AAAhhh yes the dreaded sea sickness!! Been there...have that! Have 15 cruises under my belt and I still worry about it! I KNOW how to control it yet I still freak out a bit before I leave. The key to sea sickness is preventing it from ever starting! If you try to get rid of it once you have it generally you will be miserable for awhile until the remedy kicks in and helps. There are people who will tell you to wear sea bands, relief bands, take ginger tablets, eat green apples, take dramamine, dramamine less drowsy, bonine, meclizine, or use the patch and probably many more ways to combat it! In my opinion the best things to do are:
#1 talk with YOUR doctor before you leave (especially if you are already taking any kind of medication) to check for side effects and what the doctor thinks would work best for you.
#2 If you decide to go the total non drug remedies like the sea bands or relief bands make darn sure that you do have a back up medication you can take just in case they don't work
And
#3 If you decide to go a medication route PLEASE (and I cannot stress this enough) try it all out at home before you leave so you will know what side effects to expect! There is NOTHING worse than getting on a cruise ship thinking all will be well not realizing that you are severely allergic to what you thought was your golden ticket to cruising!
I've typed this out for anyone intersted in sea sickness remedies...hopefully it will help you make some informed decisions!
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Sea Bands and Relief Bands
Sea bands are a terry cloth type band that you wear on your wrist. It has a white knob that if positioned correctly CAN put pressure on the wrist pressure point. Here is a website with a picture of a Sea Band
http://www.etravelergear.com/noqmotdiswri.html
These bands are very cheap but beware that since they rely on hitting a specific spot in your wrist it is possible that they will not work very well. They did not work well on me or my husband as our pressure point is too deep. The spot it is supposed to sit on is called the NeiGuan Pressure Point (P6) if you want to research that pressure point.
The Relief Band is a sort of watch looking contraption that actually shocks your wrist with a shocking impulse that is supposed to help with motion sickness as well. It is quite pricey and in the same sort of category as the Sea Bands where if they work I hear they work great but if they dont work well you hopefully have another method with you. Here is a website with what these are:
http://www.reliefband.com/ We found them at a local store for about 70 dollars but ended up returning them as they didnt work for either of us.
These two options are nice if you dont want to take any medication but please beware that there is a chance that they will not work and make sure you have a backup method.
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The Transderm Scop patch is a patch that contains scopolamine and you put it on behind your ear and wear it continually for 3 days at a time. You MUST be diligent about washing your hands after they come in contact with the patch and if you accidentally touch it and touch your eye(s) they can dilate your pupils and give you symptoms much worse than seasickness alone! These patches work well for some but have a higher rate of allergic reactions than other forms according to my pharmacist (take that for what it's worth). Their website is
http://www.transdermscop.com/site2/ and I would suggest that you read the side effects in the patient information section. I didnt try this out at home before we left on our first cruise and I ended up in the cabin sick with a nasty headache, upset stomach, dizziness, dilated pupils and miserable. Turns out I am highly allergic to scopolamine and didnt know it! I would suggest if you plan on using this you try it out at home first to make sure that you are not allergic to it. I have also heard that there is a new scopolamine product called Scopace that gives the same benefit as the patch but with fewer side effects. Ask your doctor if you want to go this way if they think it is good for you and your body.
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Then there are the over the counter drugs like Dramamine, Dramamine Less Drowsy, Bonine and the active form of Bonine and Dramamine Less Drowsy which is Meclizine.
Dramamine is a dimenhydrinate and it has the ability to make you really really sleepy! I'd suggest trying these methods out at home before you go as well to see how they react especially if they make your extremely tired and if you drink how you react with alcohol. Original Dramamine can be used in small children although not under the age of 2 but can make them extremely tired and agitated. Here is their website
http://www.pfizer.com/do/counter/digestive/mn_dramamine.html
Dramamine Less Drowsy and Bonine are actually Meclizine. You can generally buy Meclizine over the counter (although some pharmacy's keep it behind the counter) but without a prescription and the Meclizine is generally cheaper. We get 100 Meclizine tablets for 8.00 where we get 12 Bonine for 8.00 so the difference is a big deal to us! Meclizine, Bonine, Dramamine Less Drowsy are all antihistamines such as Benadryl. We usually start taking this medication 2-3 days before we leave and continue to take 1 pill every morning until we have been home for at least 2 days. Our pediatrician told us we could give a 1/2 of a 12.5 mg pill to our older kids and my dd needed it but my 2 boys did not. They didnt suffer from motion sickness at all but my 9 year old did suffer. I would also suggest trying this out at home before you go as well. Better to lose a weekend than a whole trip! Here is an online pharmacy (prices are outrageous) but it has some good information on Meclizine
http://www.online-health-pharmacy.com/_buy_meclizine.php
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There are also Ginger tablets or candy that you can take with you to help with nausea and generally you can buy them in any health food store. As with the relief bands since they are "natural" and not a drug it would be hard to try them out before you go so make sure you take a backup method as well. Also some people find that mint is helpful as well. I believe these are in the same kind of category where ginger and mint have a calming effect on the stomach.
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As you can see there are many ways to combat seasickness but you need to make sure that you pick the right one for you!! I honestly cant say this enough but make sure you try whatever medication you can out at home before leaving on your trip so that you can deal with the side effects at home. A trip to the ships' doctor is quite costly and MOST insurance require that you pay for the treatment up front and then submit a claim to get reimbursed. I know my one trip to the ships doctor cost me over 200 dollars because I had to get an anti-nausea shot, diagnosis, more medication and I lost 3 days of my trip! Remember it is a lot easier to prevent sea sickness than it is to cure it.
HTH
Heidi
