Sea sickness

[SC_Floaters]

I saw a lot of blue & gray water in my 25+ years in the Navy. Fortunately I was not prone to motions sickness, in fact, a north atlantic storm on a small frigate was a lot of fun.

 

Motion sickness, sometimes referred to as sea sickness or car sickness, is a very common disturbance of the inner ear that is caused by repeated motion. Anyone can develop motion sickness, but people vary in their sensitivity to motion. Motion sickness most commonly affects children from 2 to 12 years old, pregnant women, and people who are prone to migraines. In addition to sea travel, motion sickness can develop from the movement of a car or from turbulence in an airplane.

 

While it may be impossible to prevent all cases of motion sickness, the following tips can help you prevent or lessen the severity of motion sickness:

 

Watch your consumption of foods, drinks, and alcohol before and during travel. Avoid excessive alcohol and foods or liquids that "do not agree with you" or make you feel unusually full. Heavy, spicy, or fat-rich foods may worsen motion sickness in some people.

 

Avoiding strong food odors may also help prevent nausea.

 

Try to choose a location where you will experience the least motion. On a ship, those in lower level cabins near the center of a ship generally experience less motion than passengers in higher or outer cabins.

 

Do not read while traveling if you are prone to motion sickness.

 

When traveling by boat, it can sometimes help to keep your gaze fixed on the horizon or on a fixed point.

 

Open a vent or source of fresh air if possible.

 

Isolate yourself from others who may be suffering from motion sickness. Hearing others talk about motion sickness or seeing others becoming ill can sometimes make you feel ill yourself.

 

The over-the-counter medication meclizine (Bonine, Antivert, Dramamine) can be a very effective preventive measure for short trips or for mild cases of motion sickness. Your doctor also may choose to prescribe medications for longer trips or if you repeatedly develop severe motion sickness. One example of a prescription medication is a patch containing scopolamine (Transderm-Scop) that often is effective in preventing motion sickness. Remember that scopolamine can cause drowsiness and has other side effects, and its use should be discussed with your physician prior to your trip.

 

Most prescription and OTC remedies need to be taken/applied before the ship gets underway. My wife does not suffer side effects from scopolamine patches, we put one on before boarding and it usually lasts a 7 day cruise.

 

Dennis & Sue

[Peachy59]

I am very motion sensitive. I take one less drowsy, 24 hour Dramamine every night starting the night before the cruise, or before flying. In the morning I take 2 ginger pills. I do this every day while on the cruise. Works like a charm!

[Hypbmxgurl]

Omg of course our cabin is on the 10th floor in the back lmao

[cruiseguy1016]

Thank you guys so much! I was hoping maybe I could find an over the counter product. I hate to go pay a 60 dollar Co pay for my doctor to see me just to get something to take in case I get sick. I'm leaning towards trying the bonine. Seems like a lot of you have used it! Now just to figure out what to do for the the young ones. All I need is for my.kids to be puking at the dinner table so glad I found this app to be able to ask my dumb first cruiser questions! You guys are great. Also I hear different parts of the boat you seem to feel more. I think the middle of the boat is best? Makes me a little nervous because we are in room 1404 which is the very back balcony room.

 

Do you know your kids get motion sick or are you just assuming? My DW made our kids take Bonine every day on their first two or three cruises. Her reason was "I don't want them to get sick". My response was "how do you know they're going to get sick?" Finally after 3 cruises I talked her into letting the kids go without it and see what happened. The kids were fine, no issues at all. I understand not wanting to deal with a sick child but maybe they won't have problems. Let them go at first and see how they deal with it. If they get sick, you can start giving them something at that time.

[ozcruize]

Anyone tried Sea-Legs tablets? I believe they are still available from NZ?

[MaShesLookinOutMyWindow]

Sea Bands. You can get them at Walgreen's for $10 or $12. They're basically wrist bands that have a magnet in them. It works with pressure points on your wrists and they're completely drug-free. It includes a booklet on how to place them properly, and I believe they have both adult and children's sizes. I didn't end up needing them on our last cruise, but they came in very handy when I had very bad morning sickness a few years later during pregnancy.

 

Chances are, you'll be fine. The ships have great stabilizers and you won't feel much unless there's a big storm. The tender boats are another story - those can get tossed around even in waters that seem calm.

[alfaeric]

We just got back from the Freedom a few days ago- and found a nice little oil stuff they have in the general store along the promenade.

 

Like the patch, it goes behind your ears. But I *think* its about the smell. Which is NOT powerful to people right next to you. I didn't notice, at least. And it does help- withing 5 min, my wife went from questionable to fine.

 

$17 for a small vial of it in the store.

 

We chose that over the patch (which we hate) and Bonine (makes he a little drowsy).

 

I'll try to get the details to see if one can find it at home, but we are sold on it.

[Snit13]

We are believers in the Sea Bands also ginger pills and ginger gum. The patch cost me $75 with insurance many years ago and Dramamine and Bonine put me to sleep and then I miss the food, drinks and fun. May as well stay home.

 

Used Sea Bands on North Sea with waves crashing off deck 5 and on Antarctic cruise with 38 ft. seas and all was well. Also have used Sea Bands TA and DH used them for fishing trips in Gulf of Mexico. Wouldn't sail without them.

[SweFlo]

My husband gets sea sick very easily. We brought an entire pharmacy on our first cruise, but he tried the Sea Bands and have never looked back. Works like a charm! Great and can be reused over and over again. 😊

[brookie848]

We just got back from the Freedom a few days ago- and found a nice little oil stuff they have in the general store along the promenade.

 

Like the patch, it goes behind your ears. But I *think* its about the smell. Which is NOT powerful to people right next to you. I didn't notice, at least. And it does help- withing 5 min, my wife went from questionable to fine.

 

$17 for a small vial of it in the store.

 

We chose that over the patch (which we hate) and Bonine (makes he a little drowsy).

 

I'll try to get the details to see if one can find it at home, but we are sold on it.

 

I've gotten sea sick on all the cruises I've been on (all on mega-ships). I asked for a prescription for the patch, but the combination of the price (over $80 and insurance wouldn't cover it) and the potential side effects, I decided to skip it. The same goes for bonine and dramamine -- I didn't want to deal with the potential side effects (especially since I planned on drinking).

 

This year I loaded up on homeopathic remedies. The Queasy Pop candies did not work for me. What did work was the combination of Sea Bands (which come in child sizes) and Motioneaze, which is the oil described above. You can get it for less than $10 on Amazon. The smell is distinctive, but I think it can help your body recognize that you are doing something good for the motion sickness. I'm very sensitive to smells and it didn't bother me at all.

 

For our cruise next year, I plan on using these two items as soon as we leave port.

Edited April 20, 2016 by brookie848

[rukkian]

This thread has me thinking (maybe a little worried), I am not horribly prone to motion sickness, but do get it in certain circumstances. I have flown many times, even in bad weather, and never had any sickness, but if I try to read in a car for a couple of minutes, I get really nauseated.

The only cruise I have been on was a 3 day, 20 years ago, and noticed a quezy feeling the first day, but after that was fine. We are going on Jewel of the Seas in February, and are on deck 11, forward (1148), so not mid ship, and a high deck. I know JOTS is a smaller ship in the fleet. How bad do you think it will get? I don't want to overpack, but want to be prepared. I would rather not take drugs unless I could somehow know I would need them.

[alfaeric]

What did work was the combination of Sea Bands (which come in child sizes) and Motioneaze, which is the oil described above. You can get it for less than $10 on Amazon. The smell is distinctive, but I think it can help your body recognize that you are doing something good for the motion sickness. I'm very sensitive to smells and it didn't bother me at all.

 

For our cruise next year, I plan on using these two items as soon as we leave port.

 

Now that I am home, that is indeed it.

 

The ingredient list makes it sound very "festive"... :D

 

Botanical Oil

Frankincense

Chamomile

Myrrh

Yiang Yiang

Birch

 

Add some gold, and you have a nice ancient birth gift, fit for a king. ;):p

 

Must get gold pressure band.

[cruisinfanatic]

This thread has me thinking (maybe a little worried), I am not horribly prone to motion sickness, but do get it in certain circumstances. I have flown many times, even in bad weather, and never had any sickness, but if I try to read in a car for a couple of minutes, I get really nauseated.

The only cruise I have been on was a 3 day, 20 years ago, and noticed a quezy feeling the first day, but after that was fine. We are going on Jewel of the Seas in February, and are on deck 11, forward (1148), so not mid ship, and a high deck. I know JOTS is a smaller ship in the fleet. How bad do you think it will get? I don't want to overpack, but want to be prepared. I would rather not take drugs unless I could somehow know I would need them.

No one can possibly tell you the weather at time of sailing. Are you sure of your cabin number. Don't see any cabins on deck 11

[Hypbmxgurl]

Do you know your kids get motion sick or are you just assuming? My DW made our kids take Bonine every day on their first two or three cruises. Her reason was "I don't want them to get sick". My response was "how do you know they're going to get sick?" Finally after 3 cruises I talked her into letting the kids go without it and see what happened. The kids were fine, no issues at all. I understand not wanting to deal with a sick child but maybe they won't have problems. Let them go at first and see how they deal with it. If they get sick, you can start giving them something at that time.

 

Yeah that's what I was planning to do. I'm not going to give it to them right away. I'm just bringing something to be ready just in case!

[brillohead]

For small children, Benadryl is the med you want to have with you.

 

But if you or your kids aren't prone to motion sickness in general (cars, planes, fishing boats, etc.), you probably won't have any issues on board.

[kalliekae]

Sea bands. Get them at the drugstore. I'm not sure about the kids though.

 

The wrist bands worked for me on the smaller ships. Honestly, on the large ships, I don't feel the motion. Stabilizers are built into all ships large and small to help counteract rolling seas. Take along some Bonine, but you may not need it on the Freedom.

[cdm2000]

My husband has sea sickness issues usually. This cruise was so different! He took Dramamine at night and used Motioneze during the day. They are drops that you put behind your ears. They say it travels into your inner ear canal. The cruise had no issues! The Motioneze, I found on Amazon.

[Hypbmxgurl]

Thank you guys, because of you all I just ordered the motioneze. Says it's good for kids as well. Now I know I get seasick.. at least I did on the one cruise I did in elementary school. Should I buy like dramamine/bonine or something to take as well?

[Snit13]

Yeah that's what I was planning to do. I'm not going to give it to them right away. I'm just bringing something to be ready just in case!

 

From experience, you DO NOT want to wait until you feel like you are going to get sick. Just go to drug store and buy the Sea Bands and go to WalMart and get the ginger pills and the ginger gum. Having tried everything that has been suggested so far on this thread and being prone to motion sickness, I think I have been there and done that. The meds that have been suggested put me to sleep and I don't pay all that money to sleep. Someone posted that they have the Sea Bands for children, buy them and put them on your children.