Sea Sickness

[lmorin]

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.

Rehydration cannot be accomplished by tablets of any kind. It takes water, as you have noted. When someone vomits repeatedly, has persistent diarrhea or sweats voluminously, there can be a serious loss of electrolytes, in addition to the water loss. Products like Gatorade have been formulated to restore both electrolytes and water in a rapid manner and that is why athletes drink it. The doctor who treated you may have given you tablets that contain all the appropriate salts necessary to restore a normal chemical equilibrium in the body. But without the lost water being replenished, the salts in the tablets would probably hurt the situation more than help it. The "rehydration solution" you mention is the key. It appears that you were replacing lost water and electrolytes in the same drink.

 

[ka7]

Rehydration cannot be accomplished by tablets of any kind. It takes water, as you have noted. When someone vomits repeatedly, has persistent diarrhea or sweats voluminously, there can be a serious loss of electrolytes, in addition to the water loss. Products like Gatorade have been formulated to restore both electrolytes and water in a rapid manner and that is why athletes drink it. The doctor who treated you may have given you tablets that contain all the appropriate salts necessary to restore a normal chemical equilibrium in the body. But without the lost water being replenished, the salts in the tablets would probably hurt the situation more than help it. The "rehydration solution" you mention is the key. It appears that you were replacing lost water and electrolytes in the same drink.

Yes I think I confused matters by my use of the word "tablets" The rehydration tablets in question are exactly the same as rehydration sachets which when disovled in water provide a drink which helps to replace lost water and electolytes as you have quoted above. Not tablets taken whole but tablets as in a solid form of a pack of electrolytes.

So apologies to anyone whom I confused by using the word tablet

 

[ka7]

Yes I think I confused matters by my use of the word "tablets" The rehydration tablets in question are exactly the same as rehydration sachets which when disovled in water provide a drink which helps to replace lost water and electolytes as you have quoted above. Not tablets taken whole but tablets as in a solid form of a pack of electrolytes.

So apologies to anyone whom I confused by using the word tablet

And just to add to the above and totally kill any confusion caused by my wording here is a link to what I actually do use:

nuun | optimal hydration

 

[pediatron]

I also tend to get seasick just looking at the water. I almost gave up on diving. I did well initially on scopolamine until one day I started getting horrible blurred vision. I tried the wrist bands without much effect. Since then, I have taken one bonine night before and one bonine in am of any day I will be on a boat and have done very well. I do agree that med effectiveness tends to vary by individuals. I am still too afraid to go on a liveaboard but am getting closer to considering it with the bonine twice daily. Good Luck with whatever you choose and be open to multiple options. I agree that seasickness is about as miserable as a person can feel!

 

[Melicertes]

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.

I have not had the opportunity to dive with either of them but I wish you only the most exciting dives and best conditions. I've seen March weather being very temperamental at times stirring up the chops quite a bit depending on where you're going and on how your fortune holds so I hope you have fair weather and a great time!

 

[miketsp]

Anecdotal evidence notwithstanding, these simply don't work. Whatever anti-emetic effect they may have had was most likely a placebo effect.

Based on a sample of 1 I tested they (wrist bands) definitely work for some people.
We used to have in the group a female diver that would start feeling bad the moment the boat left the jetty so I decided to test the pressure points on her.

Just to make sure that it wasn't just the effect of me holding her wrists I ran a blind test. I first held both her wrists but pressed down with my thumbs some distance from the correct point and asked her how she felt. She had never heard about pressure bands so she didn't know if I was doing it right or not. She reported no change.
I then moved my thumbs to the right points and she immediately reported feeling better. We stayed like that for a few minutes and she said she'd never felt better on a boat.
When I released her wrists she immediately felt really bad and made a run for the rail...

 

[editmojo]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Meclazine. It's over-the-counter but you usually have to ask for it. My wife is very susceptible to motion-sickness and swears by the stuff. It can make you a little sleepy but not nearly as much as Dramamine. And it relieves symptoms after you've gotten sick. The one thing I don't know is how it reacts with diving.

 

[diver 85]

I swear by the patches. I am very prone to seasickness and they have been the only thing that works well for me. I don't notice any unwanted effects.

Be sure & don't touch your eyes after fooling with them, they could dilate---might do that anyway by just using them(we use scopolamine to dilate pupils from time to time)....& don't use if you have narrow angles(of the eyes)...see link(esp. Risk part)

Scopolamine - Information from Reference.com

.....otherwise, that's your best bet...........GEAUX TIGERS..........

 

[Gale68]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Meclazine. It's over-the-counter but you usually have to ask for it. My wife is very susceptible to motion-sickness and swears by the stuff. It can make you a little sleepy but not nearly as much as Dramamine. And it relieves symptoms after you've gotten sick. The one thing I don't know is how it reacts with diving.

Meclizine is the active ingredient in the brand Bonine, and it's what I use for the first few days of a trip (after that I seem to do fine without it). I take the first dose the night before getting on the boat so it has plenty of time to take effect before I need it. Recommended dosage is 1-2 tablets daily (25mg); I usually take 1/2 tablet twice a day. Never had any problem with it interacting with diving or affecting my alertness while in the water.

DAN says (regarding all over-the-counter anti-nausea pills): "Side effects of these medications may impair your ability to dive safely. Some cause drowsiness, the most common side effect. Because of this, they carry warnings about operating heavy equipment or performing hazardous tasks. Before using antinausea medications, always read the accompanying information. To evaluate for side effects, take your dosage well before the dive. If you feel drowsy while taking it on land, the effects may worsen underwater."

 

[Eastbayfe]

There has been alot of support for the patch but no mention to the possible loss of effectiveness during and after diving. Apparently they still work in wet conditions??? To have to reapply would have had you coming off the preventitive benefits when you may need it most (topside off gasing and switching tanks for a following dive).