Pump them full of Stugeron

Amulet

Amulet

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Just did the RYA first aid course taught by a practicing medic with years of extensive and world-wide experience. His dosage advice with seasickness cures took me aback. "Give it to them every 20 mins until the seasickness stops." I questioned this and pointed to the dosage instructions. He reiterated his advice, saying they'd get better or fall asleep. (Not so helpful if you are skipper.)

I do know of a case where a child guzzled an entire packet and came to no harm.

To the medically qualified among us - is this good advice?
 
If they are being sick then the pills don't hang around in the gut for long. Under the lips against the gum or inserted in another orifice may be better.
Of course the best cure is to sit the patient under a tree.
 
From this web page:

https://www.medicines.org.uk/emc/medicine/7595

"after oral administration, absorption is relatively slow, peak serum concentrations occurring after 2.5 to 4 hours"

...so, if you give them 15mg (one tablet) every 20 mins, they will be getting maximum effect some time after 2 hours, by which time you may have given them up to six tablets, or 90mg, but...

"Acute cinnarizine overdoses have been reported with doses ranging from 90mg.... "

This is, admittedly, the low end of the toxic range, but if you are unlucky...

"The most commonly reported signs and symptoms associated with overdose of cinnarizine include: alterations in consciousness ranging from somnolence to stupor and coma, vomiting, extrapyramidal symptoms, and hypotonia. In a small number of young children, seizures developed. Clinical consequences were not severe in most cases, but deaths have been reported after single and polydrug overdoses involving cinnarizine."

So, I would be tempted to take his expert opinion with a pinch of salt.
 
Don't pump them full of Stugeron, pump them full of Carrs water biscuits and gingernuts when they first start feeling green and put them on the helm and avoid the sickness entirely :)

Edit: We started feeling green off Peterhead after a very roly night coming out of the firth of forth a few years ago - cure (as it was kill or...) was actually a full fry up, actually worked wonders on that crisp cold morning...
 
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awol said:
Of course the best cure is to sit the patient under a tree.
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This is the second time I've heard this in a month, first was from a mate in the Navy regarding trainees.. where does that saying come from?
Does it mean chuck 'em off the boat onto the land?
 
I think it depends on what you're trying to achieve. I've never been seasick to the point of being incapacitated. Uncomfortable certainly but able to function when adrenalin kicks in.
I carry Stugeron on the boat but I've never taken them myself in fear that it might make me doze off. I've taken them on other peoples boat many years ago.
 
MagicalArmchair said:
Don't pump them full of Stugeron, pump them full of Carrs water biscuits and gingernuts when they first start feeling green and put them on the helm and avoid the sickness entirely :)

Edit: We started feeling green off Peterhead after a very roly night coming out of the firth of forth a few years ago - cure (as it was kill or...) was actually a full fry up, actually worked wonders on that crisp cold morning...
Click to expand...

I'd agree with that - I think the secret is to get the blood sugars up... toast & marmalade, choccy biccie (hate ginger), or a full english - any will do....
 
As a practising medic I fear that the advice you were given was erroneous and potentially dangerous.

I would disregard it as either a practical solution for seasickness.
 
I find that non-drowsy anti-histamines (Loratadine is what I use) are quite effective for helping you not feel ill. If I do feel ill (because I have forgotten to take an anti-histamine), I find that lying down and closing my eyes helps enormously. I guess it is because you are eliminating one of the senses.

Also, as previously said, make sure you eat something. Drinking something acidic also helps with nausea.
 
We carry different cures... but the one which works best is the threat of the Skipper inserting a suppository up the sicky's arse.. works wonders... although the prospect of shoving a finger up someone's butt is not appealing either... :-)
 
SiteSurfer said:
Does it mean chuck 'em off the boat onto the land?
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Pretty much. Not so much the "chuck" part, just the general idea that you won't get seasick while sat on land.

This is of course black humour rather than practical advice when you're three days out of Ponta Delgada with two weeks of Atlantic swell ahead of you :)

Pete
 
Tammany said:
Has anyone tried this wrist bands with the accupressure point embedded in??
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I have a friend that they seem to work for.

This annoys him immensely since he's a dedicated sceptic of any sort of "alternative" treatment, religion, or superstition :)

Pete
 
Will get them and try. Funnily enough I tend to get it worse in a gentle swell at anchor than rough seas lol. Touch wood though it doesn't happen very often.
 
Monique said:
We carry different cures... but the one which works best is the threat of the Skipper inserting a suppository up the sicky's arse.. works wonders... although the prospect of shoving a finger up someone's butt is not appealing either... :-)
Click to expand...

The solution to that is to throw up all over him.:) (the skipper)
 
Tammany said:
Has anyone tried this wrist bands with the accupressure point embedded in??
Click to expand...

My wife bought them when we first started sailing, but found she didn't get seasick anyway so they weren't used. Later on when she was undergoing chemo, she used them to counter the nausea. A friend used them when suffering from morning sickness. They seem to work, IF fitted properly. Getting them in the right place is key.
 
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