Best seasickness preventive?

My husband and I are taking our first cruise - transatlantic in November. In the past on small boats I have had a tendency toward seasickness. Have read of various medications, wrist bands etc. but would appreciate hearing first hand experience of what works best.

Thank you,

Lynn

I find that bonine works the best for me. I get air,boat and car sick

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Bonine works for me too

If just a little queasy, I try to get away with ginger capsules

I am afraid there is no best.

Lynn, what works for one person might not be best for another one.

We take Bonine. Another name is Dramamine. For us it works. Key is to take it before you feel sick so if the Captain says seas will be very rough we take it. You can take up to two in 24 hours we take one. Downside is for some it might make them drowsy but that is why we take one. If you got this route try it from home just to see if you have an issues with it. Some people say to consult with a doctor but that is a personal choice. It is over the counter. We just read the side effects on the packaging and decided for ourselves.

Some people take ginger capsules or for that matter they eat ginger.

Some wear the sea bands. You can order them on line at places such as Amazon.Com. However even the manufacturer says they are effective for about 50% of the people so it could work for you or it might not. You could do this plus something else but you wouldn't know for sure.

Some get a prescription from their doctor for the patch and you wear it the entire time. Some wear it but I don't see lots of people. There could be side effects such as dry mouth and some can't sleep well from it.

The good news is you will be on a larger ship so you will be less likely to be sea sick but even on a large ship people can become sea sick.

If you asked for advice ahead of time I would have recommended booking a room mid ship and also one on a lower deck.

Once on the ship if it does get rock I find going to a public room that is mid ship, on a lower deck and maybe has a high ceiling can really help such as being on the floor where there is an atrium.

Again, you will get lots of recommendations but remember just like any issue from allergies to headaches there is no best that works for everyone.

Keith

This won't be a popular answer but the best way to prevent seasickness -- don't cruise. I gave up drugs OTC or other) to have fun many years ago. If seasickness was a concern for me I would not cruise.

What works for one person may not work for another person.

Talk to your family doctor -- he knows you better than any of us here on CC. He knows what medications (if any) you are taking.

So lets give some facts about Bonine....which is NOT the same drug as Dramamine. Bonine is actually a brand name for Meclizine Hcl (25mg) which is a great drug for seasickness since one need only take one pill (some folks will take 2) every 24 hours. It is also sold under the brand name Dramamine Non-Drowsy (not the same as regular Dramamine)...and the prescription brand name of Antivert. Interestingly, it is no longer sold (or available) in Canada.

You can buy Bonine at nearly any drug store in the USA and you will usually pay about 50cents per pill. However, if you go to a Walmart, Target, Costco, etc.. pharmacy...you might ask the pharmacist if they sell generic "Meclizine" which is usually behind the counter. For example. we recently purchased 100 Meclizine pills at Walmart for the total cost of about $6. Like the brand name Bonine, these pills are chewable and have exactly the same active ingredient.

One personal suggestion for Meclizine is that many benefit from taking it about bed time. I find that Meclizine (or Bonine) makes me a bit sleepy....so taking it around bedtime actually helps me sleep and I do not notice any drowsy side-effect during the day. On the other hand, DW used to take a lot of Bonine for a Vertigo problem and tells me she notices no side effects from the drug.

Hank

Hank I would just add that we have tried the over the counter one versus Bonine and we found that Bonine worked better for us. Now I realize that there are times that a generic works as well as a name but that is not always the case. We don't take them at night because we still want to have wine so in our case we take it earlier in the day. I would add that we don't take them 24x7. Rather only when we need to. We'll take them for sure if the captain mentions something about the seas. We might (less likely me but more my wife) take them if we start to feel some roughness or we used to take them a few hours before the ship left on the first day of the cruise.

This is another reminder that each of us is different and there is not one approach that works for everyone.

If there was there would be far fewer items available not only for nausea but for most other things.

Keith

Hi Lynn,

I have used Meclizine for years and never been seasick, even crossing the Pacific in February. I take it the night before I get on the ship and every night I am on it. I believe in prevention...once you are driving the porcelain bus it's too late!

Like Hank said, we ask at the counter for Meclizine and it is alot cheaper. You do not need a prescription for it anymore.

Hope you have a wonderful cruise!

I use sea bands. It works great for me if my sea sickness isnt that bad then i use one but if its bad i put one on each wrist. You have to make sure you put it on the right pressure point so it will work effectively. I tried pills a few times and it didnt work as well.

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Another vote for Bonine.

I believe that the only method 100% certain to prevent sea-sickness is to sit under a tree! :D

I use the patch but this is rarely a first-line solution. Nothing else has worked for me and I was in danger of having to give up cruising. As it is difficult for me to travel any other way, that would really have meant no holidays :( Many people manage very well with sea-bands, ginger, OTC meds etc.

Suggest you consult your physician on what is proper for you based on your medical history.

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Green apples worked like a charm for me! A crew member told us about it after we had a REALLY rough cruise.... I was amazed!

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Thanks to all who responded with such good and thoughtful suggestions. I have decided that first I will consult my doctor, as I do take several other medications. Then I'll go from there with your recommendations. I particularly like the advice to plan ahead and take medication before sickness begins to develop. Since I also like to drink wine in the evening, I will take this into consideration too.

Good traveling to all of you,

Lynn

Thanks to all who responded with such good and thoughtful suggestions. I have decided that first I will consult my doctor, as I do take several other medications. Then I'll go from there with your recommendations. I particularly like the advice to plan ahead and take medication before sickness begins to develop. Since I also like to drink wine in the evening, I will take this into consideration too.

 

Good traveling to all of you,

Lynn

I may have missed it, but many have success with ginger in any of the forms it is sold.

Rugby brand meclizene is common in USA and is sold in two different strengths so if one is too strong, try the lighter one.

Gonna address something to Keith (everyone else can ignore :). You bring up the generic vs brand name issue, and having spent over 35 years in the medical insurance industry that was the topic at quite a few meetings where we developed our drug formularies. Many years a go a pharmacist friend gave me a bottle of several hundred generic Meclizine (it has actually been available as a generic for decades). They were not chewables and DW and I did not like the way they worked. To us, it seemed like they might have been absorbed faster, worked faster, and wore off before 24 hours....but that is all anecdotal. So we used Bonine for the past 15-20 years. But the generic we got from Walmart were chewables and seem to work identical to Bonine. Again, that is just our own anecdotal experience based on a very recent 38 day cruise.

There used to be some fun arguments in the industry about generics vs brand name...with the brand name reps always saying their product was better. But when I once pointed out to a brand name Aspirin rep that his own company produced generic aspirin on the same production line....he quickly changed the subject :). Lets face it...we are now in a world where some folks will pay more for a bottle of plain water then a similar quantity of gasoline. Personally, when I want a bottle of water I just fill a bottle from the tap :). The Brand name folks spend millions of dollars (every year) just to convince us that their Brand is better.

Hank

Lynn, wishing you a great cruise and hope that you do well with the seas. Please don't forget about my suggestion that if the seas get rough in addition to whatever you take ( I suspect your physician will say Bonine is fine) to get to an area that is mid ship and on a lower deck. Often it is an area where there is an atrium. We find this works and I have been on many crossings including ones that do the North Atlantic.

Hank. thanks for your thoughts. I appreciate them. We actually go with generics for many products whether they are prescriptions or over the counter items. In some cases where we don't think it is working as well we go with the named brand. We did take the generic in lieu of Bonine but we just have felt the Bonine works better.

I agree with you about the water. That has to be a big profit maker. When it comes to food we have done with store brands over named brands for some items and think for some the store brand is even better. I do like my Hellmann's or Kraft Mayo though over the store brand. LOL but very true for me.

Keith

Green apples worked like a charm for me! A crew member told us about it after we had a REALLY rough cruise.... I was amazed!

 

 

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Thanks for this reminder. I had heard this before and forgot.

Yes, green apples are another good option along with a couple of crackers.

I still prefer Bonine though but again each of us is different though.

Keith

Ginger Ale, Ginger Snaps.

Hi Lynn,

I purchase generic motion sickness pills from Costco. They sell them for $3 for 100 pills. It's a real bargain. If you don't have a membership, Hank mentioned Walmart also carries generic products. Just ask the pharmacist at either store.

When the seas become unexpectedly turbulent, I return to my room and lie down. I find the swaying motion relaxing, like being in a cradle! On my very first cruise we had rough seas at night. I got the best night's sleep and miss the rocking motion on the newer large ships. I am sure i am the exception on this.

If the ship is moving a lot don't try to walk in a straight line. Go with the flow and develop your sea legs.

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My ex could get motion sickness watching a tv commercial. About an hour before sailing, she'd take a half of a Dramamine and take the other half 4 hours later. Just enough to work but not so much that she'd get sleepy. After the first day she would usually be OK.

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For me, Dramamine and sea bands together. I sat the Dramamine the day before I cruise or fly.

I don't have much luck with Bonnie.

I just want to recommend that you tryout any medicine before the cruise. I did get very seasick on my first cruise. I took a Bonine and it knocked me out. I slept through our first full day at sea. So I suggest that you try meds before the cruise to determine how it effects you.