Seasickness

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 1/23/07 at 3:25pm

Does anyone have a recommendation regarding seasickness on a cruise?

I can get sick in a car if I am not looking out the window, and have gotten seasick on a sailboat (NOT the same thing, I know) but I'd hate to be left holding the bag (barf bag!)

1.I was told that the wrist bands work, but look stupid.
2.The dermal patches for behind your ears may cause their own problems and make you drowsy
3.Dramamine makes you drowsy

So I am thinking Scopace may be the way to go...you can take it preventatively and after symptoms arise and there are few side effects (drowsiness...I dont want to sleep thru my cruise!) I'll probably get the wrist bands as well.

Any advice from you seafarers with weak stomachs?

[duroc]

Posted: 1/23/07 at 3:32pm

if you're going on a cruise, you may not have a problem with seasickness. I get sick being on boats, but when I went on a cruise ship, I didn't have problem (I think I might have felt minorly sick the first 24-hours). The ship is so big, you don't notice it moving.

As far as treatments go, the wrist bands do work. I think staying on deck, where you can get some fresh air, is better then staying indoors, in your quarters. I'm not sure about the patches or dramamine.

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 1/23/07 at 3:33pm

They make non-drowsy Dramamine now.

[Calvin]

Posted: 1/23/07 at 3:36pm

duroc is mostly right. My mother has a weak stomach and has been on tons of cruises without incident. However, I was once with her on a particularly rough patch in the Gulf of Alaska, and even I got sick -- and I usually have a pretty strong stomach.

The only advice I can give is stay far, far away from the caviar if you start to feel a bit queasy.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 1/23/07 at 3:39pm

I've done 2 gay cruises and never got seasick. (Maybe it was the eye candy.)

Lots of people wear the patches but they're as obvious as the wristbands.

Duroc is right: Just because you get sick in cars and small boats doesn't mean you'll get sick on the cruise. These cruise ships are more like floating cities than boats.

Have fun! Where are you going?

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 1/23/07 at 3:39pm

doesnt everything taste like caviar when you're seasick anyway, Calvin?

thanks for the nfo everyone...we will be in the carribean, so hopefully rough seas wont be a problem...but if it is! Yikes!

I understand the patch was taken off the market, and still has "overmedicating" problems.

I dont have a dr. right now (any suggestions there as well?) so over the counter is best.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 1/23/07 at 3:39pm

My parents cruise quite often, and my mom swears by crystalized ginger, wristbands, and booking early so you get a room as close to the middle of the ship as possible. :)

She got quite sick in the Tasman Sea because we didn't book the cruise very early and ended up at the frontmost room near the bottom. Yikes!

(I never get seasick.)

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 1/23/07 at 3:44pm

10 days in the eastern caribbean, PJ...SO GLAD you told me the patches are just as obvious as the wrist bands. For some reason I didnt like the idea of the patches.

We will have a room with a balcony in the middle of the ship (booked it over the summer) so we can have fresh air.

I know I'm being a big baby and will likely need none of this stuff...but want to be prepared.

[justagirl2]

Posted: 1/23/07 at 3:51pm

doodle, your cruise sounds exactly like the one I took to the Caribbean over Spring Break last year, same room location and everything. I have an INCREDIBLY weak stomach, and never once felt seasick. By all means, get the wristbands (sounds like the best bet to me) if you're worried, but I'm almost positive you won't have a problem.

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 1/23/07 at 3:57pm

thanks, girl...

of course, if the ships doctor is cute, maybe it will require a visit :)

[AbbaRabbit]

Posted: 1/23/07 at 4:10pm

when i worked at a day camp, i was the bus moniter on the way ot camp and on the way home, so i spent about 2 hours every day on a school bus.
the wristbands worked very well for me and i never got sick (i used to get very car sick)
i have read that it's actually not about your stomach, but about your inner ear. if your inner ear feels like you're moving but you're looking at something that is still (like reading a book in the car) you can get sick, as well as looking out the window when your inner ear is telling your brain that you are not moving. (i hope that made sence)

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 1/23/07 at 4:16pm

It is an inner ear problem, Abba. Your inner ear knows it's moving, but your brain thinks it's still.

Glad to hear the bands worked for you too.

Someone I work with went to Alaska on the same line I'm on (and won the free cruise while onboard) and they had some rough seas. His kid got sick (as did the whole ship) so he gave the kid his wrist bands. The kid felt better very quickly, but then he got sick...and someone threw up on them in the elevator. YIKES!

[Mamie]

Posted: 1/23/07 at 4:17pm

That's right, Abba. It's the fluid in your inner ear that gives you a sense of balance. When that fluid is shaken up, you can get dizzy and then nauseous.

For what it's worth - I've never been sick on a boat or ship that was moving. I did feel a little nauseous when we were docked. The boat seemed to be bouncing up and down then.