Seasick

[hutt90]

:( Leaving in a few months, taking family on 8 day cruise. Getting a little concerned about children getting seasick. 13 and 16 year old. What is the best thing to use for upset stomach? Hoping to not use medicine? Any natural things that may help??? Any help would be great. Thanks

[cb at sea]

If they're not prone to motion sickness on land (in cars, buses or amusement rides), they're probably not going to have a problem.

Kids don't seem to notice the motion like adults do.

If they HAVE had problems in the past, ask their pediatrician what to bring....for kids, thats the best thing to do!

[JohnMI]

We've had good luck ourselves with Ginger gum. Doesn't taste the best (especially for kids -- although, sometimes they find it fun because it is so strong). In any case, non-medicine and has some scientific backing. (Also, ginger was the only "natural remedy" that seemed to actually work on MythBusters, just to note it.)

 

- John...

[John Bull]

:( Leaving in a few months, taking family on 8 day cruise. Getting a little concerned about children getting seasick. 13 and 16 year old. What is the best thing to use for upset stomach? Hoping to not use medicine? Any natural things that may help??? Any help would be great. Thanks

 

Best medicine is the right cabin on the right cruise.

 

Places like the Caribbean & the Med are usually pretty calm, when you get up in the morning its not til you look outside that you know whether you're sailing or docked. There's places where it can blow a bit, including trans-Atlantic, the southern oceans, Bay of Biscay, North Sea, but even there its very mixed

 

Cabins situated mid-ship (halfway between front & back) experience a lot less pitching (bow & stern rising & falling), you'll find that the majority of cabins book out from the centre.

Low decks suffer less rolling (side to side) though stabilisers mean that rolling is not as significant a problem as it used to be. The saying is "the more you pay, the more you sway", so book a cabin on as low a deck as your ego will allow.

 

I get my medicine from the bar, but your two are under-age ;)

 

The occasional bad day does tend to dramatically shorten the breakfast queue. Under-cooked fried eggs, fatty bacon, greasy sausages, soggy fried bread, hash browns running with oil Lovely-jubbly :D

 

I seriously doubt you'll have a problem

John Bull

[hutt90]

Thanks for the advice. Have heard the ginger thing works, going to look into it just in case. Maybe call Dr as well just to get her advice. Thanks

[colomom]

Thanks for the advice. Have heard the ginger thing works, going to look into it just in case. Maybe call Dr as well just to get her advice. Thanks

 

My kiddos are prone to car sickness and those Sea Band bracelets work great for them. I plan on taking them with us on our cruise (the bands, not the kids). My daughter just wishes they made them in cool colors or patterns.

[BroncosFan2010]

Add my vote for the ginger! I like the ginger root tablets, as they also aid in digestion, which can be a problem with all the rich and salty food on the cruise. Ginger candy may be great for kids, if the like it, and ginger tea is also good. This is all natural stuff, so you should not have to worry about side effects like drowsiness affecting your vacation fun.

[SuitCaseBears]

Ginger is great, I've used it on cruises and on little sail boats. And some people do well with the bands.

 

But it is much better to address seasickness proactively rather than trying to mend the feeling once it starts.

 

None of those things helps with sea sickness after it starts anywhere near as well as they prevent it.

 

Also, might I suggest, some kids are very sensitive to mom's concerns. And the motion of a ship is different from being on land. I'm not saying sea sickness is psychological. It's very real. I know that. But kids could interpret the movement of the ship as "A Big Fun Adventure" or "A Big Bad Thing" and if you've been worrying about it, the latter gets more likely.

[PattyG12]

Ask your doctor about "sea bands" as well. They are wrist bands. Enjoy your trip.

[copref]

Learned this on our first sea day out of San Diego last month. Our 6 y/o started showing the signs (head down, groggy) of being seasick. I tried to get him to watch the horizon instead of the waves and he then gave me the technocolor yawn. Thankfully several people were nearby to help me clean him up by getting me napkins.

 

Anyway, ran into my waitress from the MDR who was serving lunch and I told her what had happened. She immediately suggested having him eat apple sauce. We did not think to bring any. She stated that she would have the kitchen prepare it for our son every meal. IT WORKED!!! Thank you Nina! (Carnival Spirit 3/2011)

 

:( Leaving in a few months, taking family on 8 day cruise. Getting a little concerned about children getting seasick. 13 and 16 year old. What is the best thing to use for upset stomach? Hoping to not use medicine? Any natural things that may help??? Any help would be great. Thanks

[maxciocc]

I used otc medicine called Bonine. However, I have read that servers on the ships will give you green apples to eat. The Bonine didn't make me drowsy and I only took it while at sea. The mid-ship location is supposed to be the smoothest spot.

[bbwex]

Some background information will really help you before we get to remedies.

 

First of all, most people don't get seasick, and if you do, it almost always passes in a day, once you get your sea legs. Yes, I know, there are some people (a very small number) who seem to take several days to get over it.

 

Seasickness is primarily caused by a conflict between the eyes (if they are not seeing the motion) and the inner ear which detect the motion. So, prevention is somewhat easy -- stay someplace where you can see the motion until you get your sea legs. Staying out on deck and watching the horizon is the cure, and the fresh air will help as well. If you are inside, stay near a window so you can see the horizon. If you are not feeling well, do not go inside and lose sight of the seas. The other thing is to eat normally. While this seems counter-intuitive, an empty stomach is not the answer. Keep away from greasy foods and don't overeat, but eat normal meals at normal times.

 

As for the remedies:

 

Ginger is clinically proven to dramatically reduce or prevent all motion sickness. You can eat ginger snaps, candied ginger, drink real ginger ale (though you might need a lot), or take ginger pills (available in any drug store). This is a natural remedy obviously, but proven to work. Start taking or eating it before you get on the ship, but you do not need more than a few hours' time for it to get into your system.

 

Some people, as noted in a previous post, swear by the seabands, others notice no effect whatsoever. Again, no medications, but not always effective.

 

Bonine and dramamine are OTC medications available everywhere. They will work for most people who get seasick. They should be started before getting on the ship. Ships also dispense generic forms of these pills.

 

I am not even going to get into the patch, which you may hear about. It is a last-straw remedy, it is extremely powerful, and way beyond what most people need. I would wonder if a doctor would even prescribe it for children. Even if they would, it is not for casual seasickness issues and not even relevant to this discussion.

 

Perhaps most of all, don't worry yourself into it. If the kids don't get motion sick in other situations, they are likely to be fine or will be fine after a few hours. If it were a really common problem, you wouldn't see so many cruise ships out there. While cruise ships do move in the seas, and rough seas can cause a lot of motion, bear in mind that they are not anything like small pleasure craft that bob and bounce along all the time or amusement park rides that move fairly intensely. Motion on a cruise ship tends to be much, much slower and less dramatic. For most passengers, the gentle motion is calming. Cruise lines try to avoid rough seas when they can, though that is not always possible, and the seas are not always coming from the right direction (Mother Nature can be soooo finicky). For the most part, though, relax and enjoy. Odds are that they are going to be just fine, and the initial prevention suggestions should be enough by themselves.