Sea sick? - what are the chances & any tips for avoidence/treatment?

[Sparrow5181]

The title pretty much says it all. We are going on our first cruise next week (YAY!!) Any tips on what to use for sea sickness in case we have rough seas? What are the chances of being affected if the seas are calm?

Thanks in advance.

[HawkeyeFLA]

Ginger always seems to help calm the stomach. But the core cause of sea sickness is an imbalance between what the ears feel and the eyes see. If one starts to feel uneasy on a ship, the best remedy is to get outside and look for the horizon. Once your eyes sync up with the ears, the brain relaxes. Past that, there's the simple mind over matter. You know you are on a ship, you know it moves up and down in the water, so you're reminding your brain that what the ears feel is right. But its usually pretty easy to find a window or just get outside when you're sailing.

That's all the natural stuff. If you are concerned enough, you can get Dramamine from anywhere that sells OTC meds. You can also get a patch prescribed from your doctor that helps with it.

I've taken Dramamine maybe once in my life and that was at least 15 years ago. My first cruise, on the last night I know we were hauling it. I was in a forward cabin and noticed the up and down motion. But hey, I reminded myself I was on a cruise, and since it was dark, my eyes didn't see anything anyways, so I was fine.

If you are on the cruise and start to notice a problem, sometimes its as easy as closing your eyes for a moment so the brain isn't getting conflicting information and then just relax ... you're on vacation remember?

[LisaK]

here's the thing, does anybody in your family get motion sickness when they drive, ride or fly? if not then there is about a 95% chance that nobody will get any kind of seasickness, the ships are so stable. For a case of the mild queezies, ginger works great,- ginger candy ginger cookies or gingerale made with REAL ginger.HawkeyeFLA gave you some awesome advise, and keep some carbs in your stomach, bread, rolls, crackers that type of thing really helps to control the mild queezies. On the other side if someone in your family has or is prone to motion sickness when they fly, drive or ride if its really bad get to the dr for a prescription for the patch

[Lakers Fan]

Bonine is what I took on my cruise last month and it worked

[Queen of Oakville]

MotionEaze | Fast Motion Sickness Relief


this stuff is the best. My daughter can't take a car ride for more than 40 minutes or she gets carsick.

A few dabs of this behind her ears and her stomach was quelled while the pool on the lido deck turned into a wave pool with 5 to 6 foot waves. No more drugging her, this stuff is the ticket.

[Sparrow5181]

Originally Posted by LisaK

here's the thing, does anybody in your family get motion sickness when they drive, ride or fly? if not then there is about a 95% chance that nobody will get any kind of seasickness, the ships are so stable. For a case of the mild queezies, ginger works great,- ginger candy ginger cookies or gingerale made with REAL ginger.HawkeyeFLA gave you some awesome advise, and keep some carbs in your stomach, bread, rolls, crackers that type of thing really helps to control the mild queezies. On the other side if someone in your family has or is prone to motion sickness when they fly, drive or ride if its really bad get to the dr for a prescription for the patch

DH and I have both occasionally gotten motion sick. His was on fishing boats that tend to bob a lot while sitting in one place. I get car sick if I read while the car is in motion ....OH PLEASE DON"T TELL ME I WON"T BE ABLE TO READ ON SHIP???? We have flown quite bit and never had any problems with that.

[Gxulien]

Originally Posted by Sparrow5181

The title pretty much says it all. We are going on our first cruise next week (YAY!!) Any tips on what to use for sea sickness in case we have rough seas? What are the chances of being affected if the seas are calm?

Thanks in advance.

1. take dramamine in advance (over the counter)
2. if you expect serious sea sickness, you can ask your doctor for scopolamine patches, which last three days per patch. There may be expected side effects of drowsiness, dry mouth, distorientation, impaired memory and such, but at the low doses in the patch, I'm not sure how noticable they are. PUT IT ON 4 HOURS BEFORE NEEDED or it won't work very good once you are already sick.

[Gxulien]

Don't listen to anyone who says the big cruise ships are stable and don't lilt much! If you hit rough seas, and depending upon where you are in the ship, you will be in for a bad time! At least bring some dramamine and keep an eye on the weather report, as you have to take it before you feel sick for it to be very effective. I didn't have any side effects at all

[LisaK]

Sparrow - i can't read in the car either, but have never had a problem reading a book by the pool on deck. I actually love the gentle motion of the ship, especially at night, when if you let it will gently rock you to sleep, just be of the mind-set that yes you are on a moving vessel and enjoy the motion. calm water = gentle motion, storm waters= more motion

[johnthed0g]

Avoidence....try to just forget about it, we often "forget" we are on a ship...until we get "reminded"