Seasickness

[skenn_ie]

Does anyone here suffer from seasickness ? Are you aware of any theories about why some do, and others don't ?

[trouble]

Most of the time it's an inner ear thing that controls your equilibrium, some people worse than others. Have. A couple ginger ales before you go sailing should help A lot and won't make you tired like Dramamine.

[BugzyCan]

If you are feeling queezy, look out at the horizon, works for me. Once you get your sea legs, it shouldn't be much of an issue anymore, until you get back on land anyways.

[JPA Cate]

I do. I use Stugeron for it. I don't always, but if the motion is jerky and lurchy, I get motion sick. Also in cars and buses.

If you do a Google Custom Search (under the Search button), you can probably find a number of different threads about seasickness.

If you cannot source Stugeron, there are some other things that work for most people: meclizine HCl seems to be one of the better ones. Also, some people find ginger tea works for them, or crystalized or candied ginger.

Ann

[LittleWing77]

Yes really, really loooong threads on seasickness.

This is the most recent (and most interesting) one:

https://www.cruisersforum.com/forums...on-220545.html

The saying about seasickness goes:

"First, you're afraid you're going to die...
Then you're afraid you're not."

Good luck!
LittleWing77

[StuM]

Originally Posted by LittleWing77

The saying about seasickness goes:

"First, you're afraid you're going to die...
Then you're afraid you're not."

Good luck!
LittleWing77

That and "the best treatment is sitting under a tree"

[tkeithlu]

Quick summary: Motion sickness originates in random accelerations in your inner ear (being bounced around) that your eyes cannot account for. Two routes out of that, one, your brain stops trying, that's you getting your sealegs, and the other helping your eyes by watching the horizon. Drivers in particular and helmsmen mostly are resistant; drivers really don't get car sick. Reading while a passenger in a car aggravates the situation by giving your eyes no help at all.

Dramamine is a sedative helping you do the brain thing, but also puts you to sleep. Better route is to be the helmsperson. At the minimum, stay on deck.

Most people eventually accommodate. Lord Nelson never did.

[skenn_ie]

I asked because I have a conjecture: People that are prone to it have a defective balance mechanism, possibly defective sensory processing at several different levels. I have recently come to realise that my balance has never been good. I also have known for many years, that I have difficulty filtering useful information from noise, be it hearing a voice in a noisy environment, seeing patterns in a visual clutter, or, maybe, filtering balance info in the midst of a barage of motion signals. It is quite possible that I am just nuts.

[dannc]

Tom Cunliffe put out a video on seasickness yesterday:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jtpNzrBxtY

His observations on using Stugeron/meds vs no meds, and what actions to take to battle through sea sickness, were interesting.

Later,
Dan

[skenn_ie]

Originally Posted by dannc

Tom Cunliffe put out a video on seasickness yesterday:

His observations on using Stugeron/meds vs no meds, and what actions to take to battle through sea sickness, were interesting.

Later,
Dan

Hmm, some people don't get over it, get very dehydrated, and need urgent medical attention. The last time I used Stugeron, I was becoming airbourne falling into the holes. I wasn't sick. The last time I was sick, I hadn't taken anything but had spent a while lying on the cockpit floor trying to tighten the tiller clamp bolt through a small hatch in the aft bulkhead. We ended up steering mostly with the sails (a ketch).

[tkeithlu]

Skeen, your hypothesis is not nuts, although when I was last up on that literature I didn't see anything to support it. As a counter example, I'm as immune as any person I know, and have not gotten worse even as my vestibular system deteriorated to the point that I needed physical therapy to stop a retinal nystagmus - my eyes fluttered like when you are dizzy.

[skenn_ie]

Originally Posted by tkeithlu

Skeen, your hypothesis is not nuts, although when I was last up on that literature I didn't see anything to support it. As a counter example, I'm as immune as any person I know, and have not gotten worse even as my vestibular system deteriorated to the point that I needed physical therapy to stop a retinal nystagmus - my eyes fluttered like when you are dizzy.

I am sadly reminded om my previous dog. She got Vestibular disease and had to be destroyed. The vet said it was the worst case he had seen. Her eyes were sweeping continuously from side to side. On the seasickness side, I suggest that it might be the processor rather than the sensor. Anything that floods the senses sends me off. Fairground rides are particularly bad. I often had to close my eyes and take deep breaths to avoid throwing up. Even walking in poor light makes me unsure of my footing, and I lean against the wall at the end of this pier at night. I would fail the American "sobriety" test every time.

[tkeithlu]

The only part of a field sobriety test that isn't really a vestibular test is the "follow my pen with your eyes side-to-side test." In my experience (yeah, I do) guys fail that one at about 0.13% BA, and women a bit lower.

I'm sorry you're having to live with that. You've learned what dancers know - substitute visual information for vestibular. A ballet dancer keeps track of the edge of the curtain (any vertical will do) so that a pirouette does not cause dizziness and land her in the orchestra. That's why staying at the helm watching the horizon helps.

[Lepke]

When I have guests, not use to the sea, I have them take Dramamine the night before. It makes them drowsy, they get a good sleep, and no seasickness.

There's a new Dramamine-N that treats dizziness and vomiting, too. I haven't tried it, but was told it works well.

[dannc]

Originally Posted by skenn_ie

Hmm, some people don't get over it, get very dehydrated, and need urgent medical attention. The last time I used Stugeron, I was becoming airbourne falling into the holes. I wasn't sick. The last time I was sick, I hadn't taken anything but had spent a while lying on the cockpit floor trying to tighten the tiller clamp bolt through a small hatch in the aft bulkhead. We ended up steering mostly with the sails (a ketch).

Yes, some people don't get over sea sickness but most do. In the video he said he was sailing with people from the UK to France for years and keeping notes on how many got sea sick. Then Stugeron came out and he noted how many people were sick on the same trip. Is Stugeron a Silver Bullet for EVERYONE? Absolutely not. But it does work for many.

There is not a prevention for sea sickness that works for everyone. I think one needs a bunch of techniques, medicines and maybe even devices to combat sea sickness. Cunliffe identifies some.

I think they will work for many people but certainly not all.

Later,
Dan