Sea Sickness

[lmorin]

... always use rehydration tablets if I show any signs on being dehydrated.

Any comments?

As TSandM said, if these are really salt tablets, they will make dehydration worse. "Rehydration tablets" would be something called ice cubes.

I get seasick easily and use Bonine to combat it. Works well, but not perfectly, for me. Active ingredient is Meclizine. Meclizine is the ingredient of Dramamine II, not to be confused with the original Dramamine. The latter abolishes my seasickness, but effectively destroys my ability to do anything by making me really drowsy. According to one large study on the effectiveness of various drugs, meclizine is only about 1/4 to 1/3 as effective as scopolamine. Some hard-to-get combinations (scopolamine plus amphetamine combo) are up to 10 times more effective than meclizine.

 

[scubadobadoo]

I must be related to the guy who wrote this... Its exactly how I've felt at times (pre-patch)~ wishing for instant death to stop the seasickness... Yup, its THAT bad.

Distant cousins perhaps.

My wife has a stomach of steel and nothing seems to effect her. Usually when I vomit she puts her mask on and gets in the water to see all the fish eat my leftovers.

I have only seen my wife puke once on a dive boat and it was insanely rough (8+ feet on a small six pack boat) and she was tired and had a greasy breakfast too. When she finally did vomit it was so dainty and girly that I later likened the sound to the sound a butterfly must make when it gets lightly punched in the stomach. Or maybe a little squeaky baby lamb laughing... "Baaaah....baaahhh"...and that was it!

When I vomit it sounds like SATAN is trying to enter the world through me!:11doh:

 

[Fish_Whisperer]

When I vomit it sounds like SATAN is trying to enter the world through me!:11doh:

Sounds like me, after one too many tequila shots.

 

[Guba]

Just as the suceptibility to sea-sickness is a rather personal issue, so is the treatment for it, it appears. In my case, on my first extended ocean diving trip I did my research and chose the scop patch. I applied it well before departure and followed instructions and advice thoroughly. A few hours into the trip, I learned the awful truth...the patch did absolutely NOTHING for me, even in conjunction with liberal amounts of ginger. I suffered unmercifully (read that, "coughed up my toenails) until nearly sunrise before taking it off and downing a dose of Dramamine.

I was having breakfast about an hour later. I maintained the Dramamine applications until about the second day, when the need seemed to dissipate. Contrary to other people's experience, Dramamine didn't seem to make me drowsy. I've tried Bonine on other trips, but nothing has been as effective as Dramamine for me.

As I said, it seems to be a rather personal issue.

 

[ka7]

As TSandM said, if these are really salt tablets, they will make dehydration worse. "Rehydration tablets" would be something called ice cubes.

After being pretty seasick you tend to be dehydrated and a way to help combat dehydration is to take a rehydration solution, sometimes in powder format or sometimes tablet. In fact the only effective treatment for dehydration is to replace lost fluids. I happened to be sharing my cabin with a doctor and she offered me some straight away but I already had my own with me. The Captain on the liveaboard also offered me some.

I am not a doctor myself but cannot see how taking rehydration tablets when dehydrated will make the dehydration worse.

Apologies as this is probably too much information but you can generally tell if you are sufficiently hydrated by the colour of your urine. After being pretty violently sick it was pretty obvious from the colour I was dehydrated, after taking the rehydration solution it became clear again and combined with the anti sickness injection administered by my doctor cabin buddy I started to feel a lot better again.



Please feel free to correct me if you think the above is completely wrong but I must admit I was surprised to see peoples comments on rehydration tablets.

 

[kidsdream]

While medically the work similarly to the "patch", I find the Scopace tablets to be easier to dose and work with the same effectiveness.

More info Prevent Motion Sickness - Compare Scopace Tablets to the Scopolamine Patch

 

[mark01]

I got really seasick at Cozumel and lost a day of diving because of that. I took the OTC Bonine and that seemed to work very nicely for me with no issues the remainder of the trip. I don't go diving without it now - boat or no boat. This whole seasickness thing was really kind of a shock for me because up to this point in my life, I have not experienced it even though I'd been in similar conditions off and on through the years, but it really laid me low that first day in Coz.

Cheers,

Mark

 

[ka7]

Thanks to all the comments and advice.... From what I have read on here and a little bit of digging around I think I will give the patch a try, will see if my doc will do me a prescription for it and then aim to try and get out in some conditions that seem to affect me and see what the result is.

 

[Melicertes]

Disclaimer: I am by no means a medical professional so please trust in your hyperbaric physician's advice rather than my 2 bubbles here.


My wife suffers from severe sea sickness whenever the swells and chops get just a little upset and our divedoc (Dr Alan Kayle in Johannesburg, South Africa) prescribed Epinutin for her a few years ago for use during one of our courses when we knew we were going to be in the water for long periods of time very regularly. Although this medication is used to treat epilepsy, as I understand it, he prescribed it with confidence and it worked like a charm. South Africa's waters can turn even my steel stomach to mulch at times and we were both pleasantly surprised that the Epinutin worked so well for her. I am not certain if you can get Epinutin here in the US (assuming you are in the US). Someone in a professional capacity in pharmacology or your divedoc should know. I know a lot of people swear by the Scopolamine patches and they, or perhaps another drug, might very well be a better alternative to Epinutin. I'd make sure that you speak to a hyperbaric physician and not just your normal general practitioner (GP) for diving related medical advice though.

If you don't mind me asking, who are you diving with in SA, and when are you planning your trip? If you happen to be in the Umkomaas area south of Durban I'd recommend you check out Barry and Celia Coleman over at Meridian Dive Centre. I've only had great experiences with them. Their web site is here.

 

[ka7]

If you don't mind me asking, who are you diving with in SA, and when are you planning your trip? If you happen to be in the Umkomaas area south of Durban I'd recommend you check out Barry and Celia Coleman over at Meridian Dive Centre. I've only had great experiences with them. Their web site is here.

Thanks again. As you say its wise to go with what the doc recommends, however my doc isnt a diver so I did want to go prepared with a few possibilites to talk through with her.

Re your question as to where and when, dates are still a little hazy as waiting for conformation but its looking like end of Feb/beginning March. Thanks for the recommendation above but although dates are not confirmed I have booked the trip, with Mark Addison and Tony White.