Motion sickness

[RoyN]

Sadly, I don't get motion sickness, but I did cause alot of people on the boat to get motion sickness and I don't even know what I did too. :confused2 All I know was I was very relax, playing on my little DS and some people were complaining I was so well relax and was driving them nuts.

 

[Mako Mark]

The only true way to prevent or cure seasickness is to hold onto a tree.

 

[MissyP]

Tried Bonine, Dramamine, ginger, the pressure bands on the wrist, the electric zappy wrist band and NONE of those worked...
The Scopalomine patch has been the only thing that has worked for me~ but it has side effects like drowsiness and dry mouth (which drives me nuts). I haven't tried it in pill form yet but I'm sure it's just as effective...

 

[netwayne]

Are you using the patch EVERY time you dive....just curious?

 

[Doubles]

I'm not a Dr but after 20 years in the Coast Guard, over 10 years of that in not-too-calm seas I would say go with Scopace or Transderm

Whether you take the pills or wear the patch - both work and work well. Side affects vary a little, and rarely become serious. Most folks get cotton mouth and a little buzz. My suggestion to those who worked for me at sea, was to get the prescription and wear the patch (or take the pills) on a weekend when they would be at home and not driving, diving etc. Just to gauge the side affects if any.

I have seen folks who got sea sick in any kind of sea, every time. But when they wore the patch, they were able to go into the galley and fry up some greasy foods - now thats success.

Another thing is to eat properly and eat often. Hard candies seem to offer short term relief if you take them the moment you start to get ill feeling. We carry a bag of hard candy on every dive trip and offer them to those who start to look like they are about to sell their Buick

My wife wears the patch every time we go boat diving and when we do live-aboards.

I would check with DAN on any other medications you may get for this, just to be sure they don't contribute to DCS.

Don't feel too bad about your capt. When I was at sea my favorite snack was smoked oysters on saltine crackers, doused in Tobasco sauce. Those who were feeling ill usually went right for the leeward rail after I enjoyed one of my usual snacks

Cheers

Steve

 

[Ber Rabbit]

I take Meclizine the night before and the day of the trip as well. I usually have to take another dose about mid-day if it's a long day on the boat because I can feel the effects wearing off. I also take saltine crackers along and eat a few as soon as I step on the boat, a few more as soon as the boat starts moving, a few more any time my stomach even THINKS about feeling queasy, a few more when the boat stops and a few more when I get back on the boat after a dive. I've asked DM's or my buddy to get my crackers and feed me as I waddle to my seat when feeling really queasy--timing is everything for me. I always drink plenty of water while on the boat and I add candied ginger and soft peppermints to the mix of what I eat on really bad days. I will add my pressure bands to my wrists as well if the waves are in the 4-foot range but I take them off to dive--I'll take a placebo that works for me over vomiting any day I've found I can't sit down while boating in rough water, I find the center of gravity of the boat and stand there during the ride out so I can look out the back of the boat; for some reason looking out the front or sides makes me queasy. I often rock from side to side while I stand, that seems to make my stomach think I'm responsible for the motion although rocking the opposite direction from the one the boat is rocking tends to make everyone else nauseous (oops!).

Everyone is different when it comes to seasickness and you may have to do quite a bit of experimenting to find out what works for you. My seasickness routine actually starts a couple days before my trips and failure to follow it to the letter results in me feeding the fish whether I'm on a dive or a fishing charter. We had one guy on a fishing trip who spent most of the day hurling then dry heaving. I tried to get him to take some crackers or at least drink something (water or gatorade) but he refused until we finally headed in, cutting the trip short because he was in such bad shape. He FINALLY drank something and couldn't believe his stomach felt a little better. The moral to the story is keep SOMETHING on your stomach; vomit and re-fill (eat/drink slowly) as necessary but even if you're just bringing up a single cracker and the half-bottle of water you just drank it beats the HELL out of dry heaving.

Just .02 from someone who's been there and works REALLY hard to keep from going back.
Ber :lilbunny:

 

[pwl]

myth busters did a segment on motion sickness.
if you havent seen it, they concluded that ginger (ginger PILLS not the hollywood stowaway!) is good for reducing/eliminating motion sickness without side effects.

of course your mileage may vary, but worth a try i imagine

definitely YMMV - ginger is great for me (plus you don't have to take long in advance) but i know a lot of people on whom it has no effect.

for myself - i mainly only get seasick:

- when the boat stops moving forward & starts rolling in the swell
- i'm too hot in my gear
- i'm badly set up (overweighted, over balanced, not comfortable in gear, etc - not since my early days)
- when i'm breathing in 2-stroke or diesel fumes

in most cases the answer for me if i'm feeling queasy is to get the water ASAP, even if it means getting back on the boat to gear up after most people have cleared.


when i was taking dramamine the pharmacist suggested to take a full tablet 10 hours before and a then 1/2 a tablet about 2 hours before (ie 1 at night, 1/2 in morning). made me dry-mouthed & dozy though

 

[MissyP]

Are you using the patch EVERY time you dive....just curious?

On boats- yep. I'm VERY prone to seasickness and I don't want that to ruin my diving..

You said it was your first time getting seasick so don't make too much out of that.. I think everyone is prone to a bout of seasickness now & again- could've just been a rough day, you were overheated, your stomach might not have been feeling well (eaten greasy or heavy foods), you may have inhaled a lot of diesel fumes, possible anxiety or most likely a combination of several of those things.. You may never get seasick again, just give it a few boat dives before you get a prescription med or spend a lot of money on gimmicks to relieve motionsickness....

 

[RoyN]

Are you using the patch EVERY time you dive....just curious?

I was using it before I got a nintendo DS and then after that, I never used it because I let a girl used it on the boat and I think she forgot it wasn't hers and went home with it.