Seasickness

[llsmith47]

OK... everybody has his/her own remedy.... what's yours? Tried about everything. Help!

[DollFin]

Bonine. Non-drowsy form of Darmamine, that I've used a few times and works really well.


Pssst, the Mark Twain quote (a personal favorite of mine) should read; ?Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bow lines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.?

[thomas]

you can try this, ma'am:

transdermal scopolamine patches

http://www.rxlist.com/transderm-scop-drug.htm

this is a prescription medication. this is standard medication used by NASA, so i am told. with this medication, most people can be in the extreme ranges of possible motion and still not get sick.

[Tye Dyed Gary]

 My wife uses the SeaBand wrist bands and has no problems. I have got to the point that if I get sick, I just through up get over it and do what I have to to keep the boat going (I get drug tested regularly).

[joe]

Here is the NASA official entry for SMS (Space Motion Sickness):
Shuttle Crewmembers have found prophylactically taking a combination of promethazine (Phenergan) 25 mg or scopolamine 0.8 mg, along with dextroamphetamine (Dexedrine) 5 mg

Probably a bit of overkill and requires a physician to cooperate.

[thomas]

The NASA dosage of scopolamine is half what the patches have, which is 1.5mg. Maybe that explains why the patches work so well. And that is a new one...promethazine is what would be given to you if you're taking narcotics after a surgery or a major, traumatic injury, and are suffering from drug induced nausea. I checked and they actually list Phenergan as a motion sickness medication. 

The patches keep most people from getting sick. They will even take someone already sick, on the water getting hammered, and help the sickness go away. I know that from experience but it takes awhile for the patches to deliver the medication.

And it is doubtful you'd be able to get a physician to prescribe dexedrine, which is speed.

[Charles]

And it is doubtful you'd be able to get a physician to prescribe dexedrine, which is speed.

What was the name of Micheal Jackson's doctor?

[BJSailor]

The best remedy, BAR NONE, is to prepare before you leave the dock and to do whatever you can at sea to avoid mal de mer.  Motion sickness is caused by a confusion that develops between what your eyes tell your brain and what your sense of balance (inner ear, vestibular system) are telling your brain.  The absolute worst situation you could be in is being below deck staring at the bulkhead or settee (eyes are saying everything is solid and stable) and the boat is pitching and rolling (sense of balance is telling you that everything is moving).

Preparation - don't spend the night before getting hammered and show up at the boat still half drunk, get a good solid nights sleep and get to the boat well rested, eat a good healthy meal the night before (pasta is fine, but recommend you stay away from heavy greasy stuff) and have a healthy (but not heavy greasy) breakfast.  In other words, show up in good shape, awake, and ready to go.
On the boat - there a tons of suggestions to avoid situations / conditions that may bring  on symptoms.  I'll list a few and leave out a bunch for others to contribute
-  Stay on deck with the fresh breeze in you face
-  Look off in the distance, focus on the horizon or a distant boat.  Avoid staring straight down at the water or the winch in front of you
-  DO SOMETHING!  Trim a sail, coil a line, drive.  Doesn't matter - stay busy and active.
-  Avoid being close to someone else who is seasick.  The smell of vomit is a virus, once you smell it you'll be tossing your cookies before you know it.

When I'm at sea, there are a few things that work for me to stay focused:
-  Oranges.  For me, peeling and eating a fresh orange gives me energy and focus.  Odd maybe, but oranges are what work for me.
-  Ginger.  Ginger in any form has been proven to be the ONLY substance that actually prevents and reduces the symptoms of motion sickness.  For me, ginger snap cookies are always a good snack regardless of the seasickness issue.  Pickled ginger (like you get in a sushi bar) is a good condiment in sandwiches and dinners (or right out of the jar).  Heck, they even market ginger pills / capsules for nausea.  Ginger is a wonder food!  I've seen guys on the edge of death from seasickness bounce back after taking ginger.  I might recommend taking some before leaving the dock (eat a few cookies...).
-  Hydration.  Can't emphasize enough (especially around here) the importance of drinking enough water and electrolytes.  Drink more than you think you need to.  Not just for seasickness, but just to stay alert and healthy.  Flat (decarbonated) Coke and 7-Up have had some positive responses in settling stomaches too.  When I was a kid, my mom used to give us a tablespoon of straight Coke syrup to settle the stomach.  I've still got a bottle at the house and (for me) it's effective.

There are two kinds of sailors - those who get seasick, and those that will.  When you find yourself in the first category, here is what you can do to make your life (and your crewmates lives) as easy and possible:
-  Puke over the leeward rail as far aft as possible.  Rule #1 - puke to leeward.  Not below deck in a bucket, not over your feet as you sit on the weather rail.  Puke to leeward.  Puking anyplace else on the boat is going to get puke on your mates and / or make the below decks smell like a vomitarium and make anyone going below toss their cookies too.  PUKE TO LEEWARD
-  Try and stay on deck.  Stayin on deck keeps you in the breeze feeling cooler, keeps you focused on the horizon, gives you opportunities to do something (see all the suggestions above...), and (most importantly) keeps you near the leeward rail!
-  Do NOT stop drinking!  Dehydration is the most dangerous thing about motion sickness.  People die because of dehydration / seasickness.  Drink and try and keep it down.
-  Keep a positive attitude and try and contribute.  Not because you may be asking more of your crewmates, but because it will get you through the malady quicker.

Now the controversial news.  Not a single drug or study on motion sickness has demonstrated that any of the drugs marketed for seasickness prevents or helps someone recover any better than a placebo.  Spend your money on Dramamine, Scapolomine, promethazine, unobtanium... whatever.  The only substance known to man to have proven effectiveness in preventing and reducing existing symptoms of motion sickness is Ginger (in any form).  Taken before and during episodes, ginger is the only proven remedy - and even ginger isn't even proven to be 50% effective.  Oddly, peppermint has also proven to be as effective as most commerical medications.  Do your own Google search...

So, what does our community have to add about how to prepare, avoid, and cure seasickness???  Enquiring minds want to know
 

[DollFin]

Avoid staring straight down at the water or the winch in front of you

I would beg to differ just a little bit when there are lifelines involved. I had my first experience of being seasick while sailing fairly recently. We were in fairly choppy water and trying to look at the horizon was NOT working because I was sitting on the rail and the lifelines were in my line of sight to the horizon. The axis of the lifelines and horizon constantly going against each other just made things worse, and looking down at the water was actually much better for me in that case. Just as long as you can fill your field of vision with SOME sort of constant, stable image with nothing opposing it is a good thing.
 

[Kevin Bednar]

Plain white bagels work wonders.  If you think you might get sick keep your stomach a little busy digesting something.

[Frank Tamborello]

My skipper always advises that we look at the horizon and think real hard about wild sex. I do this when I get woozy and so far I haven't actually been sick yet! I also like to make my own soundtrack of monkey noises?the humor value is good for crew morale. (;

[ChrisK]

I cannot top Franks recommendation.

I have found over the years that the more time spent on a boat, the less susceptible I get.

Stay out from down below, don't win the party the night before, don't do anything funky with your diet/meds the week before, stay hydrated. 
If you do get a touch of the "motion of the ocean" keep busy.   
Mentioned earlier, driving the boat is one of the best things you can do.

Long ago someone suggested trying an ice beer cold beer, I was very pessimistic, but for some reason it seemed to work!

While on this topic, an interesting observation I heard from a friend who spent alot of time on NASA's "Vomit Comet" is that the party people seem to handle the weightlessness much better than the homebodies. 
The theory was that those who are used to being a little tipsy on a regular basis have adapted and are less susceptible to motion sickness.
Of course, applying this hypothesis to seasickness warrants additional research...

Care to join me in another drink?

[DollFin]

Plain white bagels work wonders.  If you think you might get sick keep your stomach a little busy digesting something.

>I thought you were going to say "they taste just the same coming up as they do going down" 

[Kevin Bednar]

Plain white bagels work wonders.  If you think you might get sick keep your stomach a little busy digesting something.

>I thought you were going to say "they taste just the same coming up as they do going down" 

I was serious, they do work.  Don't try them with lox offshore though. 

[Christopher]

Another theory that I haven't seen posted yet is to have and keep the stomach full to minimize or prevent the acids from acting up.  The bagels probably do this.  So, you are constantly eating.  If you are prone to being sick - it's BANANAS that taste the same coming up as they do going down.  But then are you superstitious about bananas on a boat. 

Ginger has long been proven the best for settling the stomach.  That?s why there is so much Ginger Ale available on airline flights.  There is a ginger candy/chew that is provided to chemo-therapy patients - check your pharmacy.  In addition to ginger cookie/snaps, it also comes in a ?Ginger-Soother? drink available at Whole-Foods.

Scopolamine patches are effective, but are also expensive (about $20 each) and require a doctor?s prescription.  Caution: these have been reported to cause hallucinations.  So, be careful if you are skipper in charge.  They give me dry cotton mouth so bad, it seems that there?s not enough water on board to quench my thirst and makes the Gatorade taste funny. 

Most effective remedies require you to start the day before, if not the week before sailing, so that your system is loaded up with and accustomed to the preventative.

Everyone is different and must find his own remedy.  Some swear by alcohol and being in a tipsy state to offset the eye/brain/balance confusion causing
mal-de-mer.  Others solve it by food and others need drugs.  Still others have iron stomachs that have yet to toss their cookies.

There are only two kinds of mal-de-mer people: those who get sick and those that will get sick ?eventually.  Keep laughing, your time will come.