seasickness bracelet/patch
 

as anyone tried these? did they work? they sell one for over $100 and another for around $20. I don't get the difference.

Do they give details as to the effective ingredient(s) ? I have suffered (and that's the word) motion sickness all my life tho' it has improved with age. I used to load up on Dramamine etc but, since my living at sea time, I've been told that the scopolamine patches work well. I'm not current with the latest offerings I'm afraid, be interested to see other replies.<BR>p.

Cruised ONCE and planned ahead buying the patch. First night out got sick as a dog. Nurse had to give me a shot. First thing she said was 'this ocean is like a milk pond and everyone who is sick is wearing that patch. Take that thing off and when you wake up in the morning start taking antivert.' I followed her instructions and was not sick at all for the rest of the cruise. Antivert is a prescription medicine used by people with inner problems. It was being dispensed by the purser like M&M's. Just relating my experience.

aaahhhh...make that inner EAR problems...lol!

Antivert is available over-the-counter under several names in lower doses than prescription. That and Dramamine are the usual medications taken for motion sickness - however, either is likely to make you drowsy and it is not a great idea to mix with alcohol.<BR><BR>Scopolamine patches are popular - you will see many people with them behind their ear - although there is some question as to whether or not they have to be put in that specific site, as the medication is absorbed into the bloodstream - it does not follow some magic path to your inner ear. These are generally effective and cause far less drowsiness.<BR><BR>Several types of wrist contraptions - work on an accu-pressure theory. I just saw some gadget with magnets in it. Different studies on these, as placebo effect would be difficult to measure.<BR><BR>I get almost sea sick just looking at a photo of a boat! Never sick on any other form of transportation - so I suspect much of it is in my mind (not my head - like inner ear). I have used various types of medication and all made me too sleepy to care if I was seasick. Then I bought the cheaper wrist bands, wore them on a recent cruise for a day or 2 and then lost one so stopped wearing them. No sea sickness.

Antivert is meclizine, an antihistamine for motion sickness and vertigo. It is sold over the counter as Bonine. <BR><BR>Works well.<BR><BR>Transderm Scop Patches also work well for most people. Make sure you wash your hands with soap and water after putting them on and taking them off.<BR><BR> If you don't, and you have some of the scopolamine on your hands, you can possibly touch your eye putting the scoplamine into your eye which will dilate your pupil for 3 days. Not a good thing. The patches can cause dry mouth in 60% of users.

Dave, since you seem to be up on the various motion sickness remedies, may I ask you which you think is a better over the counter medicine: Bonine or Dramamine (which I think now also makes an anti-drowsy forumula)?

Judy<BR><BR>I have had a lot more experience with Bonine. Both Dramamine and Meclizine ( the drug in Bonine and Antivert ) are first generation antihistamines and both will cause drowsiness in most people. Bonine works well but so does Dramamine. <BR><BR>You might want to try each, say in the evening on a couple of days before you leave, to see which one causes the least drowsiness.<BR><BR>

To Dave: Thanks for your reply.

a<BR><BR>You may be referring to the battery operated band that delivers a shock to the wrist. We have tried the more expensive version, the "relief" band. Be wary. Marketers claim that it is FDA approved and that the Coast Guard uses it, though the only thing I can imagine the FDA might have approved it for was weight loss. <BR><BR>You put the "relief" band on so it delivers a tingling shock to one or two of the fingers in your hand every few seconds. This is supposed to prevent motion sickness and is as annoying as it sounds. The appeal is that you aren't taking a medication that might make you tired....<BR><BR>I think our trial was the acid test, as two of us used it on the Pacific Ocean, going from Astoria OR to Neah Bay WA in a 42 foot boat. I had never been seasick before, and didn't expect any problems, but was using the wrist band, as we had been forewarned....<BR><BR>Once we hit rougher waters, the two of us who were using the wristbands were sick as dogs in short order. (Fortunately, the Captain took Meclazine and was fine.) <BR><BR>I finally managed to crawl my way to the Meclazine (The boat was not steady, to say the least!). Couldn't hold it down more than a second. Slapped on a Scopalamine patch, though the instructions were to put it on four hours before needing it. Like clockwork, four hours later the nausea stopped. I slept the rest of the way (6 more hours) and was grateful for it.<BR><BR>

a<BR><BR>You may be referring to the battery operated band that delivers a shock to the wrist. We have tried the more expensive version, the "relief" band. Be wary. Marketers claim that it is FDA approved and that the Coast Guard uses it, though the only thing I can imagine the FDA might have approved it for was weight loss. <BR><BR>You put the "relief" band on so it delivers a tingling shock to one or two of the fingers in your hand every few seconds. This is supposed to prevent motion sickness and is as annoying as it sounds. The appeal is that you aren't taking a medication that might make you tired....<BR><BR>I think our trial was the acid test, as two of us used it on the Pacific Ocean, going from Astoria OR to Neah Bay WA in a 42 foot boat. I had never been seasick before, and didn't expect any problems, but was using the wrist band, as we had been forewarned....<BR><BR>Once we hit rougher waters, the two of us who were using the wristbands were sick as dogs in short order. (Fortunately, the Captain took Meclazine and was fine.) <BR><BR>I finally managed to crawl my way to the Meclazine (The boat was not steady, to say the least!). Couldn't hold it down more than a second. Slapped on a Scopalamine patch, though the instructions were to put it on four hours before needing it. Like clockwork, four hours later the nausea stopped. I slept the rest of the way (6 more hours) and was grateful for the rest.<BR><BR>

EAT SALTINES

swabbie<BR><BR>We have ships with engines now, we're no longer under sail at sea. Saltines went out with clipper ships. Sorry old boy.

If you do use scopalmine make sure you do a "dry run" a couple of days before you go.luckly I did this before going on a diving trip,a small amount of people have a bad reaction to them,i am one of them ,they made me very dizzy and sick. Freinds have told me if you have no side effects they are very effective.

I Used the patch on a recent cruise - I had no problems - (I get car sick usually within 60 miles so I was taking no chance!)my husband, took my leftover patches with him on a sailing trip - not only did he need them (big difference mind you in the size of the boats)but he struggled with them - the heavy use of sun oils made it difficult to keep the patch on the skin - and a bracelet would have certainly been more practical.

Thanks for all the advice. <BR><BR>Now, I definitley won't get the band. Draminine puts me right to sleep. It looks like the patch is the only one with potential. <BR><BR>

The best advice is to do a trial run with various available remedies ("Practical Sailor," which is like "Consumer Reports" for sailors, had a recent issue with a comparison of wristbands, scop patches, Dramamine, etc.). Obviously, the cost of some of them -- like the electric wrist bands -- makes that somewhat impractical for most of us. But what is clear is that different remedies have different effects on people; Practical Sailor's tester had the best results, without drowsiness, with regular Dramamine. Note that there is now a Dramamine II; I don't know what the active ingredient is, but in my case, it works without making me drowsy while regular Dramamine knocks me flat. (Incidentally, this is the exact opposite of what the Practical Sailor tester found...). There are also a number of other remedies, such as ginger, which are reputed to work.

Use the patch. Recently went on my first cruise and couldn't leave my cabin the first day. I put on the patch and was good to go after it kicked in (about 4 hours later). Had no trouble the rest of the cruise. My husband put it on before we even left shore and he also had no trouble. Four patches cost a total of $33 from the doctor. Well worth it.