SEA SICKNESS- BEST CURES (NOT GOING TO SEA ISN'T ONE OF THEM)!

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markspark7

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Did a 25hr overnight sail in a force 6 in the old Irish sea and was Ill for the first time ever.
10 years on powerboats of all shapes and sizes never been Ill once but out on a Yacht and I was all over the place.

Lots of contributing factors, tiredness, staring at a dimly lit compass (none of the new fangled hi-tech wizardry on this boat )so no horizon in view .
I was hurling like a gooden.
Never had a no issues in the past so took no precautions.

Like the old saying goes, I was worried I might die but them I was worried that I wouldn't . ????
 
CAVEAT: I am not a doctor - please take the below a pinch of salt.

Ive used stemetil - works really well.

get the tablets. Widely available since used for chemo. A mate once was handed a stemetil suppository issued for emergency use and a glass of water, retired to his bunk and didn’t Re-appear for 24-48 hours - turns out he had swallowed it rather than deploying it correctly...
 
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Ginger. Every ship I work on has a stock of ginger biscuits in the galley. They’re tasty too.
A cruise ship I worked the chef used to brew up ginger tea for the guests if it was getting wild. That worked too.

Don’t worry about getting seasick, I’m a professional mariner and lifeboat coxswain, I can safely say everyone will get seasick at some point, it’s just finding your threshold. Different boats with different motions, the wind at a certain point, the wrong kind of swell, sometime it’ll get you.

I go out in all sorts of filthy conditions and don’t get seasick, yet went on one of the little pleasure “pirate” boats at the seaside with some relatives and despite it being nearly flat calm felt grim very quickly. The week before I’d been out in 47 knots of wind and 10 metre Atlantic swells and felt fine.
 
i scoffed a full packet of ginger biscuits when i came round lol as I was starving :ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO:
Was thinking more of a controlled measure really as It got me thinking what would happen if it was just me and SWMBO on board and I took ill.
 
mm42 said:
I go out in all sorts of filthy conditions and don’t get seasick, yet went on one of the little pleasure “pirate” boats at the seaside with some relatives and despite it being nearly flat calm felt grim very quickly. The week before I’d been out in 47 knots of wind and 10 metre Atlantic swells and felt fine.
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Wasn't the little one in Scarborough harbour was it ?;)
 
There was a nurse who was a member of a sailing club that I used to belong to who wrote an (almost) thesis on this. One of the conclusions made was that the symptoms of mal de mere are very similar to low blood sugar. The suggestion was to eat every couple of hours (along with staying hydrated) to keep the blood sugar up, the author claimed a reasonable level of success with this approach (obviously not scientifically proven) and I have had success with this approach myself so maybe there is something in it
 
I inevitably suffer on the first two trips of the season, after that usually OK, but occasionally it can creep up on me, most inconvenient time was right in the middle of my Yachtmaster practical, I quickly ate a Mars bar and within 5 minutes I was OK again, so maybe blood sugar does have something to do with it.
At least even the most famous seafarers can suffer, I understand that Nelson was a chronic sufferer, and I think that Darwin also suffered badly during his voyages.
 
I hadn't used to take anything til I got ill once on a Rival 32, something about the motion of that boat on that day floored me. Since then I've taken Stugeron if there's any hint of it being a bit rough and never had a problem despite being out in some quite unpleasant conditions. It's cheap and available over the counter at supermarkets & pharmacies..
 
I have found the trick is to keep people busy and try and focus on the horizon. However we carry Kwells and Stugeron on board mostly for guests, i have had Kwells once ( in 5 years of sailing) mid channel with a strange motion from the swell i had also been below for about an hour, not very sensible.

Interesting about ginger and the 'low blood sugar level' theory , some useful ideas to try on guinea pigs guests

Edit , drug spelling
 
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I always erred on the side of caution. Decent breakfast before setting off, plus Stugeron, which doesn't make me sleepy.
Frequent snacks, incl anything with the aforesaid ginger. Keeping horizon in view.

To the question of what happens if you're stricken when out with one crew member - both of you should be able to handle the boat. Fortunately, we took this view from the outset, which was fortunate on our first rounding of North Foreland, as one of us became very sick indeed.
 
I was always seasick after around 12 hours, and then for around another 12 hours. Very quesy and usually the engine room hatch opening would set me off. Then I would be fine for the rest of the trip.
I tried everything, and eventually found seabands to be very helpful.
Also keep off the pop before sailing ?
 
I have never ever actually BEEN seasick. But have been close a few times.

When I was younger you could hang me by my heels in an oily bilge, go up a mast in a half gale, or sit working at a chart table for an hour, and I'd be fine even if the night before had been spent drinking. As I got older my motion tolerance dropped, and I started to take a couple of Stugeron (Cinnarazine) just before a likely lumpy passage, and maybe for the 12 hours after departing. Once properly at sea I am so far still always OK, but as the years went on I found more and more that getting out of a bunk to put on oilies and boots, or prolonged chartwork, brought about some mild feelings of nausea. Still never actually been seasick but the day may come, though I hope it doesn't. Stugeron is good stuff and for me doesn't make me drowsy in the slightest.
 
One tip I've learned is that if you find yourself at sea and starting to feel sick, don't swallow the sturgeon. Place it under your tongue and allow it to melt/dissolve. The active ingredient is absorbed very quickly and effectively through the mucous membrane under your tongue and relief is much quicker. If someone is being sick then it's difficult to tell if they've actually had a tablet or not if they swallow one and then vom' everywhere. Do you give them another or not? Under the tongue is effective and in dire emergency they can always take it out, vomit and then put it back under their tongue again!

I find sturgeon gives me a dry mouth and makes me sleepy but it cures the sea sickness.

I also find that managing to sleep and then waking up seems to effect a cure. A good sleep and the brain seems to think, "OK this is the new normal; I don't need to make the stomach vomit anymore".

I can go months without being sick and then a long time away from boats, a long passage into the dark in lumpy seas when I'm tired and I'm vomming for Britain again. I also know it only lasts 12-24 hours for me and then I'm dancing off the bulkheads, cooking cleaning, head in the bilge - whatever with no ill effects at all. I know other people take longer to acclimatise.
 
My claim to fame was being sick mid Atlantic....disproving the often quoted "everyone's fine after the first 3 days" comment.

Stugeron don't work for me and make me very sleepy. First time I've taken anything for a long time was a channel crossing this year when I took Kwells - they did help but again made me very sleepy. Scopoderm do work for me, but the side effects (dry mouth / some dizziness) can be unwanted so I try to make do without if I can. Guess I must love Sailing!
 
PlanB said:
To the question of what happens if you're stricken when out with one crew member - both of you should be able to handle the boat. Fortunately, we took this view from the outset, which was fortunate on our first rounding of North Foreland, as one of us became very sick indeed.
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It wasn't an issue regarding the safety of the boat as we're both competent is was more of a case that I know she'd fret about me... bless her , she'll learn :ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO:
 
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