Seasickness Prevention

[JPA Cate]

@wolfgal,

I would not want to give up my depth perception.....but perhaps you meant the ear patches? The active ingredient there is scopalamine, and it can cause hallucinations for some people. My doc told me to test it on dry land before using it at sea for that reason. I did not care for the side effect of dry mouth, but they did keep me from throwing up. For me, I'd rather feel "normal", and the Stugeron does that. I can take it after I start feeling bad, so if I don't need it , I can save it for next time. If I were singlehanding, I'd have to take it prophylactically, because you can't go lie down and not keep watch if your by yourself.

If the stuff Sojourner mentioned against nausea from chemotherapy is available in your neck of the woods, it might be a satisfactory alternative to Stugeron. Incidentally, the Stugeron keeps well, but loses strength beyond 8 yrs. Use according to directions on the package.

Ann

[kas_1611]

When I first started working on the oil rigs I used to be green for the first 5 days on semisubs. And I mean green! However eating Ryvita, dry nothing on them, helped as it meant I always had something to barf up instead of heaving on an empty stomach.

Chatting in the bar once an old sailor told me how he dealt with seasickness on the fishing boats. "When you're lying there in your bunk, and the world is spinning and you don't know your port from your arse, stomp your foot on the deck and hold it there. it grounds your brain and gives it a proper reference. Might take a wee while lad but eventually your brain will ignore your ears and reset itself."

Sounded mad but next time I was on a floating rig and feeling rough I did just that. Lay on my bunk and stomped my foot on the ceiling (top bunk). Numb leg later I stopped feeling sick. Bugger me it bloody works!!

Since then I generally don't get seasick (landsick from time to time) but if you can't get out and watch the horizon then stomp your foot and munch on Ryvitas.

[sailjumanji]

Candied ginger. Like used for baking. If someone starts to feel queezy, have them nibble on it. No drowsiness or side effects. We always have onboard while cruising.

[Don C L]

I hadn’t heard of the eye patch or pounding the floor, but I’d give ‘em a try! I don’t get sick often, but my wife and son do. I’ll try it out on them next time ! Being used to the boat helps, low anxiety helps, sleeping on the boat the night before helps, really trusting the boat helps, staying outside helps even if you have to relieve yourself. I made a special urine bucket for the cockpit for my wife and daughter. It may lack a certain amount of modesty but the ladies really appreciate it on those rare occasions it is needed!

[boom23]

Put an ear plug in the ear opposite of your dominant hand.

In other words, if you're right hander, put an ear plug in your left ear. My wife tried it and she said it helps.

[wolfgal]

Originally Posted by JPA Cate

@wolfgal,

I would not want to give up my depth perception.....but perhaps you meant the ear patches? The active ingredient there is scopalamine, and it can cause hallucinations for some people. My doc told me to test it on dry land before using it at sea for that reason. I did not care for the side effect of dry mouth, but they did keep me from throwing up. For me, I'd rather feel "normal", and the Stugeron does that. I can take it after I start feeling bad, so if I don't need it , I can save it for next time. If I were singlehanding, I'd have to take it prophylactically, because you can't go lie down and not keep watch if your by yourself.

If the stuff Sojourner mentioned against nausea from chemotherapy is available in your neck of the woods, it might be a satisfactory alternative to Stugeron. Incidentally, the Stugeron keeps well, but loses strength beyond 8 yrs. Use according to directions on the package.

Ann

thanks Ann!

thanks especially for the keeping-the-ears level tip. i will try this!

and yes, Stugeron works really well for me too, BUT it knocks me completely out and for a long, long, long time. even when i feel better and really and truly want to get going again, it will not let me out of the coma-state. every time i took it, i was a worthless zombie, flat on my back.

yes, i did cut the pill in half.... though, i cannot remember now if this worked better... in any case, i've looked for it in france without success. i stock up each time i go to the UK.

i've met people who wear the EAR PATCH who say it works well for them. this is surely another thing i could easily find in the UK and not France...


@ Sojourner and @Tillsbury. you both offer quite a few good suggestions here. i will definitely try them, especially singing out loud.

i've never heard of the CHEMO stuff... i wonder if this a hemp-oil based product or a marijuana-based product... Does anyone have any info?

in any case, i am one of those who is terribly, terribly sensitive to any drug (i even get tipsy on two glasses of wine or two beers - cheap date par excellence!). i have unfortunately suffered the negative effects of them (in a serious way, doctor subscribed of course!), so i am really looking for solutions that do not require ingesting something chemical.


@ sailjumanji, yes, GINGER candies, ginger snaps, ginger tea (boiled water with bits of ginger)... yes, I've tried all these and will continue to do so.



@ Don, yes, using a PEE BUCKET is a great way to go! being a camping girl definitely helps.

also i do find that if i STAND AND STEER, look for crab traps or plastic in the ocean (picking up plastic is a great opportunity to practice MOB...), keep busy, i tend to fair better.

and yes, feeling rested and CONFIDENT in the boat and the captain helps. when i feel one with the boat, all goes well.

i've noted that FEELING IN CHARGE helps tremendously.

and yes, sleeping on the boat, being on the boat a long time/over night helps a whole lot.

i find that AIR, FRESH AIR is mandatory for me. smelling diesel fumes, that stuffy smell the cabin can get... lots of scents are somehow amplified when i'm on a boat and tend to trigger me.

QUESTION: has anyone tried not breathing through the nose (and just breathing with the mouth)?


@boom23, i've heard about the EARPLUG thing... i am ambidextric and wear a hearing aid in one ear (the docs gave me a drug for the knee some years back and guess what!)..., so will need to fool around with the earplug. only... if i put it in the ear that does work, i'll definitely need to take up sign language


@kas_1611, i will definitely try the FOOT-STOMPING thing. it actually sounds like something that would work for me...



in any case, i will try out wearing an EYE-PATCH.
if anyone cares to give this a go and report back, i'd appreciate it.

in the end, i would not be surprised if the solution lies in keeping ears level, singing out loud, wearing an ear plug in one ear and an eye patch over an eye ... throw in a nose plug so not to smell the trigger-smells... and a wooden leg for stomping on the floor... funny how the cliché of the old-timer pirate do come to mind here


oh yes, i read somewhere that GETTING INTO THE WATER cures seasickness immediately. If anyone actually tries this (safely) and can report back, i'd be very curious.



wolfie

[JPA Cate]

@wolfgal:

A long time ago, I read a paper, I think it was put out by NASA, relative to the astronauts and motion sickness. I'd try and find it via Google. There are a number of things you can work out through thinking about what you have read. What you do, by keeping your ears parallel to the horizon is what you do standing at the helm looking for stuff to rescue. So, you know that helps you.

I would think, since you're sensitive to what you take by mouth, that avoiding alcohol, caffeine, and highly spiced foods the night before (and the morning of) the sail may contribute to your well being. Also, daily exposure to sailing helps, your body just sort of learns to shift back and forth between motion free and motion full enviornment, when you do it a lot.

Good luck, wolfie, it never hurts!

Ann

[billknny]

Nobody, but nobody, has done more research on treatment of motion sickness than NASA.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/a...ess-treatment/

There is so much woo-woo out there and stuff marketed by idiots (or just plain crooks). If there was a magic bullet that cured it all the time for everybody, we'd know. (One earplug? Really??? )

[CarlF]

Best thing I’ve seen on seasickness:

Mahina Expeditions - Offshore Cruising Instruction: Seasickness

Stugeron source (get the 25mg. Start with 1/2 pill dose. Order takes about a month to arrive)

https://www.canadadrugsonline.com/DrugMoreInfo5659.aspx

[Paul L]

Originally Posted by Peregrine1983

Stugeron is what my wife and I use. We keep a stash of it and always have friends bring some back from trips to the UK.

Stugeron is gods gift. I am very susceptible to getting seasick and have tried most of the drugs out there. My old standby used to be Coca Cola and dramamine. All the other drugs besides Stugeron had unpleasant side effects, from drowsiness to vision problems. Even the ones that worked often left me feeling in that state where I'm not seasick but I could be. With Stugeron I feel fine and don't have side effects.
We use the 15mg dose. The only people I've known who had drowsiness or other side effects from Stugeron bought them in Mexico or Italy where they often come in 75mg doses - which isn't intended for seasickness.

[S/V Adeline]

Wearing a single ear plug on land can adversely effect equilibrium, curious to try that out on the water.

[LittleWing77]

Hi All,

This past year, I was at an all-day "Diesel Engine Troubleshooting and Maintenance" course with Nigel Calder and he said that his family has had great success with motion sickness glasses, like this: https://www.amazon.ca/Sickness-Lensl...31992602&psc=1.
(He didn't recommend any particular brand.) I suppose these would work on same principle as an eye patch...

NOW we know why the pirates of old wore eye patches!

Warmly,
LittleWing

p.s. Oh, and as for the earplug thing, I understand you must wear it in your opposite ear. That is, if you're right-handed wear in left ear.

[LittleWing77]

@ billknny

Just read the NASA/Scientific American Article which, despite all their purported research, does not mention stugeron - almost universally acknowledged to be the best drug treatment, if one chooses to go that route.

Maybe because it's prohibited in America...?

So perhaps NASA is not the be-all and end-all after all.

In my humble opinion, if I got seasick, I'd far rather try an earplug, an eye patch or a goofy looking pair of glasses, than be in a position of regularly ingesting a bunch of drugs, that, as Wolfgal says, knocks her out. Ugh.

Fair winds,
LittleWing

[karenmccraw]

I don't think I saw anyone mention Relief Band yet. I've used these for years and they really work for me. No chemicals - used for cancer patients with nausea from treatments.



Very slight electrical "shock" on your wrist. Works on the boat and in the airplane doing aerobatics for me.


Might be a bit pricey to have one for each member of the family though!


https://www.reliefband.com/products/reliefband-1-5?variant=8348278980651¤cy=USD&gclid=Cj0KCQjwi7DtB RCLARIsAGCJWBohHYtx0tEKnT_8JfgMKAMr1JHFUsqm0GnZXtv AombbyiePT5pzCHEaAu97EALw_wcB

[JPA Cate]

@LittleWing77,

No one wants to be zonked out. Taken at the 15 mg. level, Stugeron doesn't zonk me out. However, wolfgal is quite sensitive to all medications, and it does zonk her.

I have never tried the glasses, so I don't know how that would be. However, I do wear corrective lenses, so it might not be doable in any event, as I also wear sunglasses that fit over my regular ones.

For me, Stugeron has the least side effects of all the other things I tried, and works far better than wrist bands from the standpoint that the latter left me feeling nauseous, and that feeling is gone with the Stugeron. It is the difference between feeling normal and feeling very queasy. For me, just stopping throwing up isn't feeling good: I'd rather feel normal....at least as normal as I ever am!

Ann