How to anticipate (possible) seasickness?

[ClayJar]

Not wanting to risk a possible fouled reg, I took it out of my mouth and and just went with the flow.

My standing instruction to new divers is to *never* take the reg out when Ralph becomes their dive buddy. If you really start heaving, there is an almost unstoppable urge to *gasp* immediately after. Without a reg in your mouth, you're much more likely to gasp a big draw of water, which would be a very bad thing indeed.

The reg can take it, and adding near-drowning to fish feeding is never a good thing.

(Oh, and RedWingDiver, I'll have to try to try the see-a-shark method of avoiding seasickness. )

 

[coachpill]

I get sea sick after coming up from the dive. Meclizine tends to work pretty well; I get it as a prescription from my doctor.

My typical dive in rough seas...(1) good boat ride out, (2) ok gearing up, (3) feel bad underwater in the surge...out of surge fine, (4) back on boat and immediately go to side and feed fish, (5) feel better and change gear to next tank, (6) feed fish again, (7) pool's open by that time and I feel better underwater, (8) feel bad boarding after 2nd dive...feed fish and feel better when on the way back home.

During those "Chamber of Commerce" days where the seas is like glass...I don't feel sick at all! At least, I don't feel sick if I still take my meclizine. If not, I might as well repeat the above scenario for you.

Ginger is good.

 

[Bubbletrubble]

I get sea sick after coming up from the dive. Meclizine tends to work pretty well; I get it as a prescription from my doctor.

Bonine or Antivert = meclizine. You can get this over-the-counter.

Does your doctor prescribe a higher dose than is available OTC? It would seem to me that you could just dose accordingly with the OTC med. However, I can see how it may be cheaper to get it as a prescription depending on your health insurance. Just curious.

 

[radiocraig]

i have never felt seasick on a boat...NEVER. why? i ALWAYS take somthing before the trip. I have no desire to puke on a boat, so i dont take chances

 

[Teamcasa]

Ahh.. The old seasickness cure. There are dozens of cures, most work to some degree, some don’t work at all and then again, some people just don’t get sick.

One thing is certain, if you think your are going to get sick, it becomes a self fulfilling prophesy. So, if you are not prone to motion sickness, you have a better than average chance that a boat trip to Catalina will not set off an episode, unless of course you dwell on it.

The others have given some good advice but let me add to the list.

• Sit – don’t stand for the most part.
• Do take a little ginger, can’t hurt and the only side effect is they (the ginger snaps) taste good!
• Do watch the horizon while sitting if you begin to get slightly queasy.
• If you really start to feel sick, go puke and get it over with. Most people are fine after a good puke session. Drink plenty of water or Ginger Ale after tossing your cookies.

Stop worrying and enjoy the magnificent diving around Catalina.

 

[RJP]

Incidentally, after I finished my SCUBARFI underwater, I put the reg back in my mouth. Does anyone know whether it's better to keep the reg in or have it out when suffering from a case of SCUBARFI?

IN.

What's the first thing you do after hurling? Right, a giant gasp for air. You don't want to do that underwater without a reg in your mouth.

 

[RJP]

Bonine or Antivert = meclizine. You can get this over-the-counter.

Does your doctor prescribe a higher dose than is available OTC? It would seem to me that you could just dose accordingly with the OTC med. However, I can see how it may be cheaper to get it as a prescription depending on your health insurance. Just curious.

"MAY" be cheaper?

You can buy 8 tablets of Bonine (25mg meclizine) OTC at the dive shop for $7

or

You can fill a prescription for 90 tablets of 25mg generic meclizine at Walmart pharmacy for $4 cash (With their $4 generic program there's no need to go through health insurance.)

 

[Bubbletrubble]

"MAY" be cheaper?

You can buy 8 tablets of Bonine (25mg meclizine) OTC at the dive shop for $7

or

You can fill a prescription for 90 tablets of 25mg generic meclizine at Walmart pharmacy for $4 cash (With their $4 generic program there's no need to go through health insurance.)

I totally forgot about the Walmart pharmacy. What a ridiculous situation! I guess this means that the prescription is actually worth something.

 

[coachpill]

Bonine or Antivert = meclizine. You can get this over-the-counter.

Does your doctor prescribe a higher dose than is available OTC? It would seem to me that you could just dose accordingly with the OTC med. However, I can see how it may be cheaper to get it as a prescription depending on your health insurance. Just curious.

Good question. I think the bottle says 25mg per tablet...

 

[coachpill]

My standing instruction to new divers is to *never* take the reg out when Ralph becomes their dive buddy. If you really start heaving, there is an almost unstoppable urge to *gasp* immediately after. Without a reg in your mouth, you're much more likely to gasp a big draw of water, which would be a very bad thing indeed.

The reg can take it, and adding near-drowning to fish feeding is never a good thing.

(Oh, and RedWingDiver, I'll have to try to try the see-a-shark method of avoiding seasickness. )

Yes, the reg can handle the "chum." And you feel a lot better once you've gotten rid of the stuff from your stomach and the rest of the dive seems to go pretty well!

If you drink a Capri Sun and then puke through the reg under water you get this cool brown haze around your head for some minutes...quite interesting.