Seasickness

[Zenagirl]

The DAN article is great isn't it? If it makes you feel any better, I just got back from a 2 week liveaboard trip where I wore a patch everyday and did 4-5 dives a day. No problems.

[texgal@heart]

I am extremely prone to seasickness on smaller boats. In fact I wasn't when I was younger and went boating on choppy lakes. I was on a cruise ship (no probs), went diving in St Maarten and had lots of seasickness issues, went diving in Nassau with the patch and had no problems. I 2nd or 3rd whoever said make sure you clean the area with alcohol before putting on. I went diving with my local dive boat and had a patch fall off sometime during my 1st of 2 dives. Definitely had an uneasy time on the boat after that. I have tried the oral meds but have found nothing that works as well as the patch. Just had my doc call in another prescription, so I can enjoy my dives next week.

[mwhities]

You must have been on a small boat... I've been on Carnival's Conquest and Norwegian's Sun and I've never had a problem with sea sickness. Unless you consider all the beer I drank. (although, I didn't get to sick and throw up. :P)

Michael

[fire diver]

Originally Posted by TxHockeyGuy

If you're worried about getting sick on the cruise ship, don't worry about it. Those ships are incredibly stable. We were in 12' seas and there was nothing but a very slow gentle sway to the ship. For the trip on the dive boat I wouldn't know. I'm not susceptible to sea sickness at all. I've been on boats where even the captain was sick and I was fine.

<DIV></DIV>
<DIV>I guess you've never been through 30-40 foot sea on a cruise ship then. THAT was a wild ride. Funny how soo few people can adapt to a rolling ship. I had fun, but my wife....not so much. That was a bad day. It was so bad, the swimming pool emptied out into the buffet room. The top deck of passengers (cabins) got soaked. THis was on a Royal Caribbean 1000 ft ship.</DIV>
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV>FD</DIV>

[TxHockeyGuy]

Originally Posted by fire diver

<div></div>
<div>I guess you've never been through 30-40 foot sea on a cruise ship then. THAT was a wild ride. Funny how soo few people can adapt to a rolling ship. I had fun, but my wife....not so much. That was a bad day. It was so bad, the swimming pool emptied out into the buffet room. The top deck of passengers (cabins) got soaked. THis was on a Royal Caribbean 1000 ft ship.</div>
<div></div>
<div>FD</div>

Nope, but I have been on a car ferry in 20-25 ft seas that had no stabilizers. I would think given modern cruise ships stabilizer systems that would be pretty similar. I certainly didn't enjoy the ride but I did not get sea sick. I'm surprised they hadn't emptied the swimming pools on your ship. On the Carnival Conquest they were emptied every evening and I would presume they could do the same on the Royal Caribbean liners. Certainly glad that didn't happen on my cruise, surely would have made it far less enjoyable. I did ask several of the crew what the roughest seas they had been in were and they told me it didn't get worse than 15' seas that they had ever seen (for our particular ship route). That's the same ship route that Foo2 will be taking so she shouldn't have to deal with any 30' waves, at least I hope she doesn't have to deal with any.

[quarrydiver]

We've done cruise ships and small boats. You never know how rough it'll be but if you use the patch you should be fine. We always see a couple people try to tough it out and they end up miserable. My wife uses the patch and i take bonine. they both work. just remember not to touch your eyes after touching the patch or you'll be out for a couple dives.

[thor]

Hey Foo2:

Always keep your eyes on the horizon, and avoid smoking too many stogies. Also avoid anything that those European divers are eating, no matter how tempting it may look or how persistent they are.

[namabiru]

I'm conflicted on what to get for myself, now. Someone told me the regular pills don't work, and I need to get some high octane meds (a patch). Yet when I read the DAN article, it seems that perhaps a patch may also give me some nasty heebie-jeebies. *shrug*.

(Or perhaps just take them all and hope something works... in that case, I'll take a trip and forget to leave the farm...)

[thesmoothdome]

Originally Posted by Joew

Foo2, I'm assuming you're refering to Scopoderm patches. I'd be weary of using these, or any other drug, before diving. If I were you, I would call DAN before your trip and see what they think. They should be able to give you a list of motionsickness medications that are ok for diving. Other than that, here are some general tips: Stay hydrated, get a good night's sleep, don't drink too much alcohol the night before, and stay to the lee side of the boat.

I used the patches before they were pulled from the market in the mid 90s. Made 100s of dives on them without a problem. When I started diving again last year, I naturally got a prescription for them since they're back on the market. Spent a week on a boat last month, making 23 dives, and didn't have any trouble with them whatsoever. That said, I do have the unfortunate side effect of diallated pupils when I use the patch. I can't read when I have my contacts in. No trouble with my guages, just books and magazines. Regardless, I'll continue to use them and dive with them because it sure as hell beats being sick.

[namabiru]

How long do you find your eyes are dialated?