Motion Sickness Symptoms, Prevention & Remedies

[goeva]

Originally Posted by the kids

Thank you for putting this information together, it is very helpful.

Originally Posted by chemnerd09

Thanks for putting this information all in one place. I am really excited about going on my first cruise but my biggest worry is getting sea sick.

Originally Posted by jacob408

Thanks for the information. It's very helpful.

You are very welcome.

[the kids]

Originally Posted by kriswin1

bonine says 1 or 2 tablets as the dose. which one do you do? also, do the sleepy side effects last the entire 24 hours? if we take it at night should we be ok during the day?

Both my dh and I take 2 tablets at night. We had no side effects. I am 5 feet 5 inches and 130 pounds. My dh is over 6 feet and 200 pounds and we took the same dose. Hope that helps.

[cruisecrasher]

Originally Posted by the kids

Both my dh and I take 2 tablets at night. We had no side effects. I am 5 feet 5 inches and 130 pounds. My dh is over 6 feet and 200 pounds and we took the same dose. Hope that helps.

We're around the same size as y'all. It puts us out like a light and makes us need a nap every afternoon. I suggest trying it on a weekend before the cruise to see how it effects you.

[Hannah0811]

I get mild motion sickness (dizzy feeling and lightheaded, with mild nausea) Bonine has worked great for me, and has not left me feeling drowsy (generally if drowsiness is a side effect I feel it) I have taken it the morning of embarkation and it works pretty well. Generally it is just the first night that I feel symptoms, and after that it is smooth sailing.

Recently my sister has been experiencing motion sickness in the car, she uses the SeaBands wristbands and says they work wonderfully- I have not tried these, but she has had success with them.

[OurDogCisco]

I forgot to pack some medicine for last week so I went to the health center and got sea-calm. It worked for me within 20 minutes. It did not work on my daughter though. It says it is made with meclizine HCI 25 mg.

[tinkerbell 766]

I am British and our over the counter medications have different brand names to the ones sold in the US. Does anybody know the name of the active ingredient in Bonine please?

[MAJPLO]

Originally Posted by tinkerbell 766

I am British and our over the counter medications have different brand names to the ones sold in the US. Does anybody know the name of the active ingredient in Bonine please?

I'm pretty sure it is meclizine like PP mentioned.

[Monual]

Not to be a killjoy, but there is no cure for seasickness. Conversely, *everything* cures seasickness.

Do you know why? Seasickness is all in your head. Seriously, it's your brain feeling motion but not seeing a cause for it and going wonky because of it. It increases your heartbeat and your breathing and slows down blood flow to your extremities. That is what causes nausea.

The best way to fix this is to distract yourself, or convince yourself there is no problem. Harmless placebos like magnetic bracelets and such are perfect for this; if your brain is convinced there's no problem, then you won't feel it. If you feel your heartbeat speeding up, try to slow it down. If you start to breath rapidly, try taking deep, calming breaths.

Seasickness is a fascinating study in self-caused distress and cures. Here's a paper NASA wrote about it dealt with spacesickness in astronauts:

http://http://spaceresearch.nasa.gov/sts-107/resourceguide/content/science/senses/info/k-4info.pdf

[PrincessShmoo]

Originally Posted by Monual

Not to be a killjoy, but there is no cure for seasickness. Conversely, *everything* cures seasickness.

Do you know why? Seasickness is all in your head. Seriously, it's your brain feeling motion but not seeing a cause for it and going wonky because of it. It increases your heartbeat and your breathing and slows down blood flow to your extremities. That is what causes nausea.

The best way to fix this is to distract yourself, or convince yourself there is no problem. Harmless placebos like magnetic bracelets and such are perfect for this; if your brain is convinced there's no problem, then you won't feel it. If you feel your heartbeat speeding up, try to slow it down. If you start to breath rapidly, try taking deep, calming breaths.

Seasickness is a fascinating study in self-caused distress and cures. Here's a paper NASA wrote about it dealt with spacesickness in astronauts:

http://http://spaceresearch.nasa.gov/sts-107/resourceguide/content/science/senses/info/k-4info.pdf

One question for you. Have you had seasickness? I think if you had you wouldn't have this attitude.

When I was a year old, we sailed from Europe to the US. I was seasick from day one. A one year old child cannot reasonably be assumed to have something that's "all in their head". It's not just "all in your head".

[Monual]

I have in fact had seasickness. When I was in college, I went to Catalina Island and got terribly nauseated.

I went on a poker cruise many years later. Before going on the cruise, I asked my doctor about seasickness remedies. He mentioned magnetic bracelets. I thought it was so weird that my doctor, who I respected tremendously, would be suggesting new-age remedies for seasickness.

That's when I did my own researched and found out that seasickness was all in my head and that a placebo was as good a cure as any.

When I went on the poker cruise, I decided to do a spa treatment as we were leaving. I was getting a massage and didn't even notice when we left port. And all during the cruise, despite somewhat heavy seas, I never got sick.

Once I knew it was all in my head, I could get control over it. The difference between that cruise and my Catalina experience was really like night and day. Once you know how your body is responding and why, you can control it more easily than you might expect.

[PrincessShmoo]

Originally Posted by Monual

I have in fact had seasickness. When I was in college, I went to Catalina Island and got terribly nauseated.

I went on a poker cruise many years later. Before going on the cruise, I asked my doctor about seasickness remedies. He mentioned magnetic bracelets. I thought it was so weird that my doctor, who I respected tremendously, would be suggesting new-age remedies for seasickness.

That's when I did my own researched and found out that seasickness was all in my head and that a placebo was as good a cure as any.

When I went on the poker cruise, I decided to do a spa treatment as we were leaving. I was getting a massage and didn't even notice when we left port. And all during the cruise, despite somewhat heavy seas, I never got sick.

Once I knew it was all in my head, I could get control over it. The difference between that cruise and my Catalina experience was really like night and day. Once you know how your body is responding and why, you can control it more easily than you might expect.

OK, as a veteran of the Catalina crossing myself, I would point out that sailing on one of the crossing boats is a significantly different experience than sailing on a cruiseship.

It's entirely possible to have seasickness symtoms on those smaller boats, and have no problem at all on the larger cruiseships. Case in point, my DH, who is very prone to any type of motion sickness. He can, and does, get quite ill on the Catalina crossing. He does not have any problems sailing on cruiseships. I will say that our first cruise (15 night Panama Canal) he did get the patch from his doctor to use, and was fine during the whole cruise. Our second cruise, he started out using the patch again, but was having such a bad reaction to it that he took it off. He hasn't used it on any subsequent cruises.

[Tolson70]

I went on a Swim With the Sharks tour last week in Hawaii while there for work. They recommended taking Dramamine the night before and the morning of the trip. Worked like a charm, didn't have any issues at all. The ride out was choppy too, so I am glad I took their advice.

Like others, prevention seems to be the best recommendation over trying to treat it after the fact.

[Desi]

I get motion sick turning a corner. NO really.
I've tried everything and the only thing that works for me and oddly enough no side effects, is Scopolamine Patches (Transderm Scop)
I put one on 24 hours before we sail & never a problem.
(and it is all in your head, but so is a headache, that's why I take something for it too) Why be miserable?

[dizneekrazee]

Thanks for posting this, I hadn't even thought of it. I have never gotten motion sickness on a cruise (although, the longeswt cruise I have been on was 4 nights), but I do get motion sickness fairly easy in cars/trains, etc. Video games give it to me too. Even the new 3D Star Tours as DLR!! All I need is fresh air, a sugary drink, and to take it easy for a bit.

I got motion sickness last month taking the train & bus up to Machu Picchu in Peru, which really limited my abilities while at the site.

Just in case, I will get seabands, as DS9 tends to get motion sickness and has never cruised.

[Billinaz]

Here is a new form of meclizine. I bought several of these for our next cruise: