Sea sick?

[mprewitt]

My wife has never gone on a cruise (neither have I). She has severe motion sickness (she got sick on Soarin' at Epcot, for example).

Does anyone out there have the same type of issue and have any recommendations as to what might may a cruise possible for her?

 

[Nik's Mom]

Hi,
Welcome to the Dis! We're first time cruisers and I get motion sickness. I'm trying Bonine. Dramamine also works, but it makes me sleepy.

 

[Colorado DISers]

We used Bonine with no problems at all.

 

[BoardwalkBabe]

I have horrible motion sickness but if I take Bonine starting a few days prior to the cruise, it definitely helps. Take it twice a day - morning and right before dinner - instead of taking both pills at once and it will help keep things a bit more balanced.

 

[graysm]

I also get horrible motion sickness. I can't even sit in the back seat of a moving car without getting violenting sick. I had my doctor prescribe for me the patch you put behind your ear. It worked GREAT!!! Not a moment of sea sickness...until I took the patch off. Got deathly sick before I put another one on. I should have just left the original one on. I missed the Pirate Party!!!

 

[hig4s]

My wife has motion sickness problems too and the patch worked fine for her. . BUT!!! she is also subject to migraines and unfortunatly after the cruise is over and her body is getting rid of the drugs from the patch he get a migraine.. We have been on three Disney cruises and it has happened all three times to some degree or another..

 

[graysm]

hig4s - Your wife and I sound very much alike. I get migraines too...but I didn't get one after I used the patch behind my ear. I hope she has good meds for her migraines. I use Relpax and it works great. I'd take a migraine any time ...as long as I got the cruise first!!

 

[NancyIL]

I take Meclizine (25 mg), which is the main ingredient in Bonine - except it's much cheaper. I buy a bottle of 100 tablets from the pharmacist. However, I would try the 8-pack of Bonine before buying 100 Meclizine tablets. Non-Drowsy Dramamine has the same ingredient (Meclizine) as Bonine.

 

[spoohs]

I also get sea sick. On the last trip I used a combination of Bonine and Ginger pills. The two together worked great! The show Myth Busters did a segment on montion sickness remidies and the one that worked the best with the least side affects was the ginger pills. I was even able to ride a small boat and move around with out feeling sick (something I could never do).

 

[Olaf]

I was really seasick on my second cruise, first night out. I took the Bonine at dinner and it totally knocked me out. I slept through Nassau day. I do get motion sickness very easily, always have. I have wrist bands, which I've used with success on short ferry crossings. I guess I should ask my doctor about the patch and give that go before I cruise. Frustrating.

 

[Skyw]

Bonine. worked great!! I will try the ginger next.

 

[Soccermom-Cheri]

The patch is the only thing that works for me, but dang it! it makes my eyes blurry. After 2 days DH has to read the menu to me. Since it works almost immediately for me, maybe I'll try the ginger/meclezine combo next time.

 

[Vivianne]

We booked a 4 day Wonder cruise to the Bahamas because we were concerned about getting motion sickness at the end of April beginning of May. We were concerned because of a trip we did in Maine on a fast-moving catamaran which left us totally seasick. Just talking about it made us feel queasy. We bought the Bonine and the ginger pills for this trip only to find we didn't need them at all. The trip was very smooth. I was even surprised when the boat was docked and I didn't notice it. I think it matters how the rough the water is when you reserve your trip.

 

[Disneyfun1]

we have not gotten sea sick yet, but we did take bonine the day before we left, then once in morning and once at night. we also took a ginger pill daily, and if we started to fell a bit qweezy, took another ginger pill at night. the combination worked great for all of us, 2 adults and 4 kids. Neither left any of us feeling tired at all, just took the pill and went on with the day. Hope it helps, good luck!!

 

[outahere]

Whatever you decide to use, try it for a few days at home before you leave.

We cruised with some friends a couple of years ago and the wife was using the patch, and had used it on prior cruises. By the third night, she couldn't read the menu, felt woozy, sleepy and could hardy stand up. I suggested she take off the patch, and she was fine by the next morning.

 

[Olaf]

Where can I find the ginger pills?

 

[Kurby]

i too have severe motion sickness. so bad, i took my daughter on a kids marry go round i started feeling like i wanted to jump off and had to sit down for 10 minutes before we could continue.

i have to be the one driving and it's not a control thing either. i usually only last 30 minutes tops in the passengers seat which makes for a very long drive from Toronto to Orlando when i'm the one who has to do 90% of the driving.

so far i haven't found anything that works for me but i did see a Mythbusters show on motion sickness - they were trying the non-medicated remedies on 2 suckers oops i mean testers.

after their mind numbing journey they came to the conclusion that ginger pills (and i'm guessing gingerale) was the only thing that actually worked on them was the ginger.

here's the breakdown from their site

"The MythBusters tested various seasickness cures. They wanted to see if any non-pharmaceutical, no-side-effect remedy would work.

Motion sickness is caused by your brain being unable to process conflicting signals from your sense: your eyes tell you that your surroundings are still, but your inner ear and your fine muscle controls are telling you that things are moving.

Test setup
They built a chair modeled after NASA's seasick chair. The chair spun around at 7 rpm while the person in the chair was ordered to move their head to touch tennis balls positioned in front, behind, and to the sides.

Finding the test subject
They had to figure out who in the MythBusters crew was susceptible to seasickness. Adam was a sure bet because of previous seasickness during the Jaws Special. Sure enough, Adam got quesy within 3 and half minutes on the chair. After a half an hour in the chair, Jamie was still fine. Kari and Tory were both fine as well. Grant became the final test subject. He lasted longer than Adam, but he got sick as well.

Remedy Testing
Homoepathic tongue tingler. They used a unnamed spray that you squirt under the tongue as often as needed. Grant was sick within 10 minutes and vomited some small chunks. Adam was sick within 4 minutes.

Wrist straps:They wore little gray wristbands that are 'Barry Manilow's choice.' Adam was sick within 90 seconds. Grant got sick as well. They've gotten pretty quick with bringing a bucket to Grant.

*Ginger pills: It worked! Adam and Grant were both fine.
Small shocks on the P6 Accupunture point (on the wrist): Both Adam and Grant got sick.

Placebo: They told Grant and Adam they were getting an over-the-counter pharmaceutical remedy, but they actually gave them vitamins. Adam's reponse: "I hate this [bleeping] chair" after three and a half minutes. Grant: "This is among the most effective, if not the most effective."
Over-the-counter pharmaceutical drug: Worked on Adam and Grant, but it made them both a little loopy.

Only thing that worked without any side effects was the ginger pill.

Ginger pills: plausible"

 

[Kurby]

oh and i found these too

There are different things you can try to prevent motion sickness or at least reduce its effects including:

Watch the scenery going by, so that your eyes confirm the sensation of motion picked up by your inner ear. This may mean, for example, being out on deck at sea. However, don’t fix your gaze on individually moving objects, such as each rolling wave - just scan generally.

Position yourself where you will experience the least motion: for example, over the wings in an aeroplane or in the dead centre of a ship.

If possible, drive the vehicle. Passengers in moving cars are more likely to experience motion sickness than drivers.

The larger the vehicle, the less susceptible it is to motion so, if possible, try to travel on a ship rather than a small boat, for instance.

Keep your head still. Moving your head around will ‘swirl’ the fluid in your canals and add to the sensory confusion.

Some people find that closing their eyes is the best way to eliminate sensory confusion.

Lying down on your back allows the fluid in the ear canals to pool, rather than swirl around.

Cut back on, or eliminate, alcoholic drinks and don’t have any alcohol for 24 hours before travelling.

Make sure you have plenty of fresh air. Fumes or smoke can exacerbate symptoms.

On brief journeys, try not to eat or drink anything.

On long journeys, eat and drink sparingly and often.

Anxiety worsens symptoms. Use relaxation techniques such as abdominal breathing or an absorbing book or hobby to counteract the effect of worrying. If your anxiety is severe, you could consider professional counselling.

 

[calebsmommy]

My husband gets seasick....so bad he was in bed almost our whole first cruise. He tried the patch that time, made him feel funny in the head, but didn't help his seasickness.

After watching that Mythbusters episode, we decided to try Ginger Pills. He started taking them about 3 weeks before the cruise, and continued throughout the cruise, and he was not sick once. They worked great!!!!! My sister did the same thing (she gets sick in cars, planes, boats), and she didn't get sick either.

We bought these Ginger Pills at either Hi Health or GNC...I can't remember which. The brand we bought was Tibet Mountain Herbs Ginger Root. I do see them at http://shop.hihealth.com/Tibet_Mountain_Herbs_trade_Gi_P1230.cfm

I can't say enough good things about these!!!!

 

[Barbossa]

Another piece of advice: when you're on a platform that goes in circles i.e. merry-go-round, car on a cloverleaf, fix your eyes along the tangent of the curve (i.e. eyes straight ahead). This gives your brain the best correlation between what your eyes see and what your inner ear detects.

Though the Mythbusters test was informative, they hardly used a conclusive test population (2 people, I think). Seasickness remedies, like everything else, work differently for different people. DW and I used only the wristbands on our 7-day Eastern Carib cruise (20 foot seas one night! ) and they worked like a charm.