sea-sickness remedy?

[BBURG]

I get violently sea sick...I throw up so hard my blood vessles in my eyes pop... thats how bad. I always take dramamine but it does make you drowsy. I don't like trying new things because I know dramamine works and I don't want to chance taking somthing that wont work. However, one time I took my cousin out on a fishing trip and my uncle gave me one of those patches you put behind your ear... I put it on the night before, slept with it on, then went all day on a boat and It was GREAT! No drowsiness!!! BUT... I don't know how well it would work going into the water.... and Im too afraid to try it out.

 

[HJeffreyM]

I've done 4 dives in salt water over a period of two days with the transdermal Scopolamine patch stuck behind my ear. Took a shower with soap as well. Never came off. Never got drowsy/dopy.

As long as the site where you apply it is clean and dry when you put it on (I use soap first, then a little alcohol on a q-tip) that thing will not come off 'til you peel it off.

Your results may vary.

 

[Scubakevdm]

I have seen alot of scopalamine patches on my boat, or other boats that I have worked on. I've seen them come off every once in a while, but not with ill effects (pardon my pun). I think that just as they take a while to take effect, they take a while to wear off. For hard cases, the patch, in my opinion seems to be the way to go.

 

[pidgiepoo]

I always got sick on boats until one day I was walking out of the Cozumel ferry bathroom when a little old lady said "you must be sick..you look bad". She advised me to push my thumb in the middle of my wrist and look at the horizon for the rest of the trip. Haven't been sick since...guess it must be the same pressure point principle that they use with those wrist bands ( only less expensive). Wonder if a combination of the meds and this technique would work on a liveaboard ? Won't prove it by me..but maybe someone else can try it. I don't do cruises either.
P.S. I'll be good on your boat next week Kevin...I promise !

 

[BettyRubble]

In the past (pre-diving life), I rarely got seasick. Mostly because when I am on a boat I stand and let my body move with the waves. If I sit it has to be facing the front of the boat. If I feel remotely ill, I lay down and close my eyes. The cold towel/ice makes sense and I do something similar when I am on land and ill. Cold towel on neck, cold water or ice packs on my wrists. Works everytime so I'm not surprised it works on the ocean.

Also, someone mentioned the less-discussed issue of reacclimating back to land. If I am on a boat for more then 2 or 3 days, I have a great deal of difficulty with this. My equilibrium is messed up for weeks, sometimes months, at a time. An almost disoriented feeling and of course the wobbly leg syndrome like I am on a boat.

Next month at ITK will be my first dive related boating adventure. I'll take the generic bonine with me just in case. Don't want to lose a whole weekend to a sick tummy!!!

 

[MariaDives9]

I feel your pain.... Last summer my husband and I traveled to Australia and did Liveaboard out on the Coral Sea. The crossing out to the Coral Sea can be very rough. I have never been on a boat, or roller coaster, or car ride in the mountains without feeling motion sickness and getting physically ill.
BUT, this is what I did, and ever since then I have been using the same method on all my dive trips and have not had even a HINT of sea sickness. First, I had the patch behind the ear that my MD prescribed. I put this on that night before we left on the trip and replaced it after 3 days. I also took "Marazine," available on drugstore.com Online Pharmacy - Prescription Drugs, Health and Beauty, plus more. I did not take the full dosage. I would just take one tablet religiously at night before bed, and in the morning with breakfast. I have found that Marazine works MUCH better than Bonine, Dramamine, or Meclazine, at least for me and does not make me dowsy.
Then finally I got the "relief band". It used to be available without a perscription. It is a similar concept to the pressure point bands we have seen people use for years. But this is actually like a small electric stem unit. It goes on the same pressure point on the wrist and mine has 5 different levels. It is not waterproof so you have to take it on and off between dives. But anytime I wasn't diving I had it on my wrist and it worked GREAT! I especially like it because with the other two medications in my system I didn't want to put more medicines in my body if I could help it. The band is quite pricey but since I was traveling to the other side of the world for that trip I wasn't going to take any chances.

But talk to your Dr. well before the trip and always ask about mixing medications, so there are no complications. And try them out on "dry land" before hand.

But I was absolutely terrified that I would spend the entire trip sick in bed, and I actually felt better than my husband, who doesn't get sea sick nearly as easily as me. We are now booked for a liveaboard this summer to Socorro and I will have "sea sick" kit with me and plan on having an amazing time.

Best of luck I hope that you find what is right for you very soon!

 

[caledfwlch]

I just look into the distance and suck it up. I dunno, but having something to eat before hand works great for me too.

 

[Jayde323]

I get sea-sick, so my doctor prescribed me the patch and the Scopace tablet. When I went to pick the prescriptions up, the pharmacy was out of the patch, so I went with just the pill. At home, I looked up the difference between the 2 and found the pill would actually work better for me. The pill takes less time to work (1 hour compared to 6 hours), I can take 1/4 of the dose of the patch with 1 pill and it works perfectly (even in 4-6 foot seas on a 27 ft boat). Plus the pill only lasts 8 hours, the patch can take days to get out of your system. Cost is great too, the pill is ALOT cheaper than the patch.

I don't have drowsiness on 1 pill and the side effects are mild - dry mouth.

I have never tried the patch. I took 3 Scopace tablets one day when I was going out on a boat where my husband and father-in-law were water-skiing. I thought the constant starting, stopping and rolling waves from the wake would make me really sick. I was a zombie. That feeling was worse than being seasick!

Prevent Motion Sickness - Compare Scopace Tablets to the Scopolamine Patch

Before a dive I will have a banana and something carb-y but not sugary and of course I drink lots of water.

So far so good!

 

[limeyx]

I get sea-sick, so my doctor prescribed me the patch and the Scopace tablet. When I went to pick the prescriptions up, the pharmacy was out of the patch, so I went with just the pill. At home, I looked up the difference between the 2 and found the pill would actually work better for me. The pill takes less time to work (1 hour compared to 6 hours), I can take 1/4 of the dose of the patch with 1 pill and it works perfectly (even in 4-6 foot seas on a 27 ft boat). Plus the pill only lasts 8 hours, the patch can take days to get out of your system. Cost is great too, the pill is ALOT cheaper than the patch.

I don't have drowsiness on 1 pill and the side effects are mild - dry mouth.

I have never tried the patch. I took 3 Scopace tablets one day when I was going out on a boat where my husband and father-in-law were water-skiing. I thought the constant starting, stopping and rolling waves from the wake would make me really sick. I was a zombie. That feeling was worse than being seasick!

Prevent Motion Sickness - Compare Scopace Tablets to the Scopolamine Patch

Before a dive I will have a banana and something carb-y but not sugary and of course I drink lots of water.

So far so good!

I agree. Scopace pills basically saved my "dive boat" life.

No drowsiness, no seasickness. Nothing else could do that

 

[sdiver68]

Mythbusters tested ginger versus Dramamine and the ginger worked better. YMMV. I'm going to take both ginger and Scopace with me next month. I'll try the ginger first, but have the scopace backup. I don't tend to get sick, but on 1 shark cage snorkel I almost did...