WARNING; motion sickness medicine and boat diving

[Doug B]

I eat cold pizza and drink a lot of coke.

I've never been sea sick.

I don't think the pizza and coke are the reason.. but they taste good! :-)





I spent a LOT of my childhood on a sailboat.... I think my body is used to "motion of the ocean"

[CaptainRon]

Originally Posted by BSea

This is what I use, and have never been sick at all using them. Now I normally don't get sea sick, but I have felt queasy at times. the 1 time I did get seasick, we were in very rough conditions, and I didn't take ginger.

I have recommended it to a lot of people I know who get motion sick even as passengers in cars. Ginger has worked for every one of them. The first time I tried it was on a cruise in the Gulf. 14-16 foot seas and most of the passengers were in their cabins sick. We used the ginger and felt great. Seemed almost like we had the whole ship to ourselves for a couple of days.

It even worked well to settle the stomach after over eating during other cruises......

[scubajane]

Originally Posted by Doug B

I spent a LOT of my childhood on a sailboat.... I think my body is used to "motion of the ocean"

very interesting concept....I rode a school bus for 13 years. about 45 min each way. big swaying motion lots of bumps. I rarely get sea-sick. Hubby on the other hand, walked to school, has had ulcers and gets VERY sea-sick.

What about the rest of you. any more input for my new research project??

[anvil]

Im not sure what it is you guys were taking but some chemests here make there own, We take one called a Pihia bomber,But you need to follow it 1/2 hour later with a caffine tablet to stop the drowsey's. Don't know if I would take them before a dive tho!!! Seammed to work well with my kids as they had great delight watching me toss all over the side of the boat, but then they did not party till 3am.

[Danica]

I always carry ginger root in my dive bag, it works like a charm!

[Ber Rabbit]

Everyone is different and needs to come up with their own combination of things to prevent seasickness. Personally I have to watch what I eat and start taking Meclizine 2 days prior to my trip then have plenty of Saltines, peppermints and ginger on hand plus extra Meclizine and the pressure point bands on the boat.

Here are the medicines I've found available in my area:
Dimenhydrinate: Original Formula Dramamine, Triptone
Meclizine: Non-Drowsy Formula Dramamine (Dramamine II), Bonine, Antivert
Scopalomine: Scopace

Ber

[Osprey]

I get tired when I even take tylonal, dramamine puts me out for hours! I never have any funny side effects though.. hmm

I'm sorry your medicine ended so creepy.. that must have sucked

[CompuDude]

Originally Posted by Ber Rabbit

Everyone is different and needs to come up with their own combination of things to prevent seasickness. Personally I have to watch what I eat and start taking Meclizine 2 days prior to my trip then have plenty of Saltines, peppermints and ginger on hand plus extra Meclizine and the pressure point bands on the boat.

Here are the medicines I've found available in my area:
Dimenhydrinate: Original Formula Dramamine, Triptone
Meclizine: Non-Drowsy Formula Dramamine (Dramamine II), Bonine, Antivert
Scopalomine: Scopace

Ber

Those are pretty much the only three pharmaceutical options in pill form, although bear in mind there is a generic for each, and you could add the Scopalomine patch to the list. (Scopace is the same ingredient in pill form)

The top two are over the counter, the last one is prescription only but easy to get.

There is also, as has been mentioned, the natural option of ginger root pills.

I use Meclizine, and by starting a day early so my system is nice and saturated, and not waiting until just before I get on the boat (as the package foolishly suggests), I don't have any problems.

As PsychDiver mentioned, everything affects everyone differently (I have a friend who feel completely drugged from aspirin or tylenol, and another who can't feel the effects of anything he has ever taken), so it's a REALLY good idea to test your reaction to any medicine before leaving on the trip, so you know if you're going to have a problem with a reaction while you're still on dry land, and NOT wait to find out when you're trapped on a boat at sea. It's not going to hurt anything to try a dry run and take your first Dramamine or Bonine tablet on Monday, if you're planning your first rough boat trip on Friday.

[Ber Rabbit]

Thanks CompuDude I was mainly trying to demonstrate that saying "Don't take Dramamine, take Triptone" or "Don't take Antivert or Dramamine II, take Bonine" was simply telling someone to take the same medication just a different brand name. Kind of like saying "Don't take Tylenol, take Acetaminophen." I always look for the active ingredient in whatever works for me and get the generic because it's a LOT less expensive! I can usually find a whole bottle of generic Meclizine for the price of 8 tablets of Bonine
Ber

[Navy OnStar]

Doing a lot of small boat stuff myself (sailed to Bermuda on a 44ft sail boat and being a boarding officer on 11 Meter RHIBS) I have found that eating a lot of crackers and keeping your stomach full helps a lot. I have been in some really rough seas and eating bread and crackers and TONS of water (have to be well hydrated) have eliminated the feeling for me every time without pills.

This past December we were in 20ft seas in an 11 meter RHIB in the North Arabian Gulf and I was felling real bad. We pulled alongside a Patrol Craft (not that much bigger than the RHIB)and several of us got off the RHIB for a debrief and quick dinner. We got back on an hour later and all the sea sickness went away in the same sea state.

Not saying this will work for everyone but drink tons of water a few days before up until the boat and make sure you are really hydrated. then eat a bland meal before getting on the boat and snack on bread/crackers all day before the feeling gets too strong. Helps me every time.