Experience with Sea-Bands?

[ChicosWife]

How do these sea bands do, if they get wet? I wanted to put them on my children, but I am sure they will be in the water for a good part of the cruise.

 

[JJsmama]

They did not work for me at all. The Patch works best for me. It did give me a little blurry vision- hard to read dinner menus, etc, but totally worth that inconvenience. One cruise I could not get the Patch bc I was living in China (we flew to CA for Western cruise during Chinese New Year) and I used Bonine tablets and they worked pretty well.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

How do these sea bands do, if they get wet? I wanted to put them on my children, but I am sure they will be in the water for a good part of the cruise.

They are just a terrycloth-type band with a plastic bead sewn in them for acupressure. They can get wet.

 

[ChicosWife]

They are just a terrycloth-type band with a plastic bead sewn in them for acupressure. They can get wet.

Thanks! Since I have seen mixed reviews on the seabands vs. the patch. I think I will get the bands and then get the patches as a back up. I want to ensure that we all are able to fully enjoy the cruise!

 

[missyp]

I LOVE sea bands I don't like how they look with my outfits, but I put them on when I get on the ship and I do not take them off the whole time. I love the PP comments about using them for car trips. I should keep them in my purse as I am always getting car sick too. Patch made my mouth dry, and with sea bands I can drink alcohol and not worry about interactions

 

[csmith1004]

We use BioBands. They are black and attach with Velcro so the can be adjusted to the right tightness. We've used them for car trips and cruises and they work for us. They are can be worn in the water and while the Velcro does get wet they dry quickly.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Thanks! Since I have seen mixed reviews on the seabands vs. the patch. I think I will get the bands and then get the patches as a back up. I want to ensure that we all are able to fully enjoy the cruise!

Just be aware that the patch is a pretty powerful medication. My DH had to stop using it when the side effects started being worse than the actual sea sickness.

 

[Savikins]

I tried them on a couple sailings (Eastern Fantasy and Western Wonder) and they did nothing for me. I take Bonine and it works great, in calmer seas I take ginger pills. Honestly, the sea bands have never worked for anyone I've known, and we all wonder if it's just that we're all weird or if it's a placebo effect.

 

[missyp]

I actually wear the kids Sea Band so they are very tight and the tighter the better (at least that is what I have found). The velcro one's never seemed to work as well for me as the terry cloth sea bands for some reason.

 

[party-of-five]

Thanks! Since I have seen mixed reviews on the seabands vs. the patch. I think I will get the bands and then get the patches as a back up. I want to ensure that we all are able to fully enjoy the cruise!

The SeaBands really seemed to help my son. He wore them the entire time, swimming, shower, aquaduck and had no problem. Also, you can ask room service for green apples and saltines. Ginger ale is an added cost but that helped too.

 

[Corwin]

We have only been on a Royal Caribbean cruise almost 11 years ago and I remember feeling a little nauseous the entire cruise. Since the Dream is newer and have those stabilizers, is there a lot of motion to the boat itself?

It really comes down to the sea conditions. In calm to moderate seas, there's very little ship motion. However, in heavier seas, the motion of the ship is more noticeable.

We were on the Wonder earlier this month, and watched as a very nicely-dressed woman quietly got sick a few feet away from us in Palo. (A front was passing over us, and seas were fairly heavy that day.) My wife and son, who are both very susceptible to motion sickness, use the scopolamine patches religiously on cruises and never have any issues. I sometimes use the patches too, but don't like the side effects (mainly dry mouth).

 

[Seamama]

Do you all get pretty significant wrist indentations from the Seabands? I used them once and they worked miraculously for me. The skin indentations went away quickly enough, but it kind of weirded me out. But I know they work based on accupressure so I guess there isn't really a way around it. Unless you've found the BioBands or PsiBands leave less of a mark? But then again, I've read those may not work as well if you can't get them right enough. It's a Catch-22, I guess.

 

[missyp]

Do you all get pretty significant wrist indentations from the Seabands? I used them once and they worked miraculously for me. The skin indentations went away quickly enough, but it kind of weirded me out. But I know they work based on accupressure so I guess there isn't really a way around it. Unless you've found the BioBands or PsiBands leave less of a mark? But then again, I've read those may not work as well if you can't get them right enough. It's a Catch-22, I guess.

Yes I do get pretty significant indentations, sometimes they actually hurt a bit, but worth it because I don't get sea sick at all. The indentations go away pretty quickly.

 

[SuzanneSLO]

I pretty skeptical of the science behind acupressure. Does anyone have a link to a high quality scientific study showing that it works for sea sickness? The one for motion sickness referenced on the psi band website found that they were hard to put on correctly, but were no more effective if wore correctly than not. -- Suzanne

 

[Seamama]

Does anyone have a link to a high quality scientific study showing that it works for sea sickness?

I was pretty skeptical myself but I figured if it's not obviously harmful to a person and not too expensive then it's worth a try. I got a pair on Amazon for about $6 and didn't need it for our first cruise (CA Coast). Just for good measure though, I packed it again for our second cruise (Alaska), and was so glad I had it! I woke up in the night (it was during that trek up to Skagway) feeling VERY sick. I mean, really, really, awful. I was sure it must be rotovirus... like this way beyond normal queasiness. In desperation, I put on the SeaBands and managed to get back to bed, already planning all the things we'd have to cancel due to illness. In the morning, I felt totally fine. I couldn't believe it.

Yes, this is completely anecdotal, and I think it's true that they don't work for everyone. But again, for the low cost I didn't mind having it around. I also had Dramamine and Bonine, as well as ginger drops packed, too, and I'll keep bringing it all for future cruises!

As for the question of putting them on correctly, I had no trouble w/ that. I don't know about PsiBands, but forSeaBands, it was very straightforward.

 

[Starwind]

I pretty skeptical of the science behind acupressure. Does anyone have a link to a high quality scientific study showing that it works for sea sickness? The one for motion sickness referenced on the psi band website found that they were hard to put on correctly, but were no more effective if wore correctly than not. -- Suzanne

The Sea Band website has a page for medical professionals that lists a number studies:

http://www.sea-band.com/ca/for-medical-professionals

In my personal experience adn that of several friends and family, they work well, but not 100%. I usse SeaBands for motion sickness, migraine-related nausea, and nausea that is a medication side effect. I have found that it always helps, but how much varies.

One thing I have learned is it is important to make sure you put it in the right place. Not too much off and it no longer works. if I find it isn't working as well as I would like I readjust the position and see if it helps (usually, but not always, it does).

That said, for motion sickness on a cruise I use a mix of methods: seabands, meclizine (Dramamine less drowsy), ginger capsules (Dramamine/Gravol ginger capsule/tablet/softgel). And then ginger snaps and ginger ale as needed.

For the PP asking about colours: I have navy blue, black, and grey ones. I also have the lavender/light purple ones they market to pregnant women. I have nought many over the years, either for myself or as gifts for others. I have also seen a slew of other colours in stores. I was in WalMart otday and they were selling them. Most pharmacies will sell them. Online I have bought mine from drugstore.com (that is where I got the lavender ones and have bought lots of grey and navy from them too). I only buy the brand name, not knockoffs.

SW

 

[SuzanneSLO]

The Sea Band website has a page for medical professionals that lists a number studies:

http://www.sea-band.com/ca/for-medical-professionals

In my personal experience adn that of several friends and family, they work well, but not 100%. I usse SeaBands for motion sickness, migraine-related nausea, and nausea that is a medication side effect. I have found that it always helps, but how much varies.

One thing I have learned is it is important to make sure you put it in the right place. Not too much off and it no longer works. if I find it isn't working as well as I would like I readjust the position and see if it helps (usually, but not always, it does).

That said, for motion sickness on a cruise I use a mix of methods: seabands, meclizine (Dramamine less drowsy), ginger capsules (Dramamine/Gravol ginger capsule/tablet/softgel). And then ginger snaps and ginger ale as needed.

For the PP asking about colours: I have navy blue, black, and grey ones. I also have the lavender/light purple ones they market to pregnant women. I have nought many over the years, either for myself or as gifts for others. I have also seen a slew of other colours in stores. I was in WalMart otday and they were selling them. Most pharmacies will sell them. Online I have bought mine from drugstore.com (that is where I got the lavender ones and have bought lots of grey and navy from them too). I only buy the brand name, not knockoffs.

SW

Thanks to you and Seamama for the additional information. I don't really have access to PubMEd (and probably wouldn't understand much if I did), but it is interesting to see the studies. I'm not sure that there are any well conducted studies that are definitive at this point. You would think that the manufacturers of Sea bands and similar would make money available for good quality studies, but maybe they sell enough without any evidence that they work. -- Suzanne

 

[SpaceSquirrel]

I love them too I'm very prone to motion sickness (3D movies, plains, trains, boats and the backseat all make me sick) but w/ sea bands I'm good to go. The last cruise I was on I took them off just long enough to shower and started feeling sick.
Bonine helps (I think), the patch makes me really sick and sea bands are awesome.
BTW you can get generics on eBay for $0.70 delivered! Takes a month for shipping from Asia tho.

 

[Mitura]

We use the generic Walmart sea bands now for the past three cruises and they work like a charm. They are just sports cloth wristbands with a ceramic ball that goes inside your wrist. All colors are black.

They don't hurt and sometimes the kids sleep with them. The wife swears by them.

We use them when we feel a little bit queasy. When we get adjusted or the motion is not to strong we take them off. So we don't wear them all the time. When we get on shore they come off.

Some things to point out. The wristbands are sold on the ship but sell out fast in my experience. So get them before you leave home.

Also no matter what for the next day or two we feel the motion of the ship, regardless of the sea bands or not.

Joe

 

[kddlm]

I swear by my SeaBands and Bonine regiment! I was so afraid to take my SeaBands (which were light grey) off for fear of getting nauseous. My wrists did get pretty swollen from them so after night 2 or so, I took them off to sleep. Will definitely be using them again this March. I also took a daily ginger capsule. I never felt queasy at all, but DH (who did nothing to prevent motion sickness) did and he typically never has any type of effects from motion.