problem with motion sickness

[Earl E. Retire]

I recently began snorkeling/freediving for lobster and am considering getting certified (seems much easier than having to hold your breath all the time underwater! ) The last two times I went out, about 5 mins into the snorkeling I had a rush of nausea come over me, like I was getting seasick. I fish offshore and don't have a motion sickness problem.
Should I try taking a Dramamine before the next freediving session? Will this create any adverse effects when diving down and/or surfacing? I only dive to about 15' max.
Thanks for any advice.

EER

 

[ChrisMIA]

I went to my doctor and got a prescription for transderm scop patch, it works great for me. I've used it in many dives with no side effects and no motion sickness in or out of the water. I hate the effects of dramamine!

 

[Felon_Monk]

First off, Dramamine affects different people in different ways. Right now i dont think there really is anything that says you cant take it and dive.. I have taking it(non-drowsy formula) myself on boatdives (as have my friends) and had no negative side effects diving down to a max of 65 feet. But is it the way you want to go? I doubt it. Because it is a chemical introduced into your body and at any given point on any given day you can get a side effect. I had taken dramamine before so i know exactly how my body reacted to it. You should know the same.
Now thats out of the way, I got motion sick a few times while diving at first. I have never gotten sick to the point of puking, but i felt crappy in my head. The first dive i figured it was because of how different you see things under water it kind of disorienting, also if you are doing extrenous things it will heighten the effect if you are prone to it. I just took a step back, slowed my pace, relaxed myself and it went away. Second dive was great... The next 2 dives were good, water was calm and no problems. A few later i got it bad because i was fighting a current, i was swiming next to a wall at around 60 feet lookin down for a floor that was around 160 feet and i stopped, relaxed again and told my body we need to end the dive. When i got home i felt so bad. I was really motion sick, my head was killing me and i felt ill. My wife reminded me that i didnt eat at all that day, it was the late afternoon, and i was in less than ideal sea conditions. After that i never had a problem again. My body got used to it, i set a proper diet for my dives and now im fine in no matter what the sea conditions. The point of this story, well you gotta figure out what works for you, but using dramamine all the time is probably not the best idea, at least for you bodies sake. Good luck.

 

[BKP]

Triptone and/or Bonine are typical for diver sea-sickness...

 

[anth]

I would be concerned that the nausea is caused by some other underlying cause. You say you typically don't get seasick when topside - it could be an inner ear problem - but I have no idea, I'm not a MD. Talk with your doctor or call DAN at their non-emergency number:

919-684-2948 (Monday through Friday, 9am to 5pm EST)

-Anthony

 

[Felon_Monk]

im not replying to this to downplay what anth said, but this is more to keep you from automatically thinkin something is going wrong. I work in the aviation business, and for air crew members that tend to get sick at the most inoppertune time, there is this chair they get put into. It make spins them at a varying axis at a given time. Once they find the axis that causes the puking they spin you on that axis for hours a day for almost aweek. This gets the body used to that problem area and makes you less likely to get motion sick. That being said, maybe its the fact that you are lieing down looking for something ontop of water, where you have the normal rock and roll of the ocean, plus your visual cues are somewhat obscured. Being a fisherman im sure you have laid down on a boat before to sleep, but its a known fact that having your eyes closed seems to shunt the effects of motionsickness. Id agree with anth about seeing your doctor just to check your ears out but ill bet money that everything is good. Good luck and i hope you can over come this little but annoying problem.

 

[rockjock3]

I have only gotten seasick once or twice and only to the point of feeling bad, not any further. What I do though, for insurance, as well as some of my friends is take normal everyday ginger supplements. The OTC from Walgreens or Walmart variety. You can also take it in raw form. I do get motion sick if I read on a plane or car and have never gotten sick since I take a couple of Ginger pills before long car rides or flying. Nice thing with ginger is there are no side effects and pressure related to diving isn't going to induce any additional effects that it wouldn't on other foods (unlike is possible with medications).

 

[H2Andy]

The last two times I went out, about 5 mins into the snorkeling I had a rush of nausea come over me, like I was getting seasick.

were there swells that day, with the waves four feet or so?

on the surface in those conditions are the worst for me. my body can't figure out if
i'm in the water or not, or what's going on

=

hurl city every single time

 

[kirkryan]

Sleep well, eat right, keep hydrated and don't think about it. Works for me anyway. Seasickness is generally caused because of afferent signals from the optic nerve (what you see) and vestibular nerve (balance, acceleration) not jiving with one another as determined by the brain. Inner ear infections can also cause it but you would notice on land too, so I don't think you have to worry about that. Some people are just more succeptible to it than others and like others have said, you have to figure out what works for you. I have heard of ginger ale and bitters over ice (50:1) working for some people. Good luck but try the first line of my reply and see how that works!!

Cheers

 

[Tripod]

I have this problem as well. I don't do well no the boat or at the surface. I even was feeling kind of ill when there was some current at the bottom last time I dove. I didn't take anything at the time because I was shore diving.

I plan on trying the patch next time.

Another problem I've been having is uncontrollable dry heaves when I surface sometimes. It's horrible. It doesn't happen everytime, but sometimes I'll surface and within a minute and without warning, I'll start to have violent heaves. I think the only reason I don't puke is because my stomach is usually empty when I dive. It usually lasts a couple of minutes and after that, I'm fine again. Last time, I was heaving and my buddy started towing me into the shore and after a min, I was like "it's ok, i can swim in myself." Anyone have any experience with this? I figure it's an ear problem.