how to get rid of the sea sickness feeling

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alexlago

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Hello

Most advice given here and there tells us how to "prevent" sea sickness...
But, what to do when seasickness is there?
Is there a way to get rid of the nausea once it has settled in?

thanks
 
If you solve that problem you will be a multimillionaire.

Thankfully I don't suffer, far too many rough crossings over the Pentland firth as a toddler got that out of my system.

The solution once it has set in is very dependant on the individual.

Some like to curl round a bucket in their bunks, others like to get up on deck and use their bucket there (please don't vomit over the side it is not easy to clean), others beg to be put our of their misery - I've not yet been on a boat where the skipper has allowed this to happen, far too much paperwork and currently assisted suicide is still illegal.

I wonder if Entanox (nitrous oxide) would help? Perhaps one of medical sailors, perhaps A1, could comment? I hear eating root ginger or making ginger tea does help.
 
What works for me personally in minimising the effects is:
- being in the cockpit and looking out to sea,
- allowing myself to throw up rather than fighting it,
- trying not to look at or inside the boat and certainly not to read or study anything closely
- and if I have to go below decks, keeping my eyes closed - fortunately it's not that large a boat and I pretty much know where everything is. This is particularly important if I go below to use the heads.

My seasickness is caused by my body reacting to conflicting inputs from the ears and the eyes, if I keep my eyes closed, this allows the body to sort itself out, at least until I have to open my eyes again.
 
Get into the habit of chewing "Crystallised Ginger". Best is if you start chewing it before you set out.
Learn how to keep your upper body (from pelvis upwards) perfectly upright and only move the lower part with the boat. A lot of people who are new to boats tend to keep themselves rigid and with the muscles of the abdomen tensed.
Keep your eyes on distant things, like the horizon.
Don't eat too much solids, nor drink too much liquid (even if it is just plain water) but never go to sea with an empty stomach.
Keep yourself occupied, even if it's only 'busy work' if you can.

Many things work, in different degrees, for different people. One thing is for sure: Expensive packaged 'Snake oil' is no more 'effective' than natural stuff except that it will make you sleepy and lethargic, in some cases it can even knock you out for several hours!
 
alexlago said:
ginger (at least in my case), before and during, doesn't help at all....
Click to expand...

Ginger is the thing that is most often suggested - though I'm still to be convinced. I seldom get seasick but when I do, a good double brandy generally seems to fix it - though perhaps not a great idea if you are the skipper! Scopolamine patches may be an alternative - they seem to be pretty effective (according to my wife) and have the advantage over tablets that you don't lose them with the next round of vomiting.
 
Worked on a coaster and was not sea sick until we had a crew who was,after that I then felt nauseous but never sick....is there a pycological part to seasicnessthen
 
Wansworth said:
Worked on a coaster and was not sea sick until we had a crew who was,after that I then felt nauseous but never sick....is there a pycological part to seasicnessthen
Click to expand...

I think there is a lot of psychology involved. We all have pretty much the same set of balance and motion sensors, but some people get seasick and others don't - the difference is how we react to the data our brains are receiving from our sensors.
 
I find that for the first two sails of the season I do get a bit seasick so now it’s a couple of Stugeron before going out on those first two sails, after that it’s rare for me to suffer unless I’m spending too much time squinting at the charts diwn below, in which case dive up on deck and scoff a Mars bar, a few minutes and I’m fine and may even be able to go back down below. Still carry Stugeron on board just in case.
 
I've had crew who would just throw up from time to with no fuss while working, swmbo gets to dry heaving and much distress very quickly. On the JST Lord Nelson they allowed the 'sickies' a day down below, then chased them up the rigging. One thing that would get to me was watching the reflection of the horizon going the wrong way inside the wheelhouse windows, or looking through a lens for not much time. Couple of friends, fishermen/lifeboatmen, never been sick went on the survival course at the Robert Gordon centre, twenty minutes in a closed liferaft at sea and everyone was sick.
 
alexlago said:
so, does taking Surgeron when you are "already" seasick, solves the issue?
Click to expand...

No. It needs a couple of hours to act, during which time you will have vomited it.

Throw up, go below, lie down, keep warm and you may well be OK when you wake. If not, repeat for three days. If you are still throwing up at the end of the third day at sea, take up dinghy racing.
 
We had a crewman who sailed regularly and had never been sea-sick but crossing from Cork to Falmouth was very ill. On arrival he immediately went ashore with barely a word.
30 mins later he returned and said he felt much better now he had had a pasty and two pints of doombar. So maybe we should keep these onboard!
 
bobgarrett said:
We had a crewman who sailed regularly and had never been sea-sick but crossing from Cork to Falmouth was very ill. On arrival he immediately went ashore with barely a word.
30 mins later he returned and said he felt much better now he had had a pasty and two pints of doombar. So maybe we should keep these onboard!
Click to expand...

This sounds like a plan! :)
 
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