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Does one get immune for sea sickness eventually & what about the crew?


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Husband gets occasional queasiness when the ship is being hit sidewards, but it's quite rare. He was quite ill during a snorkelling trip this winter, when the boat hit a rough patch, and that night he was ill again on board the cruise ship, in smooth water- but it all stopped again next day.

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- there may be people who are 'immune' to sea sickness but I don't think I've met one yet. In general I can say to anyone who's never been .... 'ya just haven't seen the right conditions yet'

 

- 'sea sick' is really just a reaction to vertigo ..... the inner ear gets over loaded and you get unbalanced .... this makes most folks nauseous. Some are more susceptible than others but I've yet to see one IMMUNE

 

- I've seen folks get sea sick at the pier .......

 

- Been in 45 footers for several days (Alaskan Fisheries Patrol) and no problems as long as we 'roll' ..... but when we 'pitch' .... different story.

 

- wrt to the 'engine room story' .... had a peer that said he never got sea sick .... but crew noticed when ever it got ruff he spent a lot of time in the engine room ... down low in the ship ... where motion is minimized. Nice days, he was no where to be seen!!!!

 

- IME MOST folks will acclimate in 24 to 48 hours ..... this is my experience as 12+ years as a supervisor at sea. BUT I'll mention that I have seen a FEW who were SO susceptible that they were 'excused' from sea duty. You MAY NOT be able to beat it.

 

******************

 

on a Princess cruise back a few years, the ship was going from Barbados to Lauderdale, east of the Bahama Bank (aka 'open water') ... and the weather "started getting rough". Pools drained and few folks on deck. I found an open bar and was enjoying a pint while asking the bar tend' about his experience with the seas we were in.

 

"Got it all in hand Mate"

 

Just then a big swell slammed the ship and I grabbed my glass ... not a big issue, just a wave that hit the right way ... I knew what was commin'

 

and watched his 'bar' slide and smash most every glass and bottle .....

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  • 4 months later...

I really resent the whole "its the attitude" argument. I have chronic vertigo. I can get sea sick rolling over in my own bed at night. It has nothing to do with my attitude and everything to do with how my ear canals function. On the other hand I can operate my phone while my DH drives the car and it rarely makes me sick. But put me on a small craft--erg. I have even gotten sick while lying on a float at the lake!

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We seemed to have got our "sea legs" and rarely need to take seasickness meds. That actually surprised me in the case of DH as he's never coped with sea movement on small boats but seems to be OK on ships. On the odd occasion I have felt a little nauseous when lying in bed if the ship is rolling a bit, yet I'm OK sitting or moving around the ship. However the worst we have been in so far is 5 metre seas (15 ft).

 

However we've had a couple of rough tender rides and that's when both of us feel nauseous, but we recover quickly as soon as we reach land or get back on the ship.

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I think it can also be a matter of luck or individual brain wiring. My DH and I have been lucky enough to never get seasick, (touch wood!) even in some really bad weather, in more than 30 cruises. Ships and boats have never bothered me. Planetariums, though... when they spin the map of the night sky, but my seat isn’t really moving, I get a bit green.

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I really resent the whole "its the attitude" argument. I have chronic vertigo. I can get sea sick rolling over in my own bed at night. It has nothing to do with my attitude and everything to do with how my ear canals function. On the other hand I can operate my phone while my DH drives the car and it rarely makes me sick. But put me on a small craft--erg. I have even gotten sick while lying on a float at the lake!

 

 

 

Seasickness relates to ocean motion. What you have does not really equate to this thread Sorry that you have to go through life like that, without the benefit of the cruising.

 

 

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Seasickness relates to ocean motion. What you have does not really equate to this thread Sorry that you have to go through life like that, without the benefit of the cruising.

 

 

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Actually, what poodle lady posts is quite accurate. Sea sickness is caused by your brain getting two distinctly different messages, from two of your senses. When your brain gets different messages from your eyes and your inner ears, it gets confused, and nausea sets in. Even if you can see the horizon so that your eyes are saying that you are moving, depending on how your inner ear is processing information and sending it to the brain, some folks can still become sea sick. Vertigo and motion sickness are two sides of the same coin.

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I used to get sick on long car journeys as a kid, but I later figured out it was never motion sickness, it was the stale smell of smoke in my dad's car.

As for sea sickness I only ever got it once in a ferry under storm conditions at night, and as soon as we had daylight I was fine.

I have very sensitive hearing and I do feel motion, on my first cruise I could feel the ship moving at all times even though it was calm conditions the whole time. The crew I spoke to thought I was nuts when I said I felt it, but I was fine. I grew up in a fishing village so I've been at sea in a variety of vessels and a variety of conditions. During my first cruise I had tablemates at dinner who couldn't cope with looking out on the sea while we were eating. If just looking at rough seas is a potential trigger I know I'm entirely immune.

Fresh air and having a view of the sea when the motion starts is enough for me to be ok. Though it seems to be reverse for many others.

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So do you have a study to share about this, or is it your opinion? For me, personally, it's not attitude. It's not worry. It's real. I

 

 

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I knew nothing about seasickness when I was 16. Ignorance did not help me.

It's a physical manifestation of an inner problem caused by movement.

 

 

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I get motion sickness watching kids in a swing. I was very disappointed a couple of years ago when I found out I can't enjoy a hammock any more.

It's wonderful that some do outgrow motion sickness but for me, thank goodness for Bonine.

 

 

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Actually, what poodle lady posts is quite accurate. Sea sickness is caused by your brain getting two distinctly different messages, from two of your senses. When your brain gets different messages from your eyes and your inner ears, it gets confused, and nausea sets in. Even if you can see the horizon so that your eyes are saying that you are moving, depending on how your inner ear is processing information and sending it to the brain, some folks can still become sea sick. Vertigo and motion sickness are two sides of the same coin.

 

 

 

This is the very consistent with the best article I've seen about seasickness.

https://www.canstar.com.au/travel-insurance/how-do-i-know-if-i-will-get-seasick-on-a-cruise/

 

To go back to OPs question, I don't think one actually builds an immunity to seasickness - what actually happens is a combination of each individual understanding how the illness affects them and what works to alleviate the symptoms. Then it is a matter of preparing physically (through remedies) and building mental confidence in your coping strategies.

 

I never used to get seasickness until I spent the best part of the night getting drunk before heading out fishing on less than an hour's sleep. Now I am fine on all the cruise ships but put me on a stationary small boat and I'll burley up for you! :D

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The undeniable fact that many U S Navy sailors who experienced seasickness on their first one, two or three times in rough seas became able to deal with it demonstrates that having had experience enabled them to overcome it. That means attitude or lack of worry - because if seasickness were purely an automatic response to ships motion, they would experience it every time they went to sea.

 

Experience cures seasickness in most cases.

My first time underway on a Gearing-class destroyer I got seasick. After that, never again even during, typhoon evasion. My buddy and I enjoyed there being no chow line during meals!

 

Am I immune? Or, did my body simply accommodate/overcome the situation? To this day, motion sickness is not a problem for me.

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No study to support ... just what I've observed on cruise ships and boating off the coast of SC.

 

Yeah, worrying means you will focus on the motion which is going to make things worse for sure.

 

I used to get motion sickness at the drop of a hat when I was younger. I've somehow developed an immunity or resistance (whatever the correct term) and even a storm won't bother me now. In fact, the motion of the cruise ships tends to rock me to sleep. Motion sickness is no fun, so I am grateful for this. I spend a lot of time on a small boat. In rough conditions it is like a cork on water. I'll feel a mild queasiness if I'm out there long enough in chop.

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So do you have a study to share about this, or is it your opinion? For me, personally, it's not attitude. It's not worry. It's real.

 

There absolutely is a mental aspect to sea sickness. I don't need a study to know that. I spent a lot of time at sea in the USCG. We used to have fun with the greenhorns...same with me when I was a recruit...making them sick just by certain gestures or suggestions.

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There absolutely is a mental aspect to sea sickness. I don't need a study to know that. I spent a lot of time at sea in the USCG. We used to have fun with the greenhorns...same with me when I was a recruit...making them sick just by certain gestures or suggestions.

 

I had a friend whose uncle was a trials engineer for Electric Boat in Groton, and who went out on sea trials on new submarines. They would tie a string from one side of the boat to the other, with a hex nut in the middle. On the surface, the string was straight across. As the ship dove deeper, and the hull contracted, the nut would droop lower and lower. The only way to visualize the pressure of the sea.

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There absolutely is a mental aspect to sea sickness. I don't need a study to know that. I spent a lot of time at sea in the USCG. We used to have fun with the greenhorns...same with me when I was a recruit...making them sick just by certain gestures or suggestions.
Agreed, as I said for me it is psychosomatic and I will be feeling fine but if I think about it too much, or worse, if I see, hear (or even smell) other people being sick, chances are I am going to be as well.
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Even the most hardened sailor can get seasick if the conditions are right!

I used to be one of those who was on the "I never get seasick" list, but cruise #15 just outside of Seattle in Oct caused my first case. Many passengers had problems. A few days later, an officer told me that he also experienced it on that same day for his first time. The ocean's movements seemed to be pulling the ship in all directions, rolling and abrupt pitching. My usually cast iron stomach suffered greatly!

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We have been fortunate that we have never gotten sea sick and we have been in pretty rough waters. Thus we never take anything along with us.

Some crew members do get sea sick even after sailing for years.

We had a captain on HAL years ago who was always sea sick -- can't remember his name.

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I’m the seasick Queen! My basic go-to medication is over the counter Bonine, which is also Less Drowsy Dramamine and the prescription Meclizine or antivert. I can’t take it and drive, and I dose it as I need it, starting with half a tab per day and going up incrementally as I need it up to 2 tabs per day; but that much puts me in bed early. On top of that, seabands are great and ginger chews help a lot. Along with all that, I stare at the horizon and eat green apples. Lemon ginger tea is great, too. I don’t wear the scopolamine patch because it’s a drug that works on the nervous system and can cause dry mouth and blurry eyes. Most have to wean off it. Non-drowsy Dramamine is ginger. Regular Dramamine is Benadryl. On our last family cruise the sea was so rocky that everyone was sick. It was a free for all take anything that works time. Patches were chopped and shared. Bonine was handed around. Seabands were in high demand. Ginger was gold. I’m doing a 5 night cruise in October and went on 2 last year. Seasickness won’t stop me!

 

 

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