Seasick prevention - the patch....

[mevelandry]

I know... I took the ginger one during the day until 8:00 PM and it was all good. The normal Gravol at night... (repeat) and had an amazing trip with no more nausea.

Like you said the first evening out of Port Canaveral ... I tought I would not survive the trip.

 

[MelInAZ]

Oh I hadn't seen Gravol - I bought Ginger lozenges for the last trip and they gave me heartburn (I love ginger, though). We were concierge and the lounge was right down the hall from our room so my kids made several trips to pick up green apples and cans of ginger ale to keep in our fridge. I had contemplated trying the patch out as an extra precaution, but I usually end up with the weird side effects from anything I take and since what I had last time worked in quite rough seas, I think I'll stick to the same routine.

 

[sambycat]

The vision issues are "internal", if you will? You need to wash your hands after touching the patches because if the medicine comes in contact with your eyes it will dilate your pupils so severely on whichever side you touch that people will think you are having a stroke. which will affect your vision, true, but the blurred vision most people experience is not due to that. And they are only good for 3 days a pop.

 

[anricat]

I'm very very prone to motion sickness and nausea in general (pregnancy was 9 months of misery, but that's another story). Our first cruise was last year on the Dream and I started taking Bonine 48 hours in advance and took it every 24 hours. I still had some slight nausea on a couple of occasions, but the worst was the vertigo and it was really bad off the boat. I spoke with another cruiser with a patch on and she said that she had the same thing on her first cruise but got the patch on her second cruise and had zero symptoms and zero side effects. So it's not all doom and gloom for everyone. And as others have pointed out, some dry mouth can be better than feeling awful. I didn't feel awful but vertigo is rather unsettling.

I plan to test out a patch on a longer airplane trip we have coming up this summer, but I'm hopeful the patch can help with my vertigo.

 

[Disneyteachers]

This may well be a stupid question, but would you know if you were susceptible? As a teacher I took two hundred kids (plus other adults) on a whale watch and I was the only one out of the whole boat not to get sea sick, so I imagine I might be okay. DD and DS spend the summer on the water sailing and boating and DH and I do some boating as well. We are all always fine, but having never been on a cruise I don't know how typical it is. None of us get car sick or air sick either and we fly quite a bit.

 

[Amazonparrot]

I recommend Bonine. It doesn't give you the dry mouth like the patch. Also, I would wait til you see if you need it before taking anything. If you take it as soon as there is unwanted motion it should work. If you use the patch automatically before you are sure you need it, you are just subjecting yourself to the side effects. I never had a side effect from the Bonine. If you keep it on you like in a pocket, then it is handy as soon as you realize you need it.

 

[elittleton]

I'm following as my DD4 will be 5 on the first cruise she takes and she gets motion sickness and wears sea bands on her wrists which have helped when it comes to car and bus rides at her preschool. Any suggestions for her on a 7 day cruise? Not sure a patch can be used on kids and I dont want her on dramamine the entire time (she was on it once and it makes her so groggy for some reason ,then again anything non drousy does which is weird)

For children, I would talk to their pediatrician. Mine recommended Benadryl at bedtime. Basically sea sickness preventatives are just antihistamines. Personally, I swear by Bonine (meclizine).

On one of our cruises, the stabilizer wasn't working and the ship was really rocking, but I felt fine on Bonine.

When my DD7 started getting car sick her pediatrician told me to give her half a Motion medicine. I give her a half of a Bonine and she doesn't get groggy.

 

[MelSpees]

This may well be a stupid question, but would you know if you were susceptible? As a teacher I took two hundred kids (plus other adults) on a whale watch and I was the only one out of the whole boat not to get sea sick, so I imagine I might be okay. DD and DS spend the summer on the water sailing and boating and DH and I do some boating as well. We are all always fine, but having never been on a cruise I don't know how typical it is. None of us get car sick or air sick either and we fly quite a bit.

I would think you'd be fine. If you don't react to the kind of motion you get on small boats, and did well when everyone else was not, I don't think a cruise ship will be any kind of problem. A large ship has far less motion than what you've encountered unless you're in a huge storm at sea. I too seem to be fortunate in that regard and am very thankful.

 

[disfans44041]

I used the Transderm Patch on my last 7 Day Fantasy cruise and no problems at all. I switched it out every 3 days and it worked like a charm. On our first 4 day Dream cruise I relied on Bonine and it was not enough for me. My insurance did not cover it and I purchased them from Costco pharmacy for $40.

 

[disneyfaninaz]

I recommend Bonine. It doesn't give you the dry mouth like the patch. Also, I would wait til you see if you need it before taking anything. If you take it as soon as there is unwanted motion it should work. If you use the patch automatically before you are sure you need it, you are just subjecting yourself to the side effects. I never had a side effect from the Bonine. If you keep it on you like in a pocket, then it is handy as soon as you realize you need it.

Actually, all sea motion sickness medications work better before you have any symptoms. They are not as effective after you start feeling sea sick.

 

[ptcbass]

Actually, all sea motion sickness medications work better before you have any symptoms. They are not as effective after you start feeling sea sick.

You really should start taking it 24 to 48 hours before your cruise.

 

[krisinparis]

Yes, definitely take the meds before you get on the boat!

 

[kddlm]

I do it all! Bonine daily, SeaBands and Ginger Capsules daily. I was 100% fine on our 7 night Fantasy cruise. I ended up taking the SeaBands off mid trip but kept up with my Bonine and Ginger Capsules. Just not comfortable with the noted side effects of the patch. My DH who does not typically get any type of motion sickness did nothing preventative and was miserable most of the cruise. Will do the exact same for our March 2016 Fantasy cruise.

 

[Deb in IA]

Our DD has pretty bad motion sickness. She can (and has) throw up on a 40 minute flight, much to her brother's disgust.

We have tried everything - dramamine, bonine, ginger, sea bands, crackers, etc. Nothing seems to be very effective.

She used the scopolamine patch on our transatlantic cruise last year and loved it. She did notice her mouth being dry, but on the plus side, it also dried up her chronically sweaty palms.
The last time we cruised, an Eastern Caribbean in January, she used it again and was really bothered by the blurred vision, which she did not notice the first time. Now, we were on the Magic the first time and we were on the Fantasy the last time, so I don't know if the difference in ships, or sailing locations made any difference, but she is going to go back to the bonine next time.

 

[ptcbass]

I do it all! Bonine daily, SeaBands and Ginger Capsules daily. I was 100% fine on our 7 night Fantasy cruise. I ended up taking the SeaBands off mid trip but kept up with my Bonine and Ginger Capsules. Just not comfortable with the noted side effects of the patch. My DH who does not typically get any type of motion sickness did nothing preventative and was miserable most of the cruise. Will do the exact same for our March 2016 Fantasy cruise.

Were the seas rough? Wonder why your DH was bothered when he normally isn't.

 

[Buzzlight Year Dad]

Just got back from our 3 day Bahamian cruise on the Dream (4/24-27). Was joking with my wife for her & my daughter not to get seasick. Well, Karma got the best of me as I was the one to get seasick that first night (Vomiting). Brought along some "SeaBand" and it worked very well for me. Although some slight nausea throughout the cruise, no more vomiting.

 

[ptcbass]

Just got back from our 3 day Bahamian cruise on the Dream (4/24-27). Was joking with my wife for her & my daughter not to get seasick. Well, Karma got the best of me as I was the one to get seasick that first night (Vomiting). Brought along some "SeaBand" and it worked very well for me. Although some slight nausea throughout the cruise, no more vomiting.

MY DH and DS won't take anything. I am so scared they will get sick and then trying to feel better AFTER getting sick is supposed to be so hard. Glad to hear the seabands helped. I bought some but do they sell them on the ship (just in case I need more)? Did you try Bonine or anything else?
I plan on starting Bonine before our trip myself.

 

[AKP's Disney Dad]

Sea bands, dramamine, ginger, patches, taking no chances......

 

[lisamarie12]

I prefer Bonine but in my haste at Walgreen's I picked up the generic of Dramamine. Dramamine makes me very tired. Even though this was non-drowsy, I slept very well. That was actually a good side effect, since I had not slept much in the week or so before the cruise (nerves) and really needed a good rest. We slept until 9:45-10:00 a.m. most days if no alarm was set, even though we had a balcony room. At home I am usually up before 8 on non work days (mostly its 6:30-7:00 a.m.)
I am prone to queasiness as well. I can't even look at my phone in the car without getting queasy. But plane rides do not bother me. I can even read on the plane and it does not make me sick. I have tried a few cruises without sea sick meds (or missed a few) and while I was not miserable, I was feeling off. Last cruise (a couple of weeks ago), the ship was moving a lot. There were rough seas due to a tropical storm or something. All of our cruises have been in February, April, May or October and there tends to be rough seas from something or other. I am not sure if there is a "calm" sea time of the year to cruise honestly.

I agree the stablizers are good. I mostly noticed the Motion when I was in my room, usually when I was sitting down or in the bed. Sometimes that was at night, but sometimes in the day. We were between mid and aft and 5th floor. I can only imagine how the higher floors were, especially in the front of the ship.

 

[mmfox316]

My 16 yr old used seabands for our cruise and still uses them in the car today. She hates them because they are not stylist but won't go without them either. They really work for her