EU says no new seasickness pills in my liferaft - what shoukd I buy?

[Burnham Bob]

My liferaft has just been serviced. Thanks to the EU, they can't replace the seasickness tablets (maybe Nigel Farrage does have a point.......). What would they have replaced them with? The service note says to buy some and put them in the grab bag. There are 101 things masquerading as seasickness tablets. Just as Ibuprofen costs 34p a pack if you buy the Co-op version and £4.50 if you buy the same stuff masquerading as Nurofen, what should I buy? Scopolomine (Hyoscine) or antihistamine are the choices according to the NHS Direct website. I don't suffer from seasickness but in a liferaft it may be different and the thought of the crew throwing up in a confined space fills me with dread.........

 

[Salty John]

One ear plug and one eye-patch.

http://www.saltyjohntheblog.com/2014/05/hello-world.html

 

[Medic]

Cinnarazine is my choice - highly effective, usually non-sedating and has a decent shelf life. And can be easily bought without prescription.

For non-liferaft use it is a good choice too, as it seems to permit a degree of accommodation over time - it works, and also permits the body to adapt to the motion so that you don't need to keep taking it. I have, however, seen it reduce a grown man to a barely annimate object for 24 hours, so it doesn't suit everyone.

 

[Seajet]

Medic,

is that what's in Stugeron ?

That is the most effective thing I've seen tried, but as you say it can sedate some people to near unconscious level.

As for use in lifearfts, well I wonder if there's any point to pills at all, they have to be taken a long time in advance - prevention not a magic cure - and if being sick one can't keep pills down anyway; might as well just have plenty of drinking water ?

 

[RAI]

One ear plug and one eye-patch.

Long John Silver never got seasick, but he had a parrot in one ear.

 

[MoodySabre]

Take some in your grab bag. The EU aren't saying you can't take them. Are they?

 

[RAI]

I cannot find a reference to the EU ban. Plenty of good advice about using them.
http://www.marinemedical.com/articles/seasick.htm

 

[blackbeard]

As a matter of interest, what was the EU's logic behind this decision?

And ... should we take a number of 4 man liferafts, fill them with Eurocrats, place same on a lively sea, and after a couple of hours ask said Eurocrats if they still think it was a good idea?

 

[RAI]

I think this is another false criticism of the EU. They publish practically everything they regulate. Google finds nothing, except this thread.

 

[blackbeard]

Gets curiouser and curiouser. Have just had a look at some specs for new life rafts, some contain pills and some don't. In one case the number of pills was specified (4 man raft) - 6! That won't go far! Seems like a good idea to put some in the grab bag. Maybe we will not have to get Eurocrats sea sick after all.
Does ISO 9650 specify sea sickness pills? Maybe this is left to the supplier? Was ISO confused with EU? The mystery persists ...

 

[Burnham Bob]

Well for those of you that think this is an urban myth, I assure you that the invoce from SEAGO specifically said that EU changes on the distribution of medicines meant they could not supppy seasick tablets. I imagine that only pharmacists are allowed to supply them these days - even if they are available without prescription. Maybe new rafts have complete packs supplied in an approved manner, but as for a service centre, it may not be possible. The reason you can't find anything on google is probably because this is caught by a blanket ban on supply of pharmaceuticals - not a specific ban on liferafts and tablets. So as far as useful replies go, Sturgeron is the only suggestion?

 

[prv]

In one case the number of pills was specified (4 man raft) - 6! That won't go far!

Are you sure it's not 6 per person?

Pete

 

[concentrik]

Our obliging GP wrote a script for some Buccastem - they dissolve against your upper gum so no need to swallow, so can be taken when the seasickness has already started!

 

[prv]

Our obliging GP wrote a script for some Buccastem - they dissolve against your upper gum so no need to swallow, so can be taken when the seasickness has already started!

Good stuff. Never been sick enough myself to need it, but seen it work wonders in others.

You don't actually need a prescription; I was able to buy a supply for the boat from an online pharmacy. They did hold up the order until I answered an email querying why I wanted it, but they were happy with my answer.

Pete

 

[Seajet]

Hmmm, Bucastem is good but not a miracle cure - which is why I mentioned seasickness treatments all have to be taken as prevention rather than cure; when I have been really sick onland with CVS, Bucastem had no effect at all, then again nor do injections.

Hence my suggestions of plenty of mineral water if one gets to that stage - the type of bottle with a teat to suck, especially in a rocking liferaft - a bucket would also be handy, as would any sort of thermal blanket.

 

[prv]

Hence my suggestions of plenty of mineral water if one gets to that stage - the type of bottle with a teat to suck, especially in a rocking liferaft - a bucket would also be handy, as would any sort of thermal blanket.

Tick all of those in my grab bag - though there's obviously a limit to the "plenty" of water. I have two 500ml bottles per person. And the bucket is a 1-litre plastic tub intended as bailer and/or pisspot. There are some opaque plastic bags for sick. One of those plastic TPA suits each, plus one space blanket.

Pete

 

[capnsensible]

Anti seasick tablets are so much better than seasick tablets........

 

[alan_d]

Anti seasick tablets are so much better than seasick tablets........

.... but if you put both in the same grab-bag they will mutually annihilate and explode (just like pasta and antipasta).

 

[oldbilbo]

Interesting that there are 'sick bags' a-plenty on all civil aircraft I've flown in these past 30 years, and on cross-channel ferries, but never on yachts.... except the ones I have.

It's not as if they're heavy, bulky or expensive.....

 

[cliff]

So as far as useful replies go, Sturgeron is the only suggestion?

Oh no, no - Scopolamine (Hyoscine) and some antihistamine tablets. Scopolamine is very fast acting