages in a couple of days; one would think this has never been discussed before on the 'net

[Snowpetrel]

I figure approx 2% of the population get dangerously seasick and do not come right. 10% get very seasick and take 3 days or so to come back to life from near complete incapacity. 76% get seasick to some degree regularly but are not completely incapacitated. 10 % rarely get seasick and 2% never get seasick.

Time on the water helps enormously, and different people are susceptible to different frequencies of motion, ie for some the jerky motion is worse but for most a slower roll and heave does it.

Time on the water I think helps for many reasons, fear, nervousness and fatigue all play a big part. Try riding a bike when you are scared or worried about falling off. A sure way to lose balance and flow. Once you are comfortable with the motion your body flows properly with the boat, anticipating the motion.

I also think you can train your brain not to get seasick simply by being at sea. As a kid I used to get seasick. Over the years I have only very rarely been mildly nauseous and mostly due to being very tired and stressed on departure. I notice now I am spendong less time at sea well offshore I am slightly more likely to feel a bit off. One way I like to train is by reading in a moving car or bus.

I usually tell my crew about the large stemitol suppositories in the first aid kit for use if they get too sick, the threat of using them seems to miraculously cure most of them without even opening the packet!

[JPA Cate]

The stemitil (sp?) suppositories will stop you throwing up. They do need to be one's emergency kit. You can come down with the flu after leaving port, and at first mistake it for mal de mer. BTDT--not fun.

I didn't throw up with the wrist bands, but then I don't often get to throwing up, just feel nauseous and dysphoric.

Ann

[Cap Erict3]

If your don't want to blow cracker crumbs out of ur nose, don't eat them when feeling "Ralphie".
Although people retching around me and dirty diapers will inspire my gag reflex I realize it is in my head.

Although I don't claim to understand the cause nor the cure, I have not seen, what I consider,a truly effective medication. Fresh air, water and time are what seems most effective. That and stay near the aft end where the motion is less.

[ztsf]

Check out the Aeromedix Relief Band. A friend of mine swears this device changed her life vis-a-vis seasickness.

www.aeromedix.com

[knockabout]

motion sickness /can happen to most/reading can make it worse looking in the direction of travel can help/don't forget to drink watter

[StuM]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

I don't believe people have crystals in their inner ear that determine what is up and what is down. I should know all about that inner ear stuff, used it have to have it all rote memorized, but that was years ago.
I believe it is a fluid in the otoliths organs? Three circular tubes in the inner ear?

This:

"She had a friend drive her as she was so bad she felt incapacitated. The therapist had her lay on his adjusting table with her head lying off the end. He tilted her head back as far as possible and then turned it to one side and let it rest there for a minute or so (understand the accompanying nausea is exacerbated by the process but absolutely necessary) after a minute on one side, the head is rolled to the opposite side for the same period of time and relief follows. The immediate relief is not as positive as that felt hours later but good enough to know you are better."

is an inaccurate description of the Epley maneuver.

That is the standard treatment for Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV) - a sudden onset of extreme dizziness caused by otoconia (calcium carbonate crystals) dislodging from part the inner ear and floating in the canals, disrupting the fluid flow when you move your head.

It would do nothing for sea-sickness which has entirely different causes and symptoms. When you have a bout of BPPV, the whole world suddenly spins in one direction and you completely lose your balance. It doesn't cause any sort of queaziness.

I can say however, that the Epley maneuver worked brilliant for the few occasions when I have had BPPV - normally brought on by playing around in water and doing lots of twists, turns and rolls.


Edit: How to do the Epley maneuver yourself - you don't need a doctor.
http://www.webmd.com/brain/home-remedies-vertigo

[MuirdeWet]

Hello all!

I am (or was, before I started boat building!) an aviation- and diving medicine specialist and have worked quite 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; 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

[Jas0381]

I've been a sea addict for 40 years. Scuba for the first ten. Pretty much, I get sick almost always. I've ralphed above and below. I also own a big boat.

A few years ago we we yachting with friends. In 4-5 foot seas my wife and I were attempting to put the dinghy atop the boat. Our Doctor friend came by on her dinghy, took one look at me and pronounced me green. She returned to her boat and returned with a relief band.

That was my first application of relief band. I put it on and it was amazing. Concept is, it produces a small shock (tingle) to your wrist, interrupts nausea and or sickness waves and works preventative or post sea sickness.

IT HAS NEVER ONCE FAILED ME OR ANYONE WE HAVE LOANED THEM TO.

We did buy two.

Our son and his girlfriend came from Idaho to our so cal marina two weeks ago. We went to the local islands for two nights planned. Since we had guests prone to getting seasick, we offered our wrist bands to them.

Only one onboard got sick. You probably figured out who already.

Being seasick is just miserable . I ordered a third wristband today.

I am in no way affiliated with any company anywhere. Drugs wear me out, beer works sometimes but the relief band works a hundred percent for me.

Good luck.

Joe

[reed1v]

We tried the wrist bans and had others try them. Not much relief. Think its more the placebo effect. Even tried acupuncture but that did not work on some and seemed to work on others. For starting on a long voyage, we did find some relief when we spent two days aboard before sailing away get the the body accommodated to the boat's motion. Even a large ship will have motion while anchored.You might not be conscious of it but your body will notice it.

[MYTraveler]

Originally Posted by reed1v

We tried the wrist bans and had others try them. Not much relief. Think its more the placebo effect. Even tried acupuncture but that did not work on some and seemed to work on others. For starting on a long voyage, we did find some relief when we spent two days aboard before sailing away get the the body accommodated to the boat's motion. Even a large ship will have motion while anchored.You might not be conscious of it but your body will notice it.

In my case, which I suspect is not uncommon, I believe that the expectation/fear of seasickness leads to seasickness. If a placebo can reduce that expectation or fear, it will be effective.

Moreover, I keep the electric wrist bands on board, and one time one on a friend who was suffering badly. He expected instant relief and complained that he could barely feel the pulsating shock (I had it set on level 1, out of 10, so I turned it up to 3. He still complained and was growing impatient, so I turned it straight up to 10. Boom -- his seasickness pain was instantly replaced by the agony of a high voltage shock every half second. He was jumping around so much, it took quite a while for me to be able to turn it down. But guess what, in the excitement, he was cured of his seasickness.

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by MYTraveler

In my case, which I suspect is not uncommon, I believe that the expectation/fear of seasickness leads to seasickness. If a placebo can reduce that expectation or fear, it will be effective.

Moreover, I keep the electric wrist bands on board, and one time one on a friend who was suffering badly. He expected instant relief and complained that he could barely feel the pulsating shock (I had it set on level 1, out of 10, so I turned it up to 3. He still complained and was growing impatient, so I turned it straight up to 10. Boom -- his seasickness pain was instantly replaced by the agony of a high voltage shock every half second. He was jumping around so much, it took quite a while for me to be able to turn it down. But guess what, in the excitement, he was cured of his seasickness.

I though the med. community stopped using shock treatment long ago. I enjoyed the humor, thanks.