I swear by Ginger root pills. Myth Busters evan proved this to be the only true remedy.
@
jhayes75: I watched that MythBusters episode. That was
not the conclusion that the team made at all.
Results:
The ginger pills (unspecified dose taken 1 hr prior to experiment) appeared to work for both subjects in the study...but so did the "pharmaceutical remedy" in both subjects AND a B12 vitamin pill (placebo) in 1 out of 2 subjects (Grant only). The team also looked at drowsiness as a side effect; both subjects reported drowsiness with the "pharmaceutical remedy" only. They did not specify what the pharmaceutical remedy was. My best guess is that they used Dramamine (dimenhydrinate).
Conclusion:
The final conclusion was that ginger pills as a seasickness remedy was "plausible." The pharmaceutical remedy also worked but with some associated drowsiness. Remedies that
didn't work included: the "tongue tingler" spray, accupressure wrist bands, and mild electrical shock wrist bands. It was clear the production team didn't know what to make of the placebo results. The narrator explained that all of Grant's results "couldn't be trusted" since he had been "tricked" by the placebo. The point should have been made that the placebo effect is real and that simply saying something will help...might make it a self-fulfilling "prophecy."
Study Design:
The purpose of the trial was to find a non-pharmaceutical remedy for seasickness. To that end, the team built a spinning chair to create movement that induces nausea/vomiting. According to Jamie, this contraption was modeled after a similar chair designed by NASA scientists (the motionsickness experts). There were 2 subjects in the study (Grant and Adam). For all trials, the subjects were blindfolded and asked to repeat a series of head movements (forward-back-left-right) designed to hasten onset of motionsickness symptoms. The only trial in which the subjects did
not know what they had taken was the B12 vitamin placebo. (This might seem like a minor detail, but it's actually kind of important.) Adam appeared to be more susceptible to the effects of the spinning chair than Grant. The following remedies were tested: "tongue tingler" mouth spray, accupressure wrist bands, mild electrical shock wrist bands, ginger pills, and a "pharmaceutical remedy."
Enjoy...