cure for motion sickness

Does anyone have a cure for motion sickness? I have heard of a few different methods. Being an avid scuba diver and having a good pair of sea legs, I do not get seasick (at least so far). I have gotten nauseous while diving in a surge, but that's about it (this info might apply to whoozie divers as well).

My wife is a little more prone to seasickness onboard while the ship goes thru rough sea's. She has tried different methods, some working better than others. If you find yourself feeling the squeeze, my wife told me to tell you to try this: "granny smith apples".

I don't know why it helps, but I noticed it does. She started bringing half a dozen or so apples (granny smith) with her on our cruises. I don't think they have them on HAL or some of the other cruiselines, if you know different please post it. As a precaution, she brings her own supply. She says to eat one in the morning. Hoping this natural cure helps someone...Paul:)

to sea sickness. But, I wasn't. The first morning I had nothing to eat by 0900. One minute I was fine and the next I was extremely sick to my stomach. Later, others said the best thing to do is to keep food on your stomach. After that morning, I ordered room service or went to the Lido earlier than 0900 and didn't have anymore sea sickness. I heard about the green apples on the cruise, too. Maybe her trick is she eats it in the morning before the sickness sets in.

Jan

I am originally from Alaska so needless to say, i took alot of ferry rides through the rough water of the sound to get to other towns, I found that ginger helped me and also wintermint gum, I never really got a bad case of seasickness, just an upset tummy but these things helped me.

bonine or the generic meclizene --bought 100 tabs for under 10 bucks at safeway

For High Seas I swear by Scopace. It's the oral form of the "patch." Much easier to control dosage.

jcg,

It's the granny smith apples in particular that has the properties that settles motion sickness. She eats one when she feels the onset on nausea and again in the morning...Paul:)

about ten droppers of liquid ginger in a cup of hot water works miracles.

yes, ginger root does work and is natural and doesn't make you feel funny. You can buy ginger root capsules at your local health food store and there are articles on the web about this. Also, read up on this, because it seems I did read something about ginger and people on blood thinners. Not real sure about this but it doesn't hurt to be sure and careful. I have never heard about the granny smith apples but I will check it out. I don't usually get seasick but I like to take something that first night out until I get my sea legs.

The wife says, she feels better in about a half hour and she can "drink" after that. Can you drink after taking those type of medicines or will they make you drowsey? I'm thinking of keeping some motion sickness med. in my scuba diving med kit...Paul:)

caribbean dreams,

Ginger is that gum or something else?...Paul:)

Rev Neal....I am going on my first cruise March 23 Volendam....I don't know if I suffer from Motion sickness....do you take the "Scopace" if and when the sea gets rought? or do you take it all the time? I did buy some ginger caps.

Thank you

On our recent Ryndam (1/22-2/5) Caribbean cruise, high seas as we returned to Tampa caused alot of motion sickness (however nothing like the 42' seas the Noordam encountered--I can't even imagine that).:eek: Our concierge suggested the green apples, saltines and gingerale and room service delivered those items to me.

I confess that I didn't try the apples as one bite of the crackers made the situation worse. A couple of dramamines (non-drowsy) helped enough that I made it through the evening. My patches were sitting in the drawer but it was too late to use one when we encountered the rough seas. I think next time I will try Rev. Neal's pills!

Meclizine (Antivert, Bonine, Dramamine II) is a histamine receptor blocker medication that is sold over the counter. Meclizine acts on brain centers that control nausea, vomiting, and dizziness. Even with over the counter medications, it is best to research (or talk with your doctor) possible side effects and drug interactions with other medications.

The Transderm Scop patch works by reducing the activity of nerve fibers in the inner ear. The active ingredient in the patch (scopolamine) is also produced by another company in pill form. You will need to visit with your doctor and obtain a prescription.

For me, I've only had one occasion where I've felt "queasy" on a ship. The seas were classified as "high" and it was during dinner. I felt like I was on the edge of being seasick. I took some Bonine and within the hour felt better. However, I had a cabinmate once who started taking Meclizine the moment she stepped on the ship and continued it daily until the end of the cruise.

Here's an article on seasickness that might be helpful.

Rev Neal....I am going on my first cruise March 23 Volendam....I don't know if I suffer from Motion sickness....do you take the "Scopace" if and when the sea gets rought? or do you take it all the time? I did buy some ginger caps.

I generally only have trouble when the seas are stronger than "moderate." The gentle motion that one usually encounters at sea doesn't bother my inner-ear, but anything more and I can get really dizzy and, hence, sick.

Here is what I generally do: I take a pill about an hour before port departure, and then wait to see how things go. If the seas appear to be getting rough, and/or I feel the least bit nauseated, I follow the dosage directions -- twice a day (once in the morning and once about an hour before dinner) -- throughout the rough portions of the cruise. It has been my experience that Scopace WILL help if one is already sea sick, but one has to (1) keep it down so it will dissolve into your blood stream, and (2) give it time to act. It takes about an hour to act.

For most people the worst thing they can do is go to their cabin and lay down ... but for me that is precisely what works. So long as I am horizontal I can take ANY wave action ... I just don't get sea sick if I'm horizontal. If I am sea sick and I can get horizontal I do and, in about 15 minutes, the nausea dissipates. But, then, I'm strange in my reactions (and in other things :) )

I have been on several caribbean cruises and we have had some rough seas and i have been ok. We are getting ready to take an Alaska inside passage in June. To me, I would think this would be very very calm compared to the caribbean. Am I correct?

Can you drink on the tablets? Cheers

about ten droppers of liquid ginger in a cup of hot water works miracles.

Does anyone know where you can find liquid ginger?

My son has started getting his private pilots license and after many cruises and commercial air flight he has started getting air sickness.

Joni

Well I will admit it, on our last cruise I was sick as a dog one day.

We were on the Maasdam out of Norfolk to the Caribbean. I think it was the second day at sea and we had gone to see a lecture. As soon as we walked out I realized that I needed fresh air and quick. I made it to our room and several hours later when my poor husband was about starved we ordered room service.

HAL has a special section on their room service menu for those not feeling well. It was beef broth, saltines, green apples, hot tea, boiled chicken and white rice. I thought for sure I wouldn't be able to eat anything but the broth tasted sooooo good. Next thing I knew I had eaten the broth and some chicken and rice. It was the most delicious sick food I have ever eaten.

We went to the ship store shortly after and bought Bonine. I took it every other day before bed and felt fine the rest of the cruise. Even the second to last night when nobody was in the Crow's Nest and the band members took turns in the men's room. I finally figured out that everyone was sea sick.

Has anyone tried the wrist bands with the little marble thing at your pressure point (sea bands)?...Paul:)

bonine or the generic meclizene --bought 100 tabs for under 10 bucks at safeway

If you are a Costco member, I bought 100 for under $4.

One step you can take to reduce your chances of getting motion sickness is to stay in places where you can see the horizon. Either outside, on deck, a balcony, or where there are windows will help. Your eye/brain latches on to the horizon as a point of reference and you won't notice the motion as much. If you feel the onset of queasiness, find a window or step outside. It may help.

Of course, this isn't always possible and it isn't infallible, so the remedies mentioned by others are probably a wise precaution.

Paul Noble

Has anyone tried the wrist bands with the little marble thing at your pressure point (sea bands)?...Paul:)

Hi Paul! I wondered why no one mentioned them. Yes they do seem to work especially for kids who don't mind that they are rather unattractive. My son (11) carries his in his pocket the whole time he's on a cruise, it he starts to feel queasy he puts them on and leaves them on until the seas calm down. My daughter doesn't mind pills and she says gravol works the best. Of course she says the bands are ugly and wouldn't be caught dead wearing them. We even use the bracelets on long car trips. It helps my son from being car sick. Last summer we went whale watching in Mass. and wore them then too. I don't know if it's psychological or really causes a physical reaction but it's a good way to help the queasiness without adding another chemical to our bodies. Of course the ability to have a cocktail with them on is a definite perk.

My friends cannot figure out why I love cruising so much when I'm pretty queasy on the seas. Of course my simple answer is that I love cruising and I'm not going to let seasickness stop me from enjoying it.

I've used the patch for all my cruises and aside from a dry mouth and feeling drowsy, for the most part, I was all right.

Now....a few years ago on the Oosterdam, I had to leave the dining room before my main course was served because the seas were pretty rough. What a long, long walk to my cabin that was. Our table was right on the stern, by the windows and here's me with a napkin to my mouth moving rather swiftly to get out of the DR....the looks I got from some were priceless I have to admit. When I got back to our cabin, our fantastic cabin steward, Rudy was touching up and said, "Mr. Keith, what happened?" I told him I was not feeling well and he rushed around and got me some seasick pills and some Granny Smith apples. He was truly the best cabin steward we've ever had and I'll never forget how sincerely nice he was and how helpful he was. The next day I was fine, the seas were smooth as glass, and I had an awesome time.

After that, my partner bought me the top of the line wrist band for our Westerdam cruise. I was ready, I had the patch, I had the wrist band, and I had bonine just in case. The wrist band worked! It takes some getting used to...little pulses every few seconds on a certain part of the wrist...but it worked! I don't have the exact brand name at the moment, I'm at work right now goofing off, but if anyone needs to know the exact name/brand of this band, let me know.

We're in the process of planning our next cruise for next Feb and I have no fear of seasickness anymore.

On the first cruises I took, in the early 90s, I got seasick as soon as the ship set sail. I used some kind of prescription meds and was knocked out the first night! Awful!

On my more recent cruises I have used the wristbands. They are wonderful! I don't think it's psychological ... believe me, I was very skeptical when I put the things on and thought for sure they would NOT work.

I wear them for the first night and day on the ship, then I take them off [in time for formal night!] and I am fine. If there are rough seas, I put them back on at bedtime.

Our last cruise, aboard the Westerdam in November, we had very rough seas as we tried to outrun a tropical storm. Waves that lifted the ship up, then slammed her down. Waves in the 27-foot range.

I was fine!

Last May we took our daughters and their boyfriends on the Zuiderdam for a week. One of the boys got seasick the first night, so I gave him a set of wristbands to wear. He was fine shortly after.

The following day he took them off before showering for dinner, then came to dinner without them. As dinner progressed, he got sicker and sicker ... left the table to go back to his cabin to get the wristbands. He put them on and was fine the rest of the week.

I believe the brand is Sea Bands and they can be bought at any drugstore.

double post!

Hi melmarine, I wanted to ask you about the gravol, I needed something to put into my scuba med kit when I go diving and was curious if that med made your daughter drowsy. Is it over the counter?...Paul:)