Sea sickness
 

I am very prone to motion sickness, especially on the water. Should I visit a doctor for meds before my trip?

One of the things I travel with is mint tea bags… and ginger tablets (from a health food store). I take the ginger tablets when I first board the ship and if my stomach feels a bit "off" I drink the mint tea .. Some people travel with ginger and chew on that--it'a the same as when you were a child and your stomach was upset and y our mother gave you flat ginger ale..

I think so. Get meds before you go so you have them if you need them. They will cost way more if you need them and have to see the ships MD to get them.

Q: "Should I visit a doctor for meds before my trip?"
A: Yes.

You may also want to book a cabin that is mid ship and on the lower deck. You don't want to be near the bow.

Choose your destination wisely. Some area are worst than others. The modern mass market ships usually has fin stabilizers which will help with the rocking motion.

As soon as you feel the symptom, take your meds and retreat to an area of the ship that is less sensitive to motion: mid ship, lower deck.

One more thing, you might also want to avoid tender ports.

Scopalamine patches work well, but need to be prescribed and started a little before needed. Beware of Compazine and similar tablets and suppositories which may be available over the counter in some countries as they may have dramatic side effects.

For prevention, bonine works well for me. I've never gotten seasick after taking it. I also bring dramamine with me, but I've never needed it since I take bonine.

This has been discussed before. Consult your health care provider. There are pros and cons of any medication, pills or patches. I get seasick just thinking about water but have never been seasick on a large cruise ship.

I strongly suggest you try out whatever you pick at home on a weekend when you don't have to go anywhere - for side effects, as most of them work for almost everyone.

Ginger definitely helps. If you can bring the powder and make yourself a warm ginger drink it is probably better than the tablets. And definitely go easy on the alcohol.

DH takes meclizine (generic Bonine) and we select a cabin low and midships.

My husband gets bad motion sickness. We have just finished a cruise with a couple of rough days. He wore wrist bands which put pressure on a pressure point in the wrist - don't know if they are on sale in US but are sometimes sold on the ship. In Australia we pay about $10 for a pair. Anyway, they worked well for him and a good alternative to taking drugs every day.

The wrist bands worked for me - but for me were likely placebo. I see water, I think "I am going to get sick". I wore them for 2 days and then read the directions and discovered I had applied them with the little knobby thing pointing at the completely wrong place on my wrist. But they worked.

I am with gail - those wristbands work for me. I first tried them when I cruised at about 2 months pregnant and had no issues. I still use them now and have even taken them on long car trips. Who cares if it is all in my head? They are probably $10 at CVS or any drugstore and take up no space. No side effects, and you will have them forever. You could always start with those and switch to meds (assuming your doctor advises) if you need them.

I have horrible motion sickness. Don't fool with it, get the Patch. I use bomine for flying but for real rocking and rolling get the PATCH.