Seasickness....Help required please!

[GoodMorrow]

Is there anyone out there that can help my long suffering sailing partner combat the dreadful seasickness?

We've been sailing regularly in our own 38' Dufour for two years now and frequently sail over to France (10 to 12 hours). Lesley, my co-skipper going into and coming out of the marinas, suffers with seasickness. On a scale of 1 to 10 she was a 8/9 but now seems to have reduced this to a 3/4. She has found Boots Own Brand seasickness tablets work best for her, but they only just keep it at bay and what's more they send her to sleep! So whilst the sea sickness is bearable she will sleep most of the journey because she feels so tired. (I should say it's not that bad that she can't take a watch when l need a break, so we get by no problem, just spoils her enjoyment of the journey)

We plan to sail down to La Rochelle later this year, probably a 3 to 4 day sail non stop and we're not sure whether this will kill or cure the problem, the seasickness not Lesley that is! Could end up in the C.I. instead!

So, help please! Anyone offer any advice? Lesley has tried most tablets on the market and all the things they tell you to do in the books. I'm sure there must be an old wives tale out there that would work for her!

Any advice?

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[Roberto]

Same situation as yours, my wife tried a few things and we found that:
.Stugeron is ok and in sensible doses does not cause sleep: I first gave her normal doses she slept for hours and later discovered they would have been enough for horses, so halved them and worked really ok, proportion to the weight I suppose

..Ginger works wonders, especially if you/she is opposed to synthetic drugs, sugar candied ginger seems to free stomach from contractions, you know the japanese restaurant effect..

...if you have to eat... bananas, same taste when they go in as when they come out, lessens the disruptive effects of vomiting, no more green liquid

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[Tiger Rag]

As far as old wives tales go I have had some success prescribing ginger, either eaten (raw or as ingredient in whatever meal you prefer) just before setting sail and even more joy with ginger oil, just keep a small jar of it and take a good sniff whenever feeling dodgy. Also my father (about a 2/3 on the scale for the first twenty four hours) always swore by the pressure type bands worn on the wrist, hope this helps.

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[Seafort]

Try "Belvoir Ginger Cordial", dilute with a little sparlking spring water, stays down better than still water.

Available at most supermarkets.

Good Luck

Dave.


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[vyv_cox]

Really persistent seasickness has reportedly best been treated by Scopaderm patches. I don't know whether these are available now without prescription in UK. If you search the Internet you will probably find them for sale somewhere. When I last looked they were available from New Zealand. They have been available from USA but don't know currently.

Otherwise, Jill also uses the Boots own remedy and finds it effective. Worst time for drowsiness is if the trip is called off - she then goes out like a light! Helps to drink a lot of water with them.

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[Abigail]

I have had lots of problems with seasickness and agree that (to keep awake) Stugeron and ginger (in whatever form suits you) are the best things. But in the end my own survival techniques include:

a) when not on watch keeping as flat as possible. It's better to be down below stretched out, with a bucket for company if necessary, that in 'fresh air' in the cockpit. Not least the real chance of sleeping will improve things
b) drink hot water. I was taught this by an italian guy off Portugal when incredibly unhappy (definitely at the afraid I wasn't going to die stage) and it really really helps. Cold water and drinks like tea etc can really irritate a stomach sore from retching and marginal dehydration makes you feel really manky as well.

This really simple tip has made my experiences with seasickness shorter and more tolerable - which is often the best I can hope for.



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[snowleopard]

curse of the weekend sailor

most people find it goes away after 12-36 hours. a sad few never lose it but they are rare.

we use stugeron. we bought some in spain which are 5 times the normal british dose. they don't make us sleepy but some may be affected. when using the uk dose (15mg) we would take 2, 3 hours before casting off and repeat after 6 and 12 hours. we never needed them after that.

scopaderm are supposed to be very effective but may cause disorientation. users are not allowed aloft on sail training ships.

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[Roberto]

Abigail,

when you say hot water is it really simply plain hot *water* alone or hot tea, hot herbal teas, hot camomile ?

thanks

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[phanakapan]

Scopaderm patches are the only thing that (just about) work for me- yes, only available on prescription but my doctor was happy to prescribe a whole load at a time. Has any one tried the electric watch version of seabands? I'm almost desparate enough to fork out £99 for one to try it.

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[Roberto]

Also,

if you can get hold of them, Travelgum. It is a chewing gum with mint-ish flavour, it does not make one dizzy: I have never been sick but I gave it a try one "night of all excesses" and it kept inside one kilo of fried calamari (+ one liter of liquour) which were struggling to go back to sea. Excellent for medicine suspicious kids too

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[qsiv]

My experience of them (on other people, I'm afraid) is that the patches work really well. In general I dispense them to 'fragile' crew in advance as they dont take effect as quickly as tablets - but they do last much longer. They are available in Uk, they come in boxes of TWO patches, and DO need a prescription. For myself I havent needed them (I do suffer periodically, especially when navigating down below, but usually find a swift 'tactical yawn' sees me as right as rain), and if I anticipate problems do pop a STugeron, or possibly a couple of the childrens - but they do make me dopey.

For me the key thing is activity, for one crew member I took round the island last year he became sick whenever he stopped eating - so it is 'simply' a case of finding what is best for each person.

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[claymore]

Agree with the ginger. I also think acclimatisation has a part to play - sleeping on board the night before departure seems to help and whilst it isn't possible if you are straight into a trans channel hop, building up the distance from a fairly modest day one up to a full 10 -12 hour day also seems to help. I take students out fairly regularly and its this experience my comments are based on.

<hr width=100% size=1>regards
Claymore
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[Evadne]

My wife suffers a little, and tried sea-bands once. Apparently the pain from the bruises takes your mind off feeling ill for a while... I have heard of them working for children though. Maybe it helps if you believe in them. On big ships we always reckon 2-3 days at the most and you will get over it. Make sure you eat lots as well. An empty stomach makes you feel worse.
Also, beware of taking ginger too late. After you have thrown it up it only takes one whiff to bring the memories (and feelings of maldemer) back again!

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[tome]

My wife suffers, but we're learning to cope with it. The effects are diminishing (she's never actually sick) but her first channel crossing in relatively calm and warm water caused her some distress as she couldn't bring herself to go below and curled up in the cockpit. She eventually became mildly hypothermic despite the sleeping bag and I wrapped her in a survival blanket. When I eventually persuaded her to lie down below she felt much better.

She then tried bracelets and these didn't help at all. Whilst in Cherbourg, we visited the pharmacist and bought some Mer-Calm tablets. These worked a treat on the return crossing and she was able to go below and make hot drinks without any problems.

She now doesn't use anything in the Solent although just occasionally gets caught out. Since we can't get Mer-Calm in the UK she takes a couple of 15mg Stugeron before an offshore passage.

We're also planning to go down to La Rochelle in early July and this will be her first extended sail. I would expect that she will probably take pills for the first 48 hours and will then be fine (I hope). Like yourselves, we have a plan B if she finds this too much.

There was a thread on this subject which seriously proposed cannabis as a miracle cure but I haven't seen any conclusive results and my wife doesn't smoke.

I suspect that the effects will diminish with time even if they never go away entirely. I believe the answer is to manage the situation by taking medication, but sympathise with you on this. It's dreadful to see one's dearest in distress.

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[sailbadthesinner]

can i reccomend one course of action. Throw up.
Keeping it down really does not help.
The hot water is a good thing too. i find most people can keep it down better than staright cold.
ginger is excellent
and a good night's sleep is a must.

<hr width=100% size=1><font color=red>I can't walk on water, but I do run on Guinness</font color=red>

 

[snooks]

Scopoderm + Others

I've tried most things....Bands didn't work for me, neither does stugeron, but stronger doses of cinnazarine (the active drug in stugeron) have

While I'm a cronic sufferer I've found three things that have worked! i.e. no nausea/vomiting or unwellness at all:

1/ Scopolmine 1.5mg patches...In the UK they are on perscription only, speak to your doc, if they are a sailor they know the problem, attach the patch the night before (or 5 hours)
Good - Last 3 days, ALWAYS work (if they stay stuck on), can cause hallucinations
BAD - can't drink booze, can (and have) caused hallucinations, can paralise your eye if they come off in your sleep and stick to your face (stick a plaster/tape over the patch), no good for short passages, they take 5 hours to wear off

2/ Stem ginger, start eating chunks of it a hour or two before going to sea, keep nibling away throughout passage
GOOD - Cheap, easy to get hold of, can drink booze
BAD - sugar get out of the bag making pockets sticky! :-D

3/ Unconventional one this, but I got it from a accupuncturist/herbal medicine and it works every time I've tried it...it's called Bao Ji Wan or (Kang Ning Wan) it comes in small white vails about 1 inch long and 1/2 wide, and it's formed of lots of pellets the size of the silver icing balls.....I usually use it in conjunction with ginger, but when I haven't it still works where stugeron has failied
GOOD - Small and easy to carry around, waterproof container
BAD - Tastes foul, so take it a hour before you set off

Seasickness is horrible, keep the crew occupied, get them on the helm....it's the sure fire way to avoid it

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[Ohdrat]

I would as well as drinking plain warm (body temp) water, taking Ginger (oil is good diluted in the warm water) and using the wrist pressure bands suggest that;

Seasickness is accerbated by food intolerances ie wheat and dairy products!

Yup .. I'm not allegic to the above but if I avoid wheat and dairy products oh and Caffeine (including coke, chocolate products and tea) I am much less likely to be ill! Wheat and Dairy intolerance (not allergy) is V common and often is the route cause of indigestion.

Ensure that you drink at least 2 litres of water plus the same volume of liquid lost by sickness!

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[Neal]

I mean this, but expect heckling!

My partner, who has sailed thousands of miles with me, has suffered terribly. Stugeron helps, Scopaderm patches effected her like she was on LSD - she was really out of it.

Far from improving with experience, she seems to get worse over the years. I asked her very seriously last November, when half way from Le Havre to Weymouth in a Westerly force 7, whether we should give up passage making and just potter around the West country. Incredibly, she thinks the fun parts (new places and new people mainly) outweigh the seasickness.

A big factor (here we go!), is the boat we're on. On boats with very buoyant sections, high freeboard and generally voluminous hulls (I'm thinking of Westerly Discus and Moody 33 - we've never been on a real modern Ben JenBav type), she is very ill, and spends most of the time sleeping. Bless her, she is still happy and determined, to take a very effective watch.

On older style, heavier displacement boats (eg Seadog, Tidewater, Invicta, Halcyon 27, Contessa 32 and a pal's 45 foot 100 year old Manx Nobby), she is generally ok. Not 100%, but the difference is remarkable.

We had a 31 foot Wharram cat for year - fairly light and buoyant, and I was expecting the worse. We were delighted to find that this was perhaps the best of all for her.

Must be something to do with harmonics - the Westerly types maybe set up resonances that the heavy weights and the real lightweights avoid.

There's an old theory too that no-one is ever sick in a sailing dinghy.



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[Ohdrat]

Re: Westerly Seasickness

The worst bout of Seasickness I have every suffered was on a large Westerly Ocean Ranger and I have to say the sea state was hardly rough..

I have been thro much bigger seas and worse chop and been unaffected.. tho' I had just had a ham sandwich and as stated above wheat can act as an irritant on many stomachs!

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[AndrewB]

Kill or cure

<blockquote><font size=1>In reply to:</font><hr>

We plan to sail down to La Rochelle later this year, probably a 3 to 4 day sail non stop and we're not sure whether this will kill or cure the problem, the seasickness not Lesley that is! Could end up in the C.I. instead!

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One or the other. If its cure, the cure will last the rest of the season, if not longer. The pattern is seasickness for the first day and night, exhaustion the second day, sleep the second night, wake up CURED!

Or maybe not. Don't let it go another day, as dehydration is then a real possibility.

Don't offer CI as an option, because that's as far as you'll get.

Incidentally, many people find helming is a good way to keep sickness at bay. It might help to encourage Lesley to be more active, even if she does feel sleepy.


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