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Just a quick primer on motion sickness. The term motion sickness refers to a discrepency between what the body expects and what the eyes and vestibular/labrynthine structures (inner ear or semi-circular canals) are telling the brain. When we engage in physical activity the brain will monitor the body and get a sense as to the direction a speed the body is moving. During mormal movement the brain gets consistent messages the the head and body are both moving in an appropriate manner. With vertigo and/or motion sickness the brain gets conflicting messages the the body is doing one thing and the head is doing another. This will create sensations of nausea, upset stomach, burping, dizziness, sweating, and a general sense of just not feeling well.

For example. When you are standing on the deck of a boat your body is telling your brain the you are not moving and standing still. But, your inner ear/semi-circular canals are telling your brain that the deck is pitching and you are indeed moving up and down. This discrepency is then referred to as being motion sick. You can somewhat overcome the input of the inner ears by fixing your gaze on a fixed point either the horizon or land mass. The symptoms may lessen but may not completley go away.

Medications to treat motion sickness fall into two basic categories, either an antihistamines with anticholinergic properties, anticholinergic agents, or antidopaminergic agents. Other medications have been used but to varying degress of success. By far the former are the most common agents used.

Antihistamines fall into several different categories. The include dimenhydramine (Dramamine, Triptone), diphenhydramine (Benadryl), meclizine (Antivert, Bonine.) Neither of the agents are considered narcotics (which are pain killers)

Anticholinergic agents are essentially Scopolamine. It is most commonly used in patch form as Transderm Scop.

Antidopaminergic agents are promethazine (Phenergan, Anergan) and metoclopramide (Reglan).

Antiemetic (anti-nausea) medication such as ondansetron (zofran) has been used as well but just treats the nausea not the vertigo and causes a significant amount of sedation. Personally, I would not recommend for motion sickness. It is also very expensive, and if you are so sick you need a heavy duty nausea rx like Zofran maybe you should be sitting out your dive.

Since antihistamines in general cause sedation as well they should also be used with caution. Meclizine may have the least affect on performance with the above, followed by scopolamine. Phenergan may have the most effect.

Non-medical remedies include ginger and acupressure at the wrist. The sensations can abate over time with repeated exposure to activity - just the excuse you need to dive more !!! so may get better over time.

As to ScubaPink's original question, you don't have to be on a boat to be sea sick. I do have a friend who is very sensitive to motion sickness. When we have been diving he can get sea sick at the surface as well. It seems that the motion of going up and down in the swells with a fully inflated BC at the surface is enough to get him going. Try taking Triptone since you have that already for your next shore dive to see if that makes a difference.

Also, the sensation is created by a discrepency in signals to the brain in what your body is doing and what both your eyes and ears are telling your body. While underwater try and maintain an even horizontal position and avoid quick/rapid head or eye movements. Try not to become disoriented on descent/ascent and either maintain hold of the descent line or have a visual reference while you are going up.

Hope that helps.
 
Cut out the plain Greek Yogurt. :wink:

Seriuosly, as pointed out above lots of kinds of food can create nausea if we get jostled a bit.

I usually don't get sea sick. Went out once. Pretty calm with some swell. We stopped and I immediately tossed up the vitamin drink Propel. That slightly odd taste on land did not sit well in water.

Used to do a lot of ocean fishing from a small boat. No coffee. No grease. Nothing acidic. Pancakes and a chocolate milk were best. I like Greek Yogurt but I would not eat it before going diving or out in a boat.

Another possibility is if you are getting some water in your mouth while diving. Drinking a little salt water can be upsetting.
 
I used to get sea sick just thinking of being on the boat. But never on shore dive. Dramamine no longer works for me.
I take and only use ginger pills now. You can get them at Trader Joes or on line. One thing nice about Ginger Pills is you can not over dose on them. I'll take 1 about an hour before the boat ride and another just before I get on the boat. If I'm doing a two tank boat dive, I'll take another pill as soon as I can during the SI.

I agree with Steve_C, foods can cause an upset stomach to be worse then normal.
Also, surge and I never get along. I'll do anything to stay out of a surge.
 
My wife never gets sick. I invariably "chum" between dives on day boat outings, and then feel fine. If I had a dollar for each time I've done that, I could buy a nice computer. I woulkdn't worry about it too much, just keep extra bottled water handy for rinsing out, and be courteous about which reg you pass off to share air.
DivemasterDennis
 
I get seasick on boats as well as floating on the surface waiting for the boat pick-up or (in the rare occasion) having to wait to descend as a group. I take Bonine prior to getting on the dive boat (about 30 minutes before) and don't usually have any problems. I've tried Dramamine and it didn't work for me. I never eat anything fatty prior to diving...usually just oatmeal or a banana and a piece of toast, and I try to stay very hydrated. However, on my last dive trip on the first day of diving I did get sick after the first morning dive....and I had taken my Bonine. The seas were very rough and it took the boat about 6 - 7 minutes to come pick us up. All that bobbing around really made me nauseous. I had congestion which could've attributed to my sensitivity in the water. Anyhow, that ended my diving for the day because along with throwing up I developed the "headache from hell" and which took about 10 hours to get rid of! Ugh!

Were you sporting a cold any of the times you got nauseous?
 
Were you sporting a cold any of the times you got nauseous?[/QUOTE]

no cold or sinus issues whatsoever .

I think the biggest revelation to me from all your answers (thank you) is that diving can make you nauseous . Blue Heron is rather shallow with varying depths and currents can be an issue so i suspect these are contributing factors. Next time I dive there i will use Triptone. Bonnie puts me in a sleep coma! lol
 
Let us know how it goes. I will be there in a couple of weeks myself. Try Lauderdale by the Sea for shore diving also.
 
Cut out the plain Greek Yogurt. :wink:

Seriuosly, as pointed out above lots of kinds of food can create nausea if we get jostled a bit.

I usually don't get sea sick. Went out once. Pretty calm with some swell. We stopped and I immediately tossed up the vitamin drink Propel. That slightly odd taste on land did not sit well in water.

Used to do a lot of ocean fishing from a small boat. No coffee. No grease. Nothing acidic. Pancakes and a chocolate milk were best. I like Greek Yogurt but I would not eat it before going diving or out in a boat.

Another possibility is if you are getting some water in your mouth while diving. Drinking a little salt water can be upsetting.


Steve C is right on the money!!!!

Many people involved in activities which sometimes necessitate inversions as in acrobatics, skydiving and scuba diving know not to indulge in any dairy products and citrus fruits including tomatoes before undertaking these pursuits.

Next time just have coffee with toast and jam/jelly before going diving and see if that makes a difference.
 
Definitely cut out the dairy before dives, if drugs are a little to extreme for you try ginger. Either in capsule form or crystallised ginger taken before going on boats or before diving it is a great natural alternative for nausea control. I have suffered from mild motion sickness all my life and found that keeping a bag of crystallised ginger around on rough weather days has saved me a great deal of discomfort.
 
I was sea sick last week. Hadn't been sick in years. Ginger ale worked for me. Also someone gave me some ginger gum which was good too. Seems strange it only happens at one dive site?
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/teric/

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