Motion Sickness question

[2preschoolers]

My husband get very easily sick with movement. He threw up on our helicopter ride in Hawaii even though we both took Dramamine. He threw up any time the ship was moving on our cruise to Bermuda (even when it moved from one side of the island to the other). I do realize the waters there are colder/rougher than the Western Caribbean cruise we'll be on later this month. And he throws up a good 75% of the time on the landing of flights.

 

His doc gave him an Rx for a patch but I'm reading on here that it has severe side effects. I hate to see him miserable during our trip due to side effects! So is Bonine the better option?? The doc said Bonine/Dramamine aren't as strong as the patch, but I'm wondering if he starts taking it a few days early and gets it into his system if the Bonine would do the trick.

 

Has anyone tried the patch? Or does anyone have the same types of issues with nausea/vomiting and done ok by using Bonine?

 

THANKS!!!

[PattyG12]

I think I'd go with the doctor. I'm not sure about "not wanting him to be miserable". If I were on a cruise throwing up constantly, that would be considered pretty miserable. My guess is that your husband has much worse sea sickness than Bonine or Drammamine will help. That said, we found the Western Caribbean to be much calmer than Bermuda. I don't normally get sea sick but I felt a little queasy in the Atlantic.

[bluegirlum]

I get sea and motion sick and used the patch on my previous cruises, but I didn't like the side effects. On my recent cruise on RCI Majesty of the Seas, which is the smallest in their fleet, I used the combination of Bonine and Sea Bands. I felt great! The seas were calm, so that really helped, but I had been so worried about not having the patch. I would definitely check with the doctor. I have heard that motion sickness has something to do with the inner ear. I hope you find something that works!

[broberts]

Everybody is different. I didn't experience any serious side effects with the patch but found Bonnie made me quite sleepy for the first few days.

 

If your husband is so sensitive, is their any way you can try out the patch, ginger tables and Bonnie before the cruise?

[Barry Mc]

I also suffer from motion sickness. I've used the transdermal scopolamine patches and had minor side effects from them so I stopped. What I found worked best is:

 

1) large ships are more stable than smaller ones. The ship's stabilizers work wonders. Book lower decks and midships for the most stable location.

 

2) Caribbean is smoother than the Atlantic, especially in the winter.

 

3) Sea bands work wonders IF they are placed correctly. Have an acupuncturist show you how to locate H-9. That is where the band needs to go. Here’s the trick. At the base of your wrist where your palm starts you’ll find a crease running across your arm (palm facing you). Flex your hand towards your forearm and you’ll see a second crease below the one at the base (further from your hand). Take your other hand and line up your first three fingers with that 2nd crease; your second knuckle (closest to your palm) in the center of your forearm. Think of it like grabbing your forearm with three fingers. Use a pen and make a mark right at the edge of the finger furthest up your arm and in the center of your arm. You should feel a gap in between two tendons there. That spot is right where you put the button on the band. You can actually just put pressure there with your finger if you feel nauseous.

 

4) Carry ginger pills or candied ginger. Asians have used this for nausea for thousands of years...with good reason.

 

5) Fool your brain. For the first couple hours at sea make sure you don’t focus your vision on anything you brain thinks is supposed to be stable (e.g. reading a book). Looking ahead or behind the ship rather than off the side can also help since this helps establish the horizon as your point of reference.

[JanineM]

I also suffer from severe motion sickness. It's so bad that I will throw up in 2 foot seas.

 

I've successfully used the patch on all 12 of my cruises - including a TransAtlantic where we had almost 3 days of 14-20 foot seas. The crew was sick, but I felt great!

 

I have very minor side effects with the patch, nothing like Dramamine or Bonine (meclizine is the active ingredient in Bonine). With Bonine or Dramamine I will sleep the whole cruise away. The only side effects I have with the patch are dry eyes (can't wear my contacts), a bit of dry mouth and that's about it.

 

If you look around the ship you'll see dozens and dozens of people with the patch behind their ears ... clearly it works well for a lot of people!

 

Some people have vision problems with the patch, but 9 out of 10 times that is because they have touched their eyes after putting on the patch. You need to really wash hands !

 

In my opinion --- if your husband's physican prescribes it then he should try it. He can always remove it if it doesn't agree with him. If he weighs less than about 160# then he may want to ask for the scopolomine pills instead of the patch.

 

Seriously, the patch has changed my life! I hope it works for him.

[cb at sea]

If nothing works for him, perhaps cruising isn't his best vacation option! I'd sure hate to be nauseated the entire vacation!

[2preschoolers]

Thanks everyone for your help! Now I feel much better about him using the patch. I've also read if it causes a lot of side effects to maybe cut it in half??

 

But maybe the idea of trying it out BEFORE the cruise is a good idea?

 

For those who have used it sucessfully - do you put it on the day you start the cruise or do you start it a day or two early??

 

THANKS AGAIN!

[2preschoolers]

Thanks everyone for your help! Now I feel much better about him using the patch. I've also read if it causes a lot of side effects to maybe cut it in half??

 

But maybe the idea of trying it out BEFORE the cruise is a good idea?

 

For those who have used it sucessfully - do you put it on the day you start the cruise or do you start it a day or two early??

 

THANKS AGAIN!

[mrandmrs_king]

Seabands are wonderful. I used them for morning sickness when I was pregnant. Not sure if this is helpful but everytime I feel nauseous (even when I was pregnant) I have been given Zofran by my doctor (which is actually a medicine given for chemo patients since chemo makes them sick). It completely makes me feel 100% better. I'm bringing mine on my cruise with me because I do get motion sick sometimes.

[Coolmama_1]

My cousnin used a seaband on our last cruise with great success. My parents have used the patch with no trouble at all. Personally, I like the ginger capsules and non drowsy dramamine. Everyone is different and there are lots of options.

Have a great cruise!

[JanineM]

Thanks everyone for your help! Now I feel much better about him using the patch. I've also read if it causes a lot of side effects to maybe cut it in half??

 

But maybe the idea of trying it out BEFORE the cruise is a good idea?

 

For those who have used it sucessfully - do you put it on the day you start the cruise or do you start it a day or two early??

 

THANKS AGAIN!

 

The instructions are pretty clear about NOT cutting the patch in half. From what my doctor has told me, the problem with cutting it is the leaching of the medication, which means it is more likely to get on your fingertips and, as such, in the eyes. If your husband is slight of weight (under about 160#) then he should ask his doctor for an Rx for the scopolomine pill - not the patch.

 

I put the patch on in the morning before we sail --- you need to get it on while you're still on terra firma ---- and then I'm fine as soon as we get on the ship. I've also found that I have fewer sea legs after sailing if I leave the last patch on for a couple of days afterwards. I used to take it off as soon as we hit land after the cruise and seemed to be more disoriented. I figure if I leave it on the medication will more gradually leave my system.

 

If he is really concerned about side effects maybe he could put the first patch on a day or two early and see how he does on land. Each patch is designed to be worn for three days. If he has a problem then he could go to Bonine/meclizine. Keep in mind that the patch has had to go through pretty rigorous testing to be approved by the FDA --- so it's a small percentage of people who have bad issues. For me, the dry mouth and eyes are a small price to pay.:)

 

Hope this helps!

[angelina]

I also suffer from extreme motion sickness. for normal car trips i take bonine and it seems to work. the bands didn't work for me either and draminine makes me sleepy. but w/ cruises i always use the patch. and I've had the side effects as well (dry mouth, slightly blurred vision, dizziness when taking it off, etc). but i really enjoy cruising and the worst feeling in the world is being motion sick...so for me its worth the side effects.

[alwaysmiling]

Great information here!

Our family has never taken a cruise before and are now ready to expand our horizons and make it a reality.

 

Two out of the three of us (me and our 7 year old lil guy)experience motion sickness so the wealth of information here is wonderful. My husband; on the other hand has a cast iron stomach. We don't want a minor thing as wretching over the side of a ship for 7 days prevent us from booking what looks to be a great vacation!~

 

(This is my first post...yeahhh)

[KarenZee]

The Bonine tablets worked well for me on my 5 day cruise that had two windy rainy sea days that caused lots of ship movement. Take 2 tabs on schedule for best results.