What Helped Me With Sea Sickness

[jwoap]

Hi everyone -

 

I just returned from my very first cruise on NCL's Star. The seas were calm except for one day when they were slight 1-4 feet waves. To me it made me feel icky.

 

The crew members said "Eat a green apple".

 

I thought they were crazy. But I did, and in 10 minutes I was right as rain.

 

Not sure what is in a green apple but it totally helps!

[ca2cruising]

Hi everyone -

 

I just returned from my very first cruise on NCL's Star. The seas were calm except for one day when they were slight 1-4 feet waves. To me it made me feel icky.

 

The crew members said "Eat a green apple".

 

I thought they were crazy. But I did, and in 10 minutes I was right as rain.

 

Not sure what is in a green apple but it totally helps!

 

jwoap, did they have green apples at the main dining area?

[cb at sea]

1-4 foot made you queasy? I don't have a problem until it gets to about 9-14 foot...and then, it's not nauseating...just uncomfortable.

Green apple smell is nauseating to me!

 

My dad used to go deep--sea fishing...and the cure for seasickness (for the "green-faced" folks) was to open a can of sardines in front of them.....they "expelled" their nausiousness, and were fine from that point on!

[Keith1010]

That's great. Always keep in mind that there are many remedies available and not all remedies work the same and the effectiveness will sometime vary based on each person.

 

Keith

[mercedes28]

I am going to try this next time. I lived on regular doses of Gravol to help prevent it but I waited until I felt weird before I started, so it was already too late. Would much rather a "natural" cure than meds. Nothing worse than feeling drunk at 8am breakfast :eek:

[Duck Duck Cruise]

Ginger Capsules a day before 2 caps 3 times a day... no side affects.

 

Once on the ship if I feel a bit dizzy I just pop 2 capsules and 10 minutes later I am fine. I also take Ginger Chews....which the main ingred is ginger, or candied real ginger slices.

 

I wear sea bands on both wrists also and only take them off to shower or swim.

 

I really hate drugs and am glad these natural choices work for me.

[jwoap]

jwoap, did they have green apples at the main dining area?

 

They did for sure! Tons of them.

[jwoap]

jwoap, did they have green apples at the main dining area?

 

That's great. Always keep in mind that there are many remedies available and not all remedies work the same and the effectiveness will sometime vary based on each person.

 

Keith

 

Hi Keith - I did keep that in mind -- that's why I shared it. The patch, dramamine, and bonine don't always work for folks who have medicine interactions.

 

Take care.

[yayvacation!]

Green apples - I love it!!!

 

I usually wear the scopalomine patch but it makes everything taste a little funny. Dramamine works for me to! :) I guess I'm sort of in the "drug-me-up-because-I've-paid-a-lot-for-this-cruise" mindset!!

[janina]

1-4 foot made you queasy? I don't have a problem until it gets to about 9-14 foot...and then, it's not nauseating...just uncomfortable.

Green apple smell is nauseating to me!

 

My dad used to go deep--sea fishing...and the cure for seasickness (for the "green-faced" folks) was to open a can of sardines in front of them.....they "expelled" their nausiousness, and were fine from that point on!

Way too funny...I think I'll just stick with my ear patches.;)

[Cruisin' Chick]

That's great. Always keep in mind that there are many remedies available and not all remedies work the same and the effectiveness will sometime vary based on each person.

 

Keith

 

So true. Best to try various remedies while still on land and see which ones don't cause you problems. Also talk to your doctor if you are on any medications already.

[STARFISH*4]

tried the patches ...just the ABSOLUTE WORST for me and for others too that i was traveling with..NEVER AGAIN...went to GINGER caps and they worked for every cruise but the last...got the sea bands but never used them...i guess all my ginger ale helped too...this next cruise i am taking

bonine (dr recommended) and also Motion Eaze with me besides my regular ritual of ginger 2 caps with every meal and when taking tenders or boat excursions...

we start 2 days before we cruise and gonna make sure i find the Green Apples--definitely totally prepared this time for my 2 weeks!

--bringing my sea bands too:D

[ehfl]

Actually, any remedy will work. It could have been apples, steak, ice cream....whatever. Sea sickness is all in your head....litterally. If someone tells you that something will work, and you accept it, then it will work. Any placebo will work just as well....sometimes better than real pills.

[jaycat]

ehfl:

Are you serious:confused:? Motionsickness and seasickness are real problems and WILL not be cured by mere words. Just be thankful you have not had to find out first hand. You really need to retract your statement!!

[Richpontone]

Without the patch and draminine, I could never go on a cruise. I knew that I was a candidate for sea sickness when I spent three hours barfing over the side as I took a ferry to the Pacific Channel Islands. Words did not help nor did ginger cookies. Thank God for the meds.

[harryfat1]

Actually, any remedy will work. It could have been apples, steak, ice cream....whatever. Sea sickness is all in your head....litterally. If someone tells you that something will work, and you accept it, then it will work. Any placebo will work just as well....sometimes better than real pills.

 

If you are saying that motion sickness is just 100% psychological, I totally disagree. If you say it’s physiological and the problem stems from the brain/head as it relates to the inner ear imbalance, then I concur.

 

Perhaps you should take a look at the quick background on motion sickness on wikipedia:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motion_sickness

 

Just like all medical conditions, some people are more severely impacted than others. Some people can sail through 30 feet storms and still chomp down on the burgers with no issues. Others are tossing cookies on under 5 feet waves. Different sensitivity in the ear/brain receptors.

 

One can’t generalize a medical topic with a broad stroke in saying it’s all psychological. Since I don’t suffer from allergies, I can make a statement that all allergy suffers are all psychological as it never impacted me and all their sneezing are just imaginary pollens, but that would be wrong.

 

The TV show 20/20 did a piece few years back on how sensitive some people are to motion sickness. My former boss took one and last cruise to Mexico and had to seek medical treatment for weeks/months afterward as she was feeling the ship’s movement every time she is in enclosed conference room for meetings.

 

Personally, after every cruise, for 2 days immediately thereafter, whenever I take a shower, I feel as if the bathroom is rocking as if I were still on board. Don’t get this feeling on any land based vacation.

 

Trust me when I say you wouldn't want to be near anyone with motion sickness after they just ate ice cream - not a pretty picture.

[mgoblue01]

I'm one of the lucky ones that I don't actually feel sea sick necessarily. However, after my first (and only) cruise, for several MONTHS afterward I could feel the movement of the ship any time I bent over. This became a problem when doing simple things like tying my shoe or painting my nails and suddenly feeling like the room was spinning. Not fun. My doctor said that my body/brain totally compensated for the movement right away while ON the boat which explains why I never got sick, but never really readjusted once back on solid land. Makes sense to me. I'm hoping it's not as bad for our upcoming cruise! I'm definitely taking the motion sickness tabs just in case.

[midwife1021]

I am most worried about my 6-year old son when we go on our cruise. He gets suddenly and violent motion sick quite easily. Luckily he seems to respond very very well to dramamine and it doesn't seem to cause him any troublesome side effects. When I say suddenly I mean SUDDENLY. He claims not to get nausea coming on beforehand. Landing at DFW in pretty heavy turbulence last month he just said "mom, my throat feels like I have a cold. Do you have any wa-*BARF* WAAAAH!!!" He was so upset and kept saying "I promise I wasn't feeling yucky in my tummy! I couldn't stop it!"

[**bethwana**]

To be honest I've been so lucky. I've not been affected by motion or sea sickness while I've physically been onboard a ship. However last year we hired a houseboat for the weekend and experienced delayed motions sickness for about a week after. I was constantly rocking whether I liked it or not!

[cruiselover57]

Hi everyone -

 

I just returned from my very first cruise on NCL's Star. The seas were calm except for one day when they were slight 1-4 feet waves. To me it made me feel icky.

 

The crew members said "Eat a green apple".

 

I thought they were crazy. But I did, and in 10 minutes I was right as rain.

 

Not sure what is in a green apple but it totally helps!

 

Green apples definitely are the key and I'll attest to eating those anytime rather than taking drugs for sure! Anything with ginger helps too. Glad to know it worked for you and you felt good afterwards!

[ehfl]

ehfl:

Are you serious:confused:? Motionsickness and seasickness are real problems and WILL not be cured by mere words. Just be thankful you have not had to find out first hand. You really need to retract your statement!!

 

You don't understand the physiology. The symptoms are caused by a disconnect between what the brain is expecting, and the inputs it's getting from the inner ear and other sensors.

 

I do know from personal experience, as I have experienced it myself. I have also found wonderful remedies that work quickly. They all involve changing the brain's expectations.

[ehfl]

If you are saying that motion sickness is just 100% psychological, I totally disagree. If you say it’s physiological and the problem stems from the brain/head as it relates to the inner ear imbalance, then I concur.

 

.

 

I have been boating my whole life and am quite familiar with what causes motion sickness. I have experienced it myself.

 

It happens because of the differences in sensory input, and the expectations of the brain.

 

While you may "feel" like your stomach is upset, there is actually nothing at all wrong with your stomach. The problem is in the brain. Any remedy needs to impact the brain.

 

You may not be familiar with the placebo effect, but it's very powerful. When I get seasick, I use placebos, and they work very well for me. Intellectually, I understand that it's not having any impact on my stomach, but is working on my brain. I happily accept the relief it offers. I do not understand those who claim the problem is not in their head....there is no evidence to support their claims.

[harryfat1]

I have been boating my whole life and am quite familiar with what causes motion sickness. I have experienced it myself.

 

It happens because of the differences in sensory input, and the expectations of the brain.

 

While you may "feel" like your stomach is upset, there is actually nothing at all wrong with your stomach. The problem is in the brain. Any remedy needs to impact the brain.

 

You may not be familiar with the placebo effect, but it's very powerful. When I get seasick, I use placebos, and they work very well for me. Intellectually, I understand that it's not having any impact on my stomach, but is working on my brain. I happily accept the relief it offers. I do not understand those who claim the problem is not in their head....there is no evidence to support their claims.

 

I understand the placebo effect very well as a pre-med student awhile back. What I am saying is there will be some things you eat that will upset your stomach more if it’s already not happy. Dairy product is one of those things you don’t ingest when you are already tossing cookies. So when you say you can eat ice cream and still have the placebo effect as something like ginger tea, I disagree.

Because you are more experienced in having your sea legs, whatever impact on you is less than others who are more motion sensitive. As in all placebo studies, not everyone will have the same results. Others may need green apple/ginger pill and other home remedies to achieve the same placebo effect as you. Now if you say red apple will work just as well as green ones if you firmly believe in it, then that’s different story.

[Bookworm1985]

I never had a problem with getting seasick until I went on my first cruise in 2006. The thought never even entered my mind that it would happen to me, but boy, I wish I would have been prepared. I got extremely sick on about the third day when we hit some rough water. I bought the wrist straps, and they helped a lot, and so did actually keeping food in my stomach (even though I REALLY didn't want any food at that point). Now, planning my second cruise in January 2011, I am going to make sure to pack some Dramamine and my wrist straps, and some of the other things that are mentioned on these borads, like ginger pills. I do not want to feel that icky again. And I can say that it had nothing to do with something in my head, because the thought of getting seasick never even entered my mind until it happened.