Ginger pills for motion sickness

[Ardy]

I started getting sea sick about 20 years ago and just threw up even with pills taken prior to the dive. I had the annoying habit of throwing up as I got to the surface after a dive - not great for dive buddies. I tried all the normal and the weird stuff ie ginger and none of it worked for me. Particularly the wrist pressure point bands what a con that idea is.

I read everything around about 10 years ago and a Dr Robert Thomas in Australia stated that if you took 2 tablets the night before a dive it should keep the average person techo yawn free until about 3pm. The added plus was that you would not be drowsy during or after the dive.

I now take 2 x Kwells (Bayer) the night before and I never throw up, on a liveaboard it is 2 the night before the boat leaves then one a day does the job. Without this remedy I might have given up diving.

The number of divers I have dived with who claim they have never been sick on a boat and end up hanging over the side amazes me.

I believe that all of these pills do roughly the same job.

 

[DocVikingo]

Hi Andy,

The active ingredient in "Kwells" is hyoscine hydrobromide, a chemical that in essence is the equivalent of scopolamine (e.g., Transderm Scop, Scopace). This class of motion sickness medication is quite effective. However, these compounds are not available OTC in the USA.

RE "I believe that all of these pills do roughly the same job." This arguably is incorrect, but let's let the research speak for itself.

Regards,

DocVikingo

 

[DA Aquamaster]

Bonine and Drammamine have meclizine as the active ingredient.

I have had better luck with Triptone which has dimenhydrinate as the active ingredient. It is a different antihistamine that is believed to work by blocking acetytalcholine and in turn preventing the effects of motion on the inner ear.

 

[DocVikingo]

Bonine and Drammamine (sic) have meclizine as the active ingredient.I have had better luck with Triptone which has dimenhydrinate as the active ingredient. It is a different antihistamine that is believed to work by blocking acetytalcholine and in turn preventing the effects of motion on the inner ear. (sic)

Hi DA Aquamaster,

To be technically correct, Bonine and Dramamine Less Drowsy Formula have meclizine as the active ingredient. Dramamine Original Formula and Triptone have dimenhydrinate as the active ingredient.

As regards dimenhydrinate, you might find the following informative:

"Pharmacotherapy. 2000 Sep;20(9):1051-4.

The psychometric and cardiac effects of dimenhydrinate in the hyperbaric environment.

Taylor DM, O'Toole KS, Auble TE, Ryan CM, Sherman DR.

Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.

STUDY OBJECTIVES: To examine the psychometric and cardiac effects of dimenhydrinate at 1 and 3 atmospheres (atm) of pressure (0 and 66 feet of sea water, respectively), and to make recommendations about the drug's safety in the diving environment.

DESIGN: Double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study

SETTING: Monoplace hyperbaric chamber of a university hospital.


SUBJECTS: Thirty active divers (mean age 38 yrs).

INTERVENTIONS: A bank of seven tests was used to assess cognitive function during four different dive combinations: placebo-1 atm, placebo-3 atm, dimenhydrinate-1 atm, and dimenhydrinate-3 atm.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Heart rate and cardiac rhythm were recorded during all dives. Repeated-measures multivariate analysis of variance was used to analyze the effects of dimenhydrinate, depth, and drug-depth interaction. Dimenhydrinate resulted in a significant decrease in scores of mental flexibility (trail-making, part B, p<0.05) but had no effect on scores in the six other psychometric tests (p>0.05). It had no effect on mean heart rate (p>0.05), although frequent unifocal ventricular ectopic beats occurred in two subjects after ingestion of the drug. Depth resulted in a significant decrease in verbal memory test scores (p=0.001) and mean heart rate (p<0.001).

CONCLUSION: Dimenhydrinate adversely affects mental flexibility. This effect, when added to the adverse effect of depth on memory, may contribute to the dangers of diving."

Helpful?

Regards,

DocVikingo

 

[DA Aquamaster]

That's a bit depressing - the one that is least effective (for me at least) is the one that may reduce mental flexibility.

Maybe I am just being mentally inflexible but how much of a reduction are we talking about?

Taken in the bigger picture, I have not experienced any issues diving with Triptone, but I have noted a marked decrease in overall performance after taking Bonine and throwing up on a 2 hour ride to the dive site, not to mention the DCS risks due to dehydration. So given a choice, I'll keep using Triptone as it is the far lesser of the two evils.

Just another reason I prefer cave diving...

 

[DocVikingo]

Hi DA Aquamaster,

The reduction in mental flexibility was statistically significant but not alarmingly large. It also is encouraging that only one 1 out the 7 psychometric devices administered reached statistical significance.

If motion sickness preparations with dimenhydrinate as the active ingredient are the only ones that work for you, there probably is no compelling reason to stop using them judiciously, especially since you have a history with the med and have reported no problems.

Helpful?

Best of luck,

DocVikingo

This is educational only and does not constitute or imply a doctor-patient relationship. It is not medical advice to you or any other individual and should not be construed as such.

 

[Ardy]

HI DocVikingo - What do you think of the doctor's advice I am using re taking 2 the night before? I find it works for me but is it generally a good idea?

 

[DocVikingo]

Hi Ardy,

The manufacturer recommend usage for motion sickness is "300µg 30 minutes before the start of a journey followed by 300µg every six hours if required. A maximum of three doses (900µg) is recommended in any 24-hour period."

However, one has to assume the doctor had good reason to prescribe your particular dosing schedule. As long as the 24-hr max intake is not exceeded, this regimen should cause no harm.

Plus, you report it works superbly with no worrisome side effects and it's hard to argue with that.

Cheers,

DocVikingo

This is educational only and does not constitute or imply a doctor-patient relationship. It is not medical advice to you or any other individual and should not be construed as such.

 

[limeyx]

I have used most remedies
- ginger (cookies, candies, pills, sodas)
- Bonine/Drammamine/triptone in drowsy and non forms

what worked best for me so far is the Scopace pills (prescription needed in the US)

They so far have indeed been something of a miracle drug for me (1 night before1 on the morning of)

 

[Zippsy]

IMHO, motion sickness is "all in your head". Your brain gets confusing signals from your ears and eyes as to which way is up. The brain is tricked into thinking "hey stomach, someone poisoned us! Throw up to get rid of whatever it was!". Soooooo.... a placebo sounds like a perfect choice for treating it, IF it works. Don't knock it. Of course if you only have faith in heavy drugs, go for the prescription stuff.

Ginger candy works for lots of people (certainly not all) when I have offered to them. OTC Dramamine works for most (not all) other people. A bigger, heavier, steadier boat works for almost everyone (not all) else. A friend who grew up sailing every weekend went on a cruise on "the Love Boat" for his honeymoon. Of course he was seasick the whole time.