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First Cruise/Worried About Seasickness
We are taking a short cruise next weekend (it's actually a conference too); I get sick in very small planes and occasionally still get carsick (and I'm too old for this). Any advice on how to prevent seasickness and/or what medication to take?
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If you only occasionally get carsick, I think you will be fine on a cruise. I always get carsick if I am on windy roads or in the back seat of a car and I was fine on the cruise I went on. If the boat is large, they have stabilizers and everything to keep any motion to a minimum. Plus, usually the boat is traveling at night when you are sleeping anyway. The only day I had any problems at all was the day we were at sea the whole time and even then it was just a very vague nausea--nothing I couldn't ignore. Personally, I wouldn't risk the side effects (drowsiness) of medication.
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<BR>As a veteran of seasickness I wouldn't leave home without a box of "Transderm" patches.I put one on about 2 hours before departure.I think each are good for several days.I have never had any sleepiness in contrast to Dramamine which wipes me out. <BR>Ginger and wrist bands were useless for me altho others found relief in them.You will need a prescription to obtain the patches.I find middle of the boat and downlow if it has stabilizers the best placeto be.
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Luckily, I've been on 7 cruises and have never gotten extremely ill, but this all depends on where the ship is traveling and the age of the ship. Newer, larger ships tend to have better stabilization and less rock. We've been in waters where it has been extremely calm, and others where the ship was really rockin' and rollin'. I've never had to take any of the meds of wear the patches, but I agree to get the patch before you go. I believe you need to wear it before sailing, but check with the MD, as well as checking about any side effects. I've heard stories about others who have taken strong formulas of dramamine who slept most of their entire cruise (and you won't want to do that!). The other tip I can give you is that if you get in a situation where the ship is rocking a lot, get outside to an upper deck and look towards the horizon. Nothing accentuates the rocking motion more than being inside your cabin. So, if you happen to be feeling the effects from the motion of the ocean, get to a larger public area, or if possible go outside. <BR>
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Hi Audrey: We have been on 2 cruises, and while we haven't been sick, you have to remember that most of the larger ships have stablizing wings that go out into the water, just under the surface to stop the boat from rocking. Our experience has been that the people that used the "patch" as a preventative measure were the ones ending up being sick. You should take graval, but I wouldn't use it unless you were actually sick. If your room is lowered in the ship the motion will be minimized, and if you have a port-hole, keep the curtain drawn.
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The best thing I found for motion sickness is ginger root tablets. I read about them in Cruise Travel magazine. Start taking them about a week before you travel and every day you are cruising. There are no side effects such as drowsiness. Try it.
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Thank you all for your suggestions. I did get a patch just in case, and I'm glad I did. The ship left from Miami the day after Mitch had come through, and the waters were indeed rough our first night out; many people were seasick, including my friend and I. But I put on the patch, went to bed, and was just fine the rest of the trip. And I'd go again! <BR>
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Any updates on this 10-year old post?!
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If you ever watched the Mythbuster program on TV, on a recent episode, they tested all kinds of cures for seasickness and found that the only one that really worked was ginger root pills.
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Ha ha, I can tell you that without any TV! I get sick only by looking at the boats! Yes, ginger works.
And if anybody needs more advices... keep taking ginger for a couple of days after the cruise not to get "sea legs" or whatever it's called when you get dizzy at home. As for medications: consult your doctor. For example, mine told me not to use the patch nor to take dramamine due to some personal health issues, only Bonine (Meclezine). Vallo, what update? Audrey came back to report the patch helped her. End of story. |
Yes, but that was 10 years ago! I wanted an update; I'd never heard of the ginger remedy...and that's the route I'm planning to take.
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My wife became seasick two yrs. ago on the Tahitian Princess and then we were told by the ships MD that patches were no longer in use. She prescribed a small dose of phenergan which worked quite nicely so before you go you may want to get some from your MD. If the ginger doesn't work you could try this and it will be cheaper and more expedient to have it w/ you vs. the cost of a visit to the ships MD and the med itself. OTC dramamine is another option. Good luck. Larry :-)
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Ginger tablets work the same way flat gngerale was given to you by yur mother.. You can buy ginger tablets which I take the minueI step foot on the ship..The other thing is bring some mint tea bags for a queasy stomach
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The patches do work, quite well. But in my case at least, they make me drowsy. As long as I'm moving and active, I'm fine. But if I sit still too long, zzzzzzzzzzzz. My wife kept nudging me during out presentation by a Franciscan monk in Assissi. He WAS a bit boring, but the patch just kept dragging me down.
Still it was better than nausea. I haven't really tried ginger. We are doing a 7 day cruise in Feb so maybe I'll try that first. But rest assured that I'll have my patches on hand if needed. They take several hours to kick in so be aware of that. |
An acupuncture treatment just days before the trip (specifically for motion sickness), and seabands have enabled me to cruise several times sans nausea.
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An earlier poster mentioned this as well - Bonine(generic meclizine sp?)
I have sailed on the roughest seas for long periods of time (12 days straight SA to Antarctica) It does not make you drowsy - is great. I had many passengers asking me for some (I always go well stocked) It is wonderful. If you think it may be a rough day just take one - works also when you are sick but much more effective if you can prevent it. It is very safe and I repead DOES NOT MAKE YOU DROWSY. |
In the interest of a balanced approach, even a minimal dose of Meclizine makes me <i><b>very</b></i> sleepy. I've used it for benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, not seasickness.
From drugs.com: "Use caution when driving, operating machinery, or performing other hazardous activities. Meclizine may cause dizziness, drowsiness, or blurred vision." |
Well , all the medication mentioned here will work to some extent for Motion Sickness.
Some of the meds will work better than others but their number one side effect for ALL of them is nausea.! In many cases it is the chicken and egg syndrome of which came first.!... Did you... get nauseated because of motion sickness or were you prefectly well first and then the ship/boat started to sway a bit and now you are nauseated.?! Gravol and Dramamine are both the same drug. The thing with Gravol ( and hopefully Dramamine ) is that it comes in so many different doses , that you can adjust how much you take or want to take,. For example: Gravol ( Dramamine ) comes in 100, 75, 50,25 and 15 mgm tablets. You buy this over the counter. If the box say LA on the cover as in 100 L/A...the LA stands for "Long Acting." The 50, 25 and 15 mgm tablets come also in chewable form. Now lets say you are a bit nauseated. You can take 1 or 2 15 mgm tablets.. wait a half hour ,if you still feel a bit queezy..take another 1-2 tablets... this is better than swallowing a 75 or 100 mgm tablet,when a lesser dose will do the job. The next situation is this: If you are one of those people that gets motion sickness at the drop of a hat ...then take the medication about 1/2 to 2 hours BEFORE your departure. I am not surprised that jacketwatch's wife was given Phenergan. I am sure the Cruise ship doctor has all motion sickness medication available( if he does not then he should have !!) Phenergan is an old drug. It has many uses. It's main claim to fame is that it was ( and is good for allergies) but there are better ,less drowsy meds now for allergies. It was also used as a cough medication. However, it also helps to control( not cure) Motion Sickness. And yes.. It makes you drowsy About Ginger ....hmmmm,the mechanism of Ginger in humans is not know. However, don't think that the Pharmaceuttical Industry would pass on a chance to market Ginger.!! There is a Gravol(Dramamine)- Ginger combination that you can get. I guess their rational is : Ginger for ( maybe!!) the motion sickness and Gravol for the nausea.! The thing about the "Patch"... is that is is suppose to release the medication ,through your skin at a slow rate,over time and then you have the Motion Sickness under control as well as the nausea. For some it works for others ,it does not !!! Good Night (hi jacketwatch) Percy |
Hello Percy. We have just under 3 weeks B4 we embark on the Adventure of the Seas. Yes! :-)
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Hi jacketwatch
And I have three weeks before I leave for Eastern Europe..flying into Vienna..then Lviv and Kiev ..to Moscow then over the Black Sea and back to Moldova,Romania,Bulgaria. Then hopefully in August I can do Central Europe..starting in Paris. Yes, the count down is on for both of us. :) Percy |
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