Sea Bands...best place to buy & other?

[luvthis]

Hi Fellow Cruisers,

 

Just wondering what major chain store offers the lowest price, in stock, of sea bands. I have a set that is 20 years old and pretty stretched out. So, since we're cruising next month I'd like to buy a new set. I have seen woman with "fancy designed" seabands on cruises I've been on. I wonder where they find those?

 

Also, is there anyway to "unstretch" stretched seabands without unraveling the knit?

 

Thanks!

--Jean

[reallyitsmema]

I just searched online since I didn't know what a sea band was lol!!! They are available at West Marine (whose website is not working right now). This works for me since I need to go there for crocs and a snorkel!!!:)

[luvthis]

I "googled" it, too, and there are all sorts of places I can get them, including Amazon.com and e-bay. I'm wondering if Walgreen's or Shopko or other nationwide chains have them that I can just walk into the store and buy them. I hate going shopping, so I'm hoping my fellow cruise critic friends will save me the footwork. Of course, I can always get on the phone and call around, as well.

 

BTW, those darn sea bands really do work. That's why I don't want to have stretched out bands, just in case that may negate some of the effectiveness.

 

--Jean

[reallyitsmema]

I don't know if West Marine is nationwide or not since there site isn't working well.:D I know there are a bunch of them up here in the northeast, maybe they are just regional. They do look interesting though, if I can get them in another color other than that gray, I am gonna grab a pair. Thanks for pointing them out. :)

[thunderfox]

Funny enough... I bought some while on POH and they were $2 cheaper than our local drugstores. Go figure!!

 

(and yeah, they DO work!)

[Agilitydog]

I actually found ours at our local health food/holistic store. They were in the section with powdered ginger and other seasick remedies. I think I paid $12. Haven't seen them at chain stores around here so can't help there.

[luvthis]

I'd like to get a pair that isn't grey, if possible. However, the bottom line is that they work so if grey is the only color I can find, then grey it will be.

 

--Jean

[thunderfox]

Jean... they DO come in black or navy (not sure which mine are at the moment) but I have only seen the dark ones ON a cruise ship.

 

As for solving the problem that would inspire you to buy them in the first place :o, I also recommend Ginger (best in gum) to help ease the effects of ocean motion.

[frodozz]

I just bought some Seabands at Walgreens yesterday. They are grey colored and were $9.99 each. Hope this helps. :D

[luvthis]

I always bring along ginger tablets AND Bonine as well. However, those darn sea-bands really work. There's only been one time that I took a Bonine and that was last year when we cruised from Ensenada up the California coast to San Francisco and then up into Alaska. The seas are pretty wild on that stretch of the ocean so I took a Bonine "just in case". Didn't get sick and a lot of people around me did.

 

Thanks for the reminder, though. I'll pick up some ginger, just in case. It's cheap protection

 

--Jean

[MrsKinsey]

I have a pair I used while pregnant (the ONLY thing that kept me from being sick!!) and I had to purchase them online.

 

I searched everywhere, even major sporting goods stores (they usually carry all sorts of stuff for boating) and finally gave in and had to order them online. I would call Walgreens if one poster has found them there. But let your fingers do the walking and call around instead of going store to store like I did.

 

Push comes to shove, you can get them online or I'll bet you the ships carry them onboard. Good luck!

 

Celeste

[luvthis]

Ain't it amazing that a pressure point on the wrist can make such a difference in the stability within the inner ear and the stomach? Amazing! I guess I'll call a few area stores. I have researched on-line sites, but hate to pay $4.95 for shipping.

 

--Jean

[MrsKinsey]

But isn't the $4.95 worth it! :p

 

Celeste

[luvthis]

I hear ya on that. I've got a month before we leave so one way or another, I'll have a set. Navy blue ones would be great, but I have a feeling I'm gonna end up with grey again. Oh well.

 

--Jean

[teets]

We live near the east side of Cleveland. I saw them in Black at a CVS, and have seen them at Walgreens as well. They also can be found at a travel store, like the Travelers Shop. The black ones I saw were ten dollars. Hope this helps!!

[mochuck]

OK let me say at the outset that I am a sceptic. I don't generally believe in natural or alternative therapies because there is not generally too much evidence to support their claims.

 

I am curious about these sea bands though. I am worred about motion sickness and don't want to take anything that will cause side effects (as most anti emetics do) such as drowsiness, dry mouth etc.

 

A number of you have said that they work. How do you know that it works? I mean was it just that you didn't get motion sickness or was there something else that convinced you?

 

If it was just because you didn't get sick, how do you know that you woud not have gotten sick anyway? Do you think there may be a 'placebo effect'? Which is often valid in its own right anyway.

[luvthis]

OK let me say at the outset that I am a sceptic. I don't generally believe in natural or alternative therapies because there is not generally too much evidence to support their claims.

 

I am curious about these sea bands though. I am worred about motion sickness and don't want to take anything that will cause side effects (as most anti emetics do) such as drowsiness, dry mouth etc.

 

A number of you have said that they work. How do you know that it works? I mean was it just that you didn't get motion sickness or was there something else that convinced you?

 

If it was just because you didn't get sick, how do you know that you woud not have gotten sick anyway? Do you think there may be a 'placebo effect'? Which is often valid in its own right anyway.

 

 

That's a fair question. I did cruise early on without sea bands, but I hadn't cruised before and was quite young. I did get very sea sick and lost about a day of our vacation by spending it in bed, miserable. We did not have the money for me to go to the doctor onboard, so I just suffered. The next couple times we cruised, I used the patches behind the ear. The side effects of that medication was awful. That's when I began using the sea bands. I always take Bonine & Ginger along, but have been in some pretty rocky waters and the sea bands have seemed to work. I have taken a Bonine or ginger a couple of times when the bags were seen hanging from the corridors. You know it's going to be a rough ride when those appear...ha! Anyway, I haven't gotten sea sick. I wear my sea bands all of the time we are at sea, but take them off when we are at port. I also try to remember to take them off when showering, but I have been known to just wear them then, too. Bottom line...I still can't figure out why that little dot over the pressure point on my wrists controls imbalance and queaziness, but for me the bands have worked. I must admit that they aren't much of a glamour statement, though. On formal nights, those darn things sure do take away from my fancy jewelry & gown...ha! DH does not use the sea bands and I don't think he's ever gotten sea sick while cruising. Some people have all the luck!

 

--Jean

[Happy ks]

I've used them succesfully on numerous occasions, including small boat tours, rough seas and car trips. There have been articles and TV programs that say they don't work, perhaps they are more of a placebo than a true therapy, but they work for us, they are cheap to purchase and readily available at our local drugstore. I'd much rather take those (I will also take less-drowsey Dramamine) for small boat and tender trips than a drug such as Scopolamine.

 

I think you can also find them at www.drugstore.com link: http://www.drugstore.com/products/prod.asp?pid=152291&catid=71583&trx=PLST-0-SEARCH&trxp1=71583&trxp2=152291&trxp3=1&trxp4=0&btrx=BUY-PLST-0-SEARCH we find ours on the shelf next to the Dramamine and Bonine.

 

Good luck!

 

Edit to add, they do take 20-30 minutes to start working, I think sometimes people want relief sooner than that (of course we all would!) but they do take time, just like a drug would.

[MrsKinsey]

I admit that I do not buy into things like homeopathic medicine and whatnot. But I can assure you, these do work and not just for motion sickness.

 

When I was pregnant, my doctor was at a loss as to what to do with me. I couldn't keep food down and we were unable to find any combination of meds to keep me from "talking to Ralph" every morning if you know what I mean.

 

As a last ditch effort I agreed to try the Seabands which I thought was a bunch of hokey but I was desperate. They are a tight little band that fits around your wrist with what looks like a half of a marble on the inside. You place the sea bands on your wrists with the "marble" resting between the two tendons on the underside of your wrist.

 

Look, I don't know how they work and I don't care. All I know is I was sick for 7 months of my pregnancy, and didn't get sick once after using them. I don't think it was the placebo effect because I had absolutely no faith that they were going to work and was VERY surprised that they did.

 

Anyway, they are cheap and you only have to buy them once. I'd say, try them.

 

Celeste

[Ineedavac]

I've haven't been on a cruise yet, but I thought I would try to help so I too googled "sea bands". The drugstore.com has the brand name (Sea Bands) in gray and some called psi bands that come in green, red, and navy. They also have one set of designer sea bands for children. I hope that helps.:D

[thunderfox]

My experience with SeaBands is this... I've been able to put them on *after* I start feeling yucky... and in a little while, I start to feel much better. Dramamine or Bonine doesn't really help once you're feeling awful. Also, I wouldn't want to drink alcohol (even a glass of wine) while taking the pills, but with the bands, it's all good.