Need some good tricks for dealing with sea sickness.

[Kevrumbo]

Those types of techniques work for some people. Typically those whose seasickness is mild. They even work for me when the sea is relatively calm and the motion is not too severe. But they simply do not work for everyone, and they don't work for me when the sea is rough.

And BTW, though I am less prone to carsickness when I am driving, I do get carsick when driving a high-performance sports car, pulling a significant fraction of a G while accelerating or turning hard.

Your methods are useful, but they only work up to a point. After that they fail.

Then puke your guts out & relieve yourself, reset your mind and try again. . .

"If you can't fight it or flee from it --then just flow with it"

"Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter.
Try again. Fail again. Fail better. . ."

You may not be able to totally defeat it in the roughest seas, but you can live with it:

. . .But once you get good at it, you can hold the malaise to a reasonable level even in stormy seas --a "four" for instance on a scale from 1 to 10, with "ten" being projectile vomiting, extreme nausea, hugging the rail and begging for someone to shoot you . . . (In my thirty hour passage from mainland Costa Rica to Cocos Island, I was cognitively exhausted performing the technique over an extended period, and just simply fell asleep naturally). . .

 

[daniel1948]

Then puke your guts out & relieve yourself...

Puking gives me no relief. So why should I, when there is medicine that prevents it? Perhaps you are opposed on principle to all drugs. I am not. I do not take drugs lightly, but when there is a preponderance of evidence that a drug is beneficial, and my doctor recommends it or approves of it, and it makes my life better, then I will not turn it down just on the vague new-age theory that all drugs are bad. I take several prescription medications, and my life is better for it. I use the sorts of techniques you recommend and they are useful but not sufficient. It is glib and unhelpful to tell people who are subject to severe seasickness that they should just buck up and suffer, or they should just puke their guts out. Your methods may work for some people, and it is good of you to post them. But to then tell people for whom those methods are not sufficient that they should still not use medicines is insensitive and rude.

 

[spoolin01]

As many people have said already, it also helps to stay hydrated (though it can be difficult once you are already sick), to stand amidships, and to watch the horizon or a point on land, if visible. Standing and holding onto the boat allows you to move as the ship rolls, thus reducing the total actual movement of your upper body. That is, you want to move contrary to the boat's motion, thus minimizing the motion of your upper body.

Whenever possible either sitting or standing I try to minimize the movement of my upper body by imagining I am part of a big gimbal and let the ship move "around" me in pitch roll and yaw. I also minimize the vertical movements by staying away from the bow. Find that sweet pivot spot on the boat and stay near it.

And think positive, like Yogi Berra said "Ninety percent of this game is half mental."

I spend quite a few days a year out in small boats on the ocean here in NorCal, and these two suggestions reflect my experience. Stay on your feet, move with the boat, keep the wind in your face, make a game out of riding the boat and enjoying the ride. I got over mild inclination to sea sickness with a little experience, but if I'm tying fishing lines or head-down in the bilge or it's rougher than usual or a much different motion than I'm used to, I find I can quell the rising sensation in this manner. I've seen people use beer prophylactically - obviously not always advisable, but it fits with the clear benefits of mental distraction (so long as it's not hand-eye oriented). Have someone engage you in steady conversation.

My understanding was that Scopace was taken of the market in April 2011. Where have you been able to find it?

I saw on a fishing forum that the manufacturer ceased making the product, likely for business reasons. No one can find it around here. Too bad because it seemed to be preferred over the patch form for perceived side effects and pharmacokinetic profile.

I've read many blue water cruisers sing the praises of stugeron and say it's relatively free of side effects, but apparently motion sickness is not on the label, and it may not be readily available within the US.

While in my experience, a mild tendency to nausea is clearly manageable behaviorally, for many the susceptibility is just too great. The battle with sea sickness is to stay ahead of it. Once the idea and sensation has taken hold, it's hard to shake. I think drugs help your mind win the battle. It's not either/or.

 

[daniel1948]

I've had Brits recommend Stugeron, but according to Wikipedia, the active ingredient, cinnarizine, is not available in the U.S. or Canada. FWIW, it is an antihistimine, which puts it in the same class as meclazine and scopolamine.

My doctor gave me a prescription for generic Zofran and I will try it, instead of the Scopace (of which I still have a few) one day. I'll report my experience here. I get very seasick, very easily, so if it works for me it might help others as well. (I get motion sick on elevators, rocking chairs, porch swings, etc. As mentioned above, I even get sick when I am driving, if I accelerate or turn hard.)

My pharmacy confirmed that the manufacturer of Scopace has discontinued making it. They did not know the reason. They speculated, as have others above, that it was a business decision based on inadequate sales.

 

[Kevrumbo]

I've had Brits recommend Stugeron, but according to Wikipedia, the active ingredient, cinnarizine, is not available in the U.S. or Canada. FWIW, it is an antihistimine, which puts it in the same class as meclazine and scopolamine.

My doctor gave me a prescription for generic Zofran and I will try it, instead of the Scopace (of which I still have a few) one day. I'll report my experience here. I get very seasick, very easily, so if it works for me it might help others as well. (I get motion sick on elevators, rocking chairs, porch swings, etc. As mentioned above, I even get sick when I am driving, if I accelerate or turn hard.)

My pharmacy confirmed that the manufacturer of Scopace has discontinued making it. They did not know the reason. They speculated, as have others above, that it was a business decision based on inadequate sales.

Check with your doctor if any of these most COMMON side effects persist or become bothersome when using Zofran:

Constipation; diarrhea; dizziness; drowsiness; headache; irritation, redness, pain; tiredness.

Seek medical attention right away if any of these SEVERE side effects occur when using Zofran:
Severe allergic reactions (rash; hives; itching; difficulty breathing; tightness in the chest; swelling of the mouth, face, lips, throat, or tongue; wheezing; unusual hoarseness); chest or jaw pain, numbness of an arm or leg, or sudden severe headache or vomiting; fainting; fast, slow, or irregular heartbeat; fever; seizures; severe or persistent dizziness; skin tingling or numbness; stomach pain; trouble urinating; uncontrolled muscle movements; vision changes or loss.

Zofran Oral is used to treat the following:

Prevent Nausea and Vomiting After Surgery, Prevent Radiation-Induced Nausea and Vomiting, Prevent Nausea and Vomiting from Cancer Chemotherapy . . .It works by blocking one of the body's natural substances (serotonin) that causes vomiting.

Why complicate things with a milieu of potential side effects, especially symptoms that may mimic DCS???

If you believe and fear your illness to be that debilitating (as that experienced by post-surgical or Chemo/Radiation Therapy Patients?) --even as a passive passenger on a diveboat-- then you will certainly succumb to it, body & mind. Work through the discomfort, overcome & then transcend it.

Again, the visualization technique described in the posts above is actually a form of Self-Hypnosis to inure yourself from the induced nausea of sea sickness.

 

[daniel1948]

Why complicate things with a milieu of potential side effects, especially symptoms that may mimic DCS???

Because the benefits outweigh the side effects. The benefit being that it allows me to go on a boat. The side effects of Scopace are a dry throat, which is minimal in the humid air of the places I dive, and minor dizziness if I take too much. The advantage of Scopace over Transderm Scop is that I can adjust the dosage. I am told that the side effects of Zofran are minimal as well. I will find out what they are for me, and then decide accordingly. And FWIW I won't be scuba diving on this trip. I'll be snorkeling. So DCS won't be an issue.

If you believe and fear your illness to be that debilitating [...] then you will certainly succumb to it...

This is the tired old "if you believe it, it will happen" bulls..t Seasickness is an illness. You don't get typhoid by "believing" you will. You don't get sunburn by "believing" you will. And you don't get seasick by "believing" you will. It's the same old trash we hear day in and day out from people who don't get seasick, so they think it's all psychosomatic.

Again, the visualization technique described in the posts above is actually a form of Self-Hypnosis to inure yourself from the induced nausea of sea sickness.

Hypnosis is of questionable value under the best of circumstances, and is not a cure-all. It may help some people some of the time, but some people get no help from it at all. As a child, a shrink (who, like you, thought it was all in my mind) tried to hypnotize me out of getting carsick. I cooperated fully, as I was desperate to get relief. It failed completely. Later he told me that some people just don't hypnotize.

I repeat what I've been saying throughout this thread: The techniques you describe are useful, but for many people, myself included, they are insufficient. When drugs, used carefully, can accomplish what non-drug methods cannot, and the side-effects are acceptable, then it would be pointless stubbornness to refuse to use them. Zofran is quite well tolerated. If the side-effects turn out to be worse than the seasickness, I will not use it again. If, as seems to be the usual case, they are minimal, it will allow me to engage in activities that I otherwise cannot, even using your methods.

I do not know why you keep insisting that your methods will work for everyone. THEY DO NOT. And to keep insisting that they do is just pointless, when plenty of people have personal experience to the contrary!

 

[Kevrumbo]

Because the benefits outweigh the side effects. The benefit being that it allows me to go on a boat. The side effects of Scopace are a dry throat, which is minimal in the humid air of the places I dive, and minor dizziness if I take too much. The advantage of Scopace over Transderm Scop is that I can adjust the dosage. I am told that the side effects of Zofran are minimal as well. I will find out what they are for me, and then decide accordingly. And FWIW I won't be scuba diving on this trip. I'll be snorkeling. So DCS won't be an issue.


This is the tired old "if you believe it, it will happen" bulls..t Seasickness is an illness. You don't get typhoid by "believing" you will. You don't get sunburn by "believing" you will. And you don't get seasick by "believing" you will. It's the same old trash we hear day in and day out from people who don't get seasick, so they think it's all psychosomatic.


Hypnosis is of questionable value under the best of circumstances, and is not a cure-all. It may help some people some of the time, but some people get no help from it at all. As a child, a shrink (who, like you, thought it was all in my mind) tried to hypnotize me out of getting carsick. I cooperated fully, as I was desperate to get relief. It failed completely. Later he told me that some people just don't hypnotize.

I repeat what I've been saying throughout this thread: The techniques you describe are useful, but for many people, myself included, they are insufficient. When drugs, used carefully, can accomplish what non-drug methods cannot, and the side-effects are acceptable, then it would be pointless stubbornness to refuse to use them. Zofran is quite well tolerated. If the side-effects turn out to be worse than the seasickness, I will not use it again. If, as seems to be the usual case, they are minimal, it will allow me to engage in activities that I otherwise cannot, even using your methods.

I do not know why you keep insisting that your methods will work for everyone. THEY DO NOT. And to keep insisting that they do is just pointless, when plenty of people have personal experience to the contrary!

"Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do"
--Coach John Wooden

btw, Sea Sickness/Motion Sickness is NOT an illness like Typhoid, or a condition like "Sunburn" --you can't analogize between them because of different pathologies & etiologies (an "apples & orange" comparison). Like I stated above, it is primarily psychosomatic.

Take your meds as needed --try to wean yourself off of them as best you can. . .
You have my empathy, my friend.

 

[daniel1948]

I'm back from my latest trip. But I cannot report on the Zofran because I had incredibly good luck and the seas were relatively calm the entire two weeks. It was a great trip. Test of the Zofran will have to await another day. At present I have no plans for boat-related activity. Probably some time next spring I'll do something.

 

[HJeffreyM]

This is an often discussed topic here on SB so I'll add my 2¢ as usuall. I swear by the scopolomine patch. I used to get seasick easily. Just a mild chop would sometimes be enough to set me off. I slap that thing behind my ear on a dive vacation and I don't have to worry about it for three days. I have never experienced any side effects from it.

Happy diving!

 

[daniel1948]

This is an often discussed topic here on SB so I'll add my 2¢ as usuall. I swear by the scopolomine patch. I used to get seasick easily. Just a mild chop would sometimes be enough to set me off. I slap that thing behind my ear on a dive vacation and I don't have to worry about it for three days. I have never experienced any side effects from it.

Happy diving!

You are very lucky! I get severe dizziness and a dry throat which sometimes progresses to a severe sore throat on the first day of wearing the patch. The second day is not bad. The same side effects are much reduced. On the third day (it's supposed to last three days) I get seasick if the conditions are rough. Apparently I'm getting too much of the drug the first day and not enough the third day. Cutting the patch in half (which you are not supposed to do) does not help the situation much.

Scopace (the same drug in tablet form, to be taken every 8 hours) works for me, without side effects, probably because the dosage is better regulated than a one-size-for-all patch. But they've quit making it. I have enough remaining for one more trip, and then I'm all out.

Neither version works for me if the seas are extremely rough.