Best sea-sickness prevention products?

I don't know if I get sea sick but I don't want to take any chances. What are the best products to take or use to prevent the sickness? Is Dramine (spelling?) ok to use for 7 days straight? Or is there a better product? Thanks.

Always check with your doctor about what will be best for you rather than rely on posters on a travel forum for that information. The thread below will give you some information to begin your research. Then you can ask your doctor about the ones that you are most interested in.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1247899

First off there is no best because what works well for one person might not work well for another.

There is Bonine and Dramamine which are very similar. For many they work well. The key is to take them prior to feeling sea sick. They do make some people feel a bit drowsy. My wife and I do take Bonine should we become concerned about the seas. The are sold over the counter.

There is a patch that is a prescription. It is very effective for many people. Major side affect is a dry mouth.

There is a sea band that is worn on the wrist. For some people it works very well while for others it does absolutely nothing. Even the manufacurer notes that it only works for some people.

Finally there are more natuaral products suchas Ginger or Ginger Tablets that work for some people.

I would read up on each of these by doing a search on google and also consult with your physician.

Keith

If you decide on the prescription patch, I would try it out at home first to see what, if any, side effects you may encounter. My group all casually put the patch on a few years back and all had different side effects from dry mouth, blurred vision, sensitivity to light or just a plain disorientation due to effects on the eyes. After a day or two we all lost the patch and determined any sea sickness symptoms were better than the patch symptoms.

I've heard it works great for some but just to be safe, I'd give it a pre run.

You've received some great advice so far - consult your doctor and try it out at home before you leave to see how you react. I just returned from a land/ cruise. For me, Dramamine worked like heaven. I just stayed on it for the entire cruise. I've had lots of problems with seasickness in the past and wanted to be safe. I had the patches with me but chose to not use them - no reason other than the Dramamine was working for me so why bother.

First off there is no best because what works well for one person might not work well for another.

 

There is Bonine and Dramamine which are very similar. For many they work well. The key is to take them prior to feeling sea sick. They do make some people feel a bit drowsy. My wife and I do take Bonine should we become concerned about the seas. The are sold over the counter.

 

There is a patch that is a prescription. It is very effective for many people. Major side affect is a dry mouth.

 

There is a sea band that is worn on the wrist. For some people it works very well while for others it does absolutely nothing. Even the manufacurer notes that it only works for some people.

 

Finally there are more natuaral products suchas Ginger or Ginger Tablets that work for some people.

 

I would read up on each of these by doing a search on google and also consult with your physician.

 

Keith

This is so true. I just tried ginger tablets on my last cruise and it didn't work for me so I took a Bonine. Dramamine makes me drowsy and the patch makes my eyes weird. I try not to take anything until my mouth starts getting dry which for me is the beginning of seasickness. Everyone is different.

This is so true. I just tried ginger tablets on my last cruise and it didn't work for me so I took a Bonine. Dramamine makes me drowsy and the patch makes my eyes weird. I try not to take anything until my mouth starts getting dry which for me is the beginning of seasickness. Everyone is different.

I have no idea if the form of ginger makes a difference, but I used ginger root capsules and they were a miracle drug for me.

I'm buying Bonine & supplementing it with Ginger capsules my already bought so hopefully we'll be good to go. I recently saw a thread Re: Ginger Candy & how effective that is but when I did a google search on it you get TONS for around $19-$25 but I question whether that's cost effective:confused: Does anyone know if RCI ships have ginger cookies? Just curious;)

Years ago, my pharmacist suggested that I use scopolamine gel, which is the ingredient found in the patch. It has to be compounded. I use this every time I cruise, and have recommended it to many friends. I put a little on my wrist right before we sail, and add a liitle a few times a day when we have a day at sea. The good thing is that you don't have to use it when you're docked, so you don't get all of the side effects of the patch. The only time I ever had a problem was the night we sailed out of Honolulu because I forgot to put it on, and by the time I remembered, it was too late. Got very sea sick (very rough seas). You have to use a compounding pharmacy and I've found that not all drs. know about this. I had no problem in Alaska. The seas are a little active on the way, but once you get to the Inside Passage, its smooth sailing.

Most of the ships keep green apples around. That is also supposed to help with sea sickness.

I would be careful about medications before speaking with your doctor. My DW for instance has had wonderful success with the SeaBands while we know others who do very well with ginger capsules. One word of caution though, my DW did have a problem with one of the knock off brands of SeaBands which we had purchased in the pharmacy department of Smith's (Kroger's), it was a latex alergy...once she went back to the SeaBand product she had no problem.

Scopolomine gel (really a cream) has to be prescribed by a doctor.

I swear by Ginger capsules.

Myth Busters tested, Myth Busters approved. :D

Well, this is a large topic, and 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.

For cases of severe seasickness where nothing else has worked, there is the patch. The most common side-effect is dry mouth, but there can be some serious side-effects as mentioned and including hallucinations. If you know you are going to get seasick, and you have tried other medications without success, and your doctor recommends it, get the prescription filled in advance and try it for a week on dry land first -- you don't want to start hallucinating as you walk along the rail while you are at sea.

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. 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. 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 you are going to be just fine, and the initial prevention suggestions should be enough by themselves.

My DW has tried them all! She loves to cruise, and in our 38 cruises has just figured that an occasional day of seasickness was the price she had to pay. Bonine, Dramamine, the patch, Phenargan (prescription), sea bands, ginger, green apples, clear broth ... no help.

Then she found the ReliefBand. This looks like a watch, and works by putting a small electric current into the same accupuncture point the sea bands work on. It has made a huge difference for her. She turns it on as soon as she boards, and says she can feel it tingle in her finger. It has settings so she can crank it up as the seas get worse. In fact, it is approved by the FDA for treatment of morning sickness in pregnancy so you know it must be good! There is even an RX version available so you can ask your doctor to prescribe it and maybe your insurance will pay for it!

It really has made a difference for her.

I brought along Promethazine gel (prescriiption) which you rub on your forearm, and Ginger Altoids. However, I didn't use ANY of it! The only time I got little woozy was sitting on deck at the rear of the ship at night watching the churning water so I just suggested we move somewhere else. We also had a little rough patch walking thru the pool area the first night out with the pool water sloshing around back and forth that made me a little queasy but I just looked the other way as we were passing thru! Don't have a CLUE why that would have bothered me......

Other than that, just a little rocking one night while trying to make my way down the corridor and looking like I had had one too many:D. I heard we had gotten lucky as the reverse trip from Vancouver to Seward the week before ours was baaad - quite a few people were sick.

My DW has tried them all! She loves to cruise, and in our 38 cruises has just figured that an occasional day of seasickness was the price she had to pay. Bonine, Dramamine, the patch, Phenargan (prescription), sea bands, ginger, green apples, clear broth ... no help.

 

Then she found the ReliefBand. This looks like a watch, and works by putting a small electric current into the same accupuncture point the sea bands work on. It has made a huge difference for her. She turns it on as soon as she boards, and says she can feel it tingle in her finger. It has settings so she can crank it up as the seas get worse. In fact, it is approved by the FDA for treatment of morning sickness in pregnancy so you know it must be good! There is even an RX version available so you can ask your doctor to prescribe it and maybe your insurance will pay for it!

 

 

It really has made a difference for her.

It is great for those of us who can't tolerate (or don't want to take) any of the medicinal treatments or who have sensitive stomachs.

I can usually get by on most cruises just wearing the plain, ordinary sea bands but in really rough seas (such as the rough parts of a Kenai Fjords or South American cruise) I put on the Relief Band.

The first time I really appreciated it and realized how well it worked was the night I wore it and enjoyed my dinner on an unusually rough crossing of the Gulf of Alaska on the Ryndam. There were very few other passengers in the dining room that night and most of the tables were empty.

The important thing when putting on Relief Bands (as with sea bands) is to locate the right spot on your inner wrist. It is much easier to tell when you have the Relief Band positioned correctly because you can feel the tingling.

With sea bands it is hit or miss because there is really no way of knowing whether or not the button is positioned correctly other than waiting until you find out whether or not it is working for you. Some say to place it two fingers below the bend of your wrist and some say three fingers, but apparently the correct spot varies somewhat from one person to another.

Not really preventative but if you can’t find anything that will work, eat lots of pineapple. It tastes the same coming back up as it did going down. :)

We always take bonine first thing in the morning with food. Good for the entire day! We've used it to prevent air-sickness, motion-sickness, seasickness, etc. We will probably take two each morning, this time around. Lots of bouncing and rocking on this trip!

We had an excursion out of hell while on a cruise to Nova Scotia -- beautiful, clear skies, smooth waters in the harbor, went out on a boat with 34 passengers to see marine mammals and then get to the lighthouse. We always saw land on our right, but hit 8 foot waves that didn't allow us to get to shore for over 2 hours! The only ones that weren't sick were our two friends and us, and the captain, and perhaps a few more people (most of the young crew were also sick). All four of us took Bonine just an hour beforehand, after a light breakfast.