Sea Sickness

[jandb84]

Hi. We have used the Transderm Scop patch with limited side effects (dd got blurred vision, I got a baaaad headache, memory's not as sharp as expected--but could be age, lol!). Overall, we were happy with it and plan on using it again. I'm wondering if anyone has used this for the first few days of a cruise until they got their "sea legs" and then stopped. My pharmacist seems to think this would be o.k., but I don't want to get sick 3 days into the cruise either...Opinions?

[xnavydoc2]

My lovely wife Opal tends to get seasick, and She uses wrist bands and ginger tablets with no side effects. Air Force jet pilots use ginger tabs as well.

[6rugrats]

There are many threads discussing medications to take (try using the search function if you are interested in reading them), but you should discuss this with your doctor. In the US at least, currently there is a shortage of the Scopolamine Transdermal Patch, and I'm not sure you'd even be able to get a new supply right now.

[Keith1010]

I agree with Grugrats.

 

First be sure you can even get it.

 

Second, if you can discuss its use with your doctor.

 

Keith

[JanineM]

I find that it takes a good 3 days for the patch to get out of my system, so on shorter cruises (like 5 days) I will put on a patch the morning we cruise and not replace it. Once we hit rough seas on the last day and I took a 1/2 Bonine, which worked fine for me.

[jandb84]

I filled three prescriptions (family + me) on Friday...Our docs had no probs prescribing it--but what I'm reading on the boards is scaring me a bit, so idk if I want to use it the whole time...

 

Thanks for the responses!

[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, 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.

 

You have tried the patch which is really a remedy of last resort due to the side effects -- some minor some severe -- that it can have. As you probably realize, it is a very powerful drug, and most people who get seasick do not need it, even though it has gotten to be "the thing to take." It is really for people who have tried the other alternatives and nothing has worked -- it really is not (was not?) the remedy of choice. There have been reports that it is no longer available or that it is in short supply, and as others have posted, you might not be able to get any.

 

Perhaps most of all, don't worry yourself into it. If you don't get motion sick in other situations, you 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. Odds are that you are going to be just fine, and the initial prevention suggestions should be enough by themselves. You might well have been taking more than you needed in the past, and likely did not require it in the first place.

[riffatsea]

I agree that the patch is supposed to be the remedy of last resort after you have discovered that other remedies don't work. It has too many side affects to be the first thing prescribed for you!

I do NOT agree that seasickness goes away after you get your sea legs! As long as there is motion, I can get seasick. After all carsickness does not go away the longer you are in the car either!

I don't know by what authority you are telling people about how the average person can get over it by just looking at the horizon?? It is definitely not fun to be sick and it is much better to prevent it than to try and make it go away once you feel ill!

I am sure that ginger pills will work but since there is no good info about dosage I feel comfy sticking with the generic Meclizine which is what the ship gives out if you are sick.

[JanineM]

I do NOT agree that seasickness goes away after you get your sea legs! As long as there is motion, I can get seasick. After all carsickness does not go away the longer you are in the car either!

I don't know by what authority you are telling people about how the average person can get over it by just looking at the horizon?? It is definitely not fun to be sick and it is much better to prevent it than to try and make it go away once you feel ill!

 

 

Thank you. I was thinking the same thing.

 

Fifty years of carsickness, including WEEKS in the car traveling cross country and I never "got over it".

[Talisker92]

Thank you. I was thinking the same thing.

 

Fifty years of carsickness, including WEEKS in the car traveling cross country and I never "got over it".

My wife was the same way. Air/car/seasick until I introduced her to Bonine (generic meclazine). She now will fly with me in light aircraft. If it makes you drowsy, take it before going to bed.

[bbwex]

You will note that I did say that a very few people do not get their sea legs after just a day, and it is true that even if you have adjusted, getting into some rough seas can bring it back on -- I should have noted that.

 

Screaming (large font size) is likely unnecessary. I was, at a minimum, talking about the vast majority of people, and the OP did not say that they are unable to handle any motion without getting sick, i.e. in a car, etc. For that vast majority of people, my comments are indeed correct -- getting some fresh air and watching the horizon until you get your sea legs will take care of the issue.

 

By the same token, if we describe the extreme case as the normal, we will likely talk potential cruisers out of ever trying to get on a ship.

 

Obviously, I offended a couple of people. That was certainly unintentional. For those of you who do suffer for extended periods and get recurrences, that was one of the reasons for using the patch, and short of that, for taking about as many precautions as possible. Once again, for the newbie on here, this is a very, very, very small number of people.

[TheFantasyGoddess]

Motion sickness is something I have dealt with all my life. As a kid, I was always sick in the car. My first plane ride was not fun either. Boats presented a new challenge....small boats that were rocking were never an option for me. Speed boats were great...as long as they were moving. :)

 

Now, when we decided to try cruising, I was very concerned. I had taken a short (2 night) cruise on a "ship" several years earlier with my daughter and got violently ill. Being on a ship while seasick is awful...there is no escape! But this cruise was so tempting...so I did it...for 7 nights! How did I avoid being seasick? No wrist bands or prescription medication....just over the counter non-drowsy generic brand seasick pills (like dramamine). I took one at least two hours before we sailed. I took one upon waking up on sea days and I took one on port days when we returned to the boat after our excursion. The trick is to take it before you feel sick or it will take hours to make you feel better. That cruise on one of the sea days, it was pretty rocky. Lots of passengers were not feeling well and I never felt sick.

 

Since then we have cruised every year for a week and not one ounce of seasickness has been felt. The trick...take the pill hours before you need it. I hope it works for you! And happy cruising! :)

[jandb84]

Thank you all for the info!

[kijjy]

Actually, if you do happen to feel the seasickness coming on, jump in the pool. Unbelievable how well this works. Of course, if you're dressed for formal night, etc, this won't work.

[bbwex]

Jumping in the pool is a great, if not perhaps temporary, solution. We do that all the time with scuba divers who start to get ill once the boat stops and is simply bouncing around before everyone is ready to go in. Just have them jump in the water and tread water, and it will pass. The only thing I don't really know is whether it does anything to stop it from recurring, i.e. does it help get your sea legs or is it a totally temporary thing while you are swimming/floating? I sort of presume it is the latter.

[kijjy]

Yes it is temporary but while you're in the pool, someone else can go running for the meds, take them in the pool and stay there for 30 minutes or so.

[riffatsea]

I do not meant this large print to be shouting!

I thought that it is customary to use caps(capital letters) for that? I prefer this large print and use it most of the time.

[CPT Trips]

•Ginger (Zingiber officinale) standardized extract, 250 mg three times daily as needed, for symptoms of nausea. Ginger is a traditional remedy for nausea, and some studies show it may help with motion sickness. Not all studies find that it works, however. Ginger may increase the risk of bleeding, especially if you also take blood-thinners such warfarin (Coumadin) or aspirin.

 

As far as I'm concerned, the only good thing about the Scop Patch is that you can begin it even when exxperiencing symptoms of sea sickness. The oral meds will never make it into your system. kwim?

 

Please don't jump in the pool if you are really experiencing sea sickness. That's as bad as kids in nappies.

[sailoruk]

I tried the "patches" last year - they affected me horribly :mad:

I "lost" it for about 24 hours. they were prescribed to me by my GP.

I threw the balance away. I now use Sturgeron , and swear by Ginger tabs and my wrist bands. (Someone should invent designer wrist bands );)

Do hope on our forthcoming trip I will find my sea legs straight away, well I can always hope:)

[FLUFFLULA]

I have had motion sickness in cars all my life (age 61), and on airplanes, amusement park rides, and on my first two cruises. Dramamine only has a slight effect on my motion sickness and I have to repeat it every 4 hours which means I'm sleepy or groggy all the time. I've used transderm scop patches on every cruise since the first two (7 cruises). On a 7 day cruise, I put on one patch 4 hours before the cruise is scheduled to leave the port. I take it off on day 3 late in the day and place another one on. I leave the second one on until the ship docks on the last day. I have no residual when I take it off and no side effects while the patches are on. I would be miserable on a cruise if I didn't have the patches because I would be either motion sick or worried that I would be motion sick. I agree with others though, to try dramamine or Bonine or other products to see if they work for you before getting the patches.

Hope this is helpful.

[capriciousc]

I have had motion sickness in cars all my life (age 61), and on airplanes, amusement park rides, and on my first two cruises. Dramamine only has a slight effect on my motion sickness and I have to repeat it every 4 hours which means I'm sleepy or groggy all the time. I've used transderm scop patches on every cruise since the first two (7 cruises). On a 7 day cruise, I put on one patch 4 hours before the cruise is scheduled to leave the port. I take it off on day 3 late in the day and place another one on. I leave the second one on until the ship docks on the last day. I have no residual when I take it off and no side effects while the patches are on. I would be miserable on a cruise if I didn't have the patches because I would be either motion sick or worried that I would be motion sick. I agree with others though, to try dramamine or Bonine or other products to see if they work for you before getting the patches.

Hope this is helpful.

 

Thank you so much for posting this advice! I have tried ginger, dramamine, and the wristbands, and they don't fully work for me. Even taking dramamine every four hours, I still experienced low grade nausea that was unpleasant. I'm planning to get a prescription for a patch for our upcoming cruise in March, but wasn't sure of the best way to use them. I'm going to follow your lead :)