Sea Sickness and it's Remedies

[halimark]

I think I can jump in on this one. From a guy who spent 30 years at sea on various size vessels and DOES get the dreaded barf disease. Being on a ship in 50ft+ seas with 280 other sailors gives a whole new perspective on sea sickness. I can say that NONE of the old wives tales crap work enough to use to ward the horror away. In the old Navy for my first 10 years a 100oz tin can with a string around your neck was the remedy, or a gash bag on your hip/belt, tougher Navy???. Old steamers really moved. In the new Navy, City Class Ships are way more stable but Bonnamine, gravol were prescribed and did work for some people some of the time. Wives tales guys and gals ALL BARFED. But Trophy Fisher has it correct, when sailors wore the Scopolamine patch Transderm V properly and within timelines we do not get the horror. It worked for probably 95+% of sailors, for those it did not work they were no longer sailors. =Landed for another trade/job. After a few years at sea you get to know your body well, when to put patch on, sometimes even cutting in half, my right ear placement is more successful than my left ear. I will also admit to not following dosage rules as I wore same patch for 4 days, when drug feeling starts to wear off before bed change to new patch. Did this for weeks at a time in North Atlantic or Pacific during storm season. Being patch doped is better than the horror. No other dope in my work. Funny as I hardly ever get sick on my fishing boat and as Captain when the horror starts I have command and can get to shore. From experience there is NO WORSE feeling than being sea sick, 1000s of miles at sea rocking and rolling in **** seas, 100oz can around your neck half full of barf, being ridiculed by all that do not get the horror, 16 hr work days as normal, and still 3 weeks to port. Thank You who ever made Scopolamine patch Transderm V.

HM

 

[halimark]

My experience was somewhat different than the once in a year person who goes fishing in rough seas. Some can tough it out for a few hours, have it pass, not get it in that specific sea or try a wives tale. As for my lifelong career that I would not have changed a thing, in rough seas you cannot "look at the horizon" uppers and outside are out of bounds. Locked in a diesel oil burning 400 ft 80+degree tin can with 280 brothers and sisters. Loved it.

HM

 

[Dave H]

I think I can jump in on this one. From a guy who spent 30 years at sea on various size vessels and DOES get the dreaded barf disease. Being on a ship in 50ft+ seas with 280 other sailors gives a whole new perspective on sea sickness. I can say that NONE of the old wives tales crap work enough to use to ward the horror away. In the old Navy for my first 10 years a 100oz tin can with a string around your neck was the remedy, or a gash bag on your hip/belt, tougher Navy???. Old steamers really moved. In the new Navy, City Class Ships are way more stable but Bonnamine, gravol were prescribed and did work for some people some of the time. Wives tales guys and gals ALL BARFED. But Trophy Fisher has it correct, when sailors wore the Scopolamine patch Transderm V properly and within timelines we do not get the horror. It worked for probably 95+% of sailors, for those it did not work they were no longer sailors. =Landed for another trade/job. After a few years at sea you get to know your body well, when to put patch on, sometimes even cutting in half, my right ear placement is more successful than my left ear. I will also admit to not following dosage rules as I wore same patch for 4 days, when drug feeling starts to wear off before bed change to new patch. Did this for weeks at a time in North Atlantic or Pacific during storm season. Being patch doped is better than the horror. No other dope in my work. Funny as I hardly ever get sick on my fishing boat and as Captain when the horror starts I have command and can get to shore. From experience there is NO WORSE feeling than being sea sick, 1000s of miles at sea rocking and rolling in **** seas, 100oz can around your neck half full of barf, being ridiculed by all that do not get the horror, 16 hr work days as normal, and still 3 weeks to port. Thank You who ever made Scopolamine patch Transderm V.

HM

I served in the Navy also and spent a year on HMCS Sussexvale, Sept.1965 to Sept. 1966, dividing our time between trips to San Diego and patrolling our then 20 mile offshore boundary checking on the Russian trawlers that always seemed to have much more in the way of antennae displays than we did.

I am highly susceptible to motion sickness and have been all my life.

I've been car-sick, air-sick, flu sick, drunk sick, puked from kidney stone pain, food poisoning and probably a few other times too.

There is nothing worse than sea-sickness on a working military ship. We didn't carry spares for any position so you did your job regardless of how much you were puking. I was a Radioman and had my own bucket in Radio One, tucked away but in reach for when the ship started to pitch in a regular motion, the conditions that killed me.

And yes, you had to keep stuffing something down so you'd have something to bring back up. I used bread and buns mostly as crackers were too hard.

There was no patch in my day so it was Gravol or Dramamine, either orally or otherwise.

Can you say suppository?

Neither worked for me.

I tried hypnosis.

Nope.

My reprieve came when the Sussexvale was paid off in Sept. of '66 and I was drafted to HMCS Aldergrove, the main radio ship-shore station in the Fraser Valley, aka CKN in those days of Morse Code or CW. Sussexvale was CZFM.

The Captain of Sussexvale, Commander Fred Crickard, liked me as I'd handled two situations very well during service, so he rated me Superior after serving on his ship, plus he knew I was sea-sick prone, so he'd arranged to get me to Aldergrove.

I'll always feel grateful for that.
Had a great time there the next six months and never got sea-sick once.

But I used to.




Take care.

 

[RBL]

I'll second the ginger. I've taken out several seasickness-prone people, and it worked every time.

It also pays to remember that a cause of seasickness is disorientation between actual horizontality and perceived horizontality. If a person fixates on what's inside the boat and loses track of true level, the mind and body suffer sensory conflict because there's a disconnect between the message the eyes are sending to the brain and what the inner ear is telling it, and the nausea and other symptoms often follow. If I know someone in my boat is prone to seasickness, I remind them to frequently look at the horizon to keep their perspective and orientation, and that and the ginger have been foolproof so far.

That’s funny you say that because of all the time I spent commercial fishing I only got seasick once and it’s happened when I was watching the horizon in a big swell lol. The other factor was that I had very little sleep in a few days and I think that played a big roll. Ever since then I’ve always told people not to watch the horizon lol.

 

[Chuck]

My sea seasickness can come on pretty quick. Gravol didn’t do a thing, then tried Bonine, not available in Canada, that worked good for a couple seasons then not so much so this past spring I did a lot of research on the electronic pulse bracelets.. Ended up getting this one and after being anchored up a few times jigging it seemed to work well. I’ll need to use it on several occasions in order to totally be convinced but so far so good..

Oh and watch the horizon thing is the biggest crock I’ve ever heard!

EmeTerm for motion sickness and morning sickness (Black)

 

[wolf]

I can always tell when people are about to getting ready to puke ill add a bit of humor to this for ya ....

I say do you have any chocolate bars??????????

Why does that help they always ask!!!!!!!!!

No not really just tastes as good coming back up !!!!!!!!

 

[Fishboy89]

Another vote for Bonine - I got my last pack at a store in the Honolulu airport. Works like a charm.

 

[renier]

From my fishing experience in South Africa offhore in 22 ft boat to BC etc. I really think you got to keep your sick/early green guys VERY busy. I get them driving the boat, teaching them to use downriggers, constantly checking the lines for weed or damaged chovies. And everything else thats need to be done. Even scrubbing the floor. This helps with cleaning the boat at the dockAlso believe in scopolamine patches and meclizine. Gotta start before the trip.