Scopace available in Cozumel?

[Harro10]

It sounds like we are somewhat alike in our love of diving and hatred of boats (on rough seas at least).

 

[CajunDiva]

Sometimes it's just worth it

 

[Tunaman68]

My daughter gets really sea sick, and has found that the patch is the only thing that works, and she has to have it in place for at least 24 hours before the first dive. Ginger, Dramamine, Bonine, pressure bands and the like do nothing, and it sucks to see her miserable on the boat.

She does complain of dry mouth and occasional blurred/double vision, and it sucks when a $6 patch falls off, but anything is better for her than feeding the fish.

I'd love to know if there was an oral version of the patch.

 

[Harro10]

Tunaman - The scopace pills that I was looking for were the oral version of the patch. It had the same active ingredient, scopolamine, but with a different dosage and delivery system. It has been discontinued in the US.

 

[robint]

I know you don't want to hear this, but a big portion of seasickness is mental. You are so sure you will get seasick, that as soon as the boat rocks once your head tells you that you are feeling sick. It is an automatic response. You can get over it, and most people do eventually get over seasickness, get their "sea legs", and never get seasick again.
The only time I ever got seasick was on a small boat, surface interval in rocking seas (in Fla Keys) with diesel fumes in my face for an hour, no sunshade on the boat... everything went wrong! There were 10 divers on the boat and 5 of us were puking. It was horrible. After that experience, I said never again would I go on a boat without sunshade! Also, dehydration was a factor as all the boat had for refreshments was juice boxes. After drinking two of those, I was sick from all the sugar, too.

How to keep from feeling sick on a boat:
Stay up in fresh air, with eyes open
Look at the horizon, that tells your brain that you are okay
Walk around and chat with other divers, fix your gear... get your mind off the ocean
Eat light before getting on boat, and NOTHING greasy! Eggs and toast or pancakes are good, bacon and fried foods are not. Stay away from orange juice also - acid in stomach, no bueno.
Drink lots of fluids.. especially water. Caffeine is not recommended in large quantaties before diving, especially coffee - too much acid in stomach once again.
Eat crackers or pretzels or light snacks on the boat if you need food between dives. A little food in your stomach is better than an empty stomach.

I like ginger caplets (Health food stores have them) and used to carry a bottle with me on liveaboard trips. Take 2-4 of them at breakfast, then 2 again at lunch, 2 again at dinner and then before bed -- the first day. After that, take as needed, if the boat is rocking alot due to weather, etc. I did this our first couple of trips and it worked well. I think the staring at the horizon was the biggest help for me.
After a few trips doing this, I found that I didn't need them at all. I carried them on a few trips, but usually gave them out to others on the boat who looked queasy. Last couple of years I haven't used them or taken them on trips at all.

I have been on some really rockin' boats in the past 12 years... Calif and NC in particular, you are guaranteed to have 2-3' seas and I always see someone hanging off the rails. I have not had an issue at all at either place now.

So... I am just telling ALL of you who say you need meds, there is hope to get over seasickness. I did it, and I was the kid who used to get carsick every trip. I found MY key to conquering seasickness, and I truly believe most of it was mental.

robin

 

[morecowbells]

My seasickness seems to be a random occurrence. Unfortunately when it does occur it is with full force from zero to category 5 within a minute. I cannot sit on a glider chair, boat dock or one of those hideous revolving top floor restaurants without feeling a little green. So you can imagine what a boat can be like. I find that if I sit near the front of the boat(away from diesel fumes with an unencumbered view of the horizon) I fare better. It also helps if I stand up and face forward, holding on to the canopy it helps as well. I cannot look sideways at a fellow diver or gear up until the last minute. Once I look down at my gauge etc. the wooziness hits like a mack truck.

Without inducing a cringe reaction from the guys, I think hormones also play into the equation. If I am PMS'ing I know the issue will be worse(sorry guys) If I know that a particular boat ride will be long and rough, or if surface intervals will be on the boat, I proceed with the patch. I hate the side effects but I am passionate about diving and cannot imagine aborting the sport due to the seasickness issue.

 

[Harro10]

I have found one non-medicinal cure for sea sickness that worked of me. I was on a dive boat coming back through to Oregon Inlet in North Carolina in pea soup fog. I was felling pretty sick. The boat ran ground in the fog - instant cure.

robint - I do not mind hearing that at all. I have been hearing it and trying it for over fifty years with varied success and even believed that i had controlled it myself for awhile. I am very happy for you that you have controlled your problem and appreciate your wanting to share your success with others and encourage you to do so. Many different "cures" help many different people but no one "cure" helps everyone.

 

[DandyDon]

Tunaman - The scopace pills that I was looking for were the oral version of the patch. It had the same active ingredient, scopolamine, but with a different dosage and delivery system. It has been discontinued in the US.

I think it was pulled because of abuses.

Look at the horizon, that tells your brain that you are okay

For you who get car sick, it's never happened while you were driving has it? ONCE on a really rough tractor I was operating I felt a tinge on some rock and roll plowing, but it's quite rare. Boat pilots never get motion illness either. Find a spot where you can pretend to steer - watching ahead and all...

 

[ggunn]

I know you don't want to hear this, but a big portion of seasickness is mental. You are so sure you will get seasick, that as soon as the boat rocks once your head tells you that you are feeling sick. It is an automatic response. You can get over it, and most people do eventually get over seasickness, get their "sea legs", and never get seasick again.
The only time I ever got seasick was on a small boat, surface interval in rocking seas (in Fla Keys) with diesel fumes in my face for an hour, no sunshade on the boat... everything went wrong! There were 10 divers on the boat and 5 of us were puking. It was horrible. After that experience, I said never again would I go on a boat without sunshade! Also, dehydration was a factor as all the boat had for refreshments was juice boxes. After drinking two of those, I was sick from all the sugar, too.

How to keep from feeling sick on a boat:
Stay up in fresh air, with eyes open
Look at the horizon, that tells your brain that you are okay
Walk around and chat with other divers, fix your gear... get your mind off the ocean
Eat light before getting on boat, and NOTHING greasy! Eggs and toast or pancakes are good, bacon and fried foods are not. Stay away from orange juice also - acid in stomach, no bueno.
Drink lots of fluids.. especially water. Caffeine is not recommended in large quantaties before diving, especially coffee - too much acid in stomach once again.
Eat crackers or pretzels or light snacks on the boat if you need food between dives. A little food in your stomach is better than an empty stomach.

I like ginger caplets (Health food stores have them) and used to carry a bottle with me on liveaboard trips. Take 2-4 of them at breakfast, then 2 again at lunch, 2 again at dinner and then before bed -- the first day. After that, take as needed, if the boat is rocking alot due to weather, etc. I did this our first couple of trips and it worked well. I think the staring at the horizon was the biggest help for me.
After a few trips doing this, I found that I didn't need them at all. I carried them on a few trips, but usually gave them out to others on the boat who looked queasy. Last couple of years I haven't used them or taken them on trips at all.

I have been on some really rockin' boats in the past 12 years... Calif and NC in particular, you are guaranteed to have 2-3' seas and I always see someone hanging off the rails. I have not had an issue at all at either place now.

So... I am just telling ALL of you who say you need meds, there is hope to get over seasickness. I did it, and I was the kid who used to get carsick every trip. I found MY key to conquering seasickness, and I truly believe most of it was mental.

robin

The best cure for seasickness is acclimation.

My story is similar; I grew up around boats and boating, but it wasn't until I was in my early teens that my dad got a boat capable of going offshore. Those first few trips were miserable, but when you are offshore 20-30 miles with a bunch of fishermen, toughing it out is your only option. My first miraculous recovery was the first time we got caught in a pretty bad squall when seas got over 10 feet and the wind was blowing like a banshee. Being in fear for your life shifts your focus pretty well. I only got seasick once after that that I recall; it was years later and it's when I learned that going offshore with a hangover brings on motion sickness pretty reliably. Don't do that.

External focus is the best cure I have found; if you are sitting there ruminating about getting sick, you will probably get sick. If you are out on a boat with someone who is struggling with motion sickness, DO NOT keep asking them how they are doing. You may think you are doing something for them by showing concern, but chances are they have just managed to start thinking about something else; by returning their focus to their gut you haven't done them any favors.

Sometimes I still get a little queasy going out on a roughish day when I haven't been on a boat for a while. What works for me is to go up on the bow (the roughest place you can get) with the pounding and the spray in my face. In a few minutes I am fine. YMMV.

 

[Shepman]

Don't get seasick much, but diesel fumes are a big downfall for me. If I'm on a big dive boat, I'm on the bow using the old "seawater in the face" trick.

Ginger cookies are a lot more fun than ginger pills, BTW