Seasickness Medication in UK

[salad]

I've never suffered from motion sickness, but I thought it might be a good idea to have something on hand.

Default was going to be Dramamine but it's not available here. I know of Joyriders and Kwells, but OTC stuff rarely works as advertised in my experience.

Whats the good stuff called?

 

[Praxinoscope]

I always use ‘Stugeron’, the first couple of times out each season I can’t go down below without them, once the season is underway I can manage without, but still carry them just in case. It’s available from pharmacies over the counter.
I feel for ‘Nelson’ apparently he was a severe s/s sufferer and it took about 6 weeks for him to overcome it.

 

[MoodySabre]

Stugeron makes some people sleepy. There are non-medical things that help, ginger being very popular. I usually keep a bottle of sports drink onboard to help anybody recover after a bout of sickness. I don’t suffer but I like to graze and keep my stomach working.

 

[xyachtdave]

Whats the good stuff called?

My only time suffering sea sickness involved a very late night drinking 'the good stuff' and an early morning meeting with North Foreland in a blow.

Stick to ginger biscuits and never say never, there's a sea state for everyone!

 

[Davy_S]

Ask for a packet of Huey.

 

[salad]

My only time suffering sea sickness involved a very late night drinking 'the good stuff' and an early morning meeting with North Foreland in a blow.

Stick to ginger biscuits and never say never, there's a sea state for everyone!

So the real answer is hair of the dog and ginger biscuits.

 

[Leighb]

Stugeron like all other seasick remedies, AFAIK, causes drowsiness in some people certainly not everyone. I have no ill effect with that but it helps with the nausea. Dramamine I can recall practically knocking me out on a Cross Channel ferry many years ago.
Ginger can help, so can getting down below and lying flat, not useful for the helmsman though.?
Best remedy is sitting in the shade of a yew tree in a country churchyand.

 

[salad]

Stugeron like all other seasick remedies, AFAIK, causes drowsiness in some people certainly not everyone. I have no ill effect with that but it helps with the nausea. Dramamine I can recall practically knocking me out on a Cross Channel ferry many years ago.
Ginger can help, so can getting down below and lying flat, not useful for the helmsman though.?
Best remedy is sitting in the shade of a yew tree in a country churchyand.

Not ideal if I have to keep watch. I think I'll be fine, just wanted to be sure. Wifey though, she does get motion sickness so we're going to need something eventually.

 

[Clancy Moped]

Not ideal if I have to keep watch. I think I'll be fine, just wanted to be sure. Wifey though, she does get motion sickness so we're going to need something eventually.

Strawberry jam first thing.

 

[Boathook]

Stugeron makes some people sleepy. There are non-medical things that help, ginger being very popular. I usually keep a bottle of sports drink onboard to help anybody recover after a bout of sickness. I don’t suffer but I like to graze and keep my stomach working.

When I took stugeron all I could do was sleep and being the captain, owner, etc was no good. I found that I was better off being sick and eating ginger biscuits and drinking orange squash.
Over the years I have suffered from seasickness less and also limit my time below, until I have enough boating miles for it not to bother me.

 

[ylop]

Not ideal if I have to keep watch. I think I'll be fine, just wanted to be sure. Wifey though, she does get motion sickness so we're going to need something eventually.

Patches are available from pharmacies (worn behind the ear like a mini nicotine patch). Very effective if applied before you even get on the boat rather than when you start to feel dodgy. I think more effective than tablets but also has the added advantage that if you are sick (nothing works 100% - if you need to deal with something in the engine bay in a big swell) then they keep working whereas if you’ve just chucked the tablet up you don’t know if you lost it but shouldn’t take a second dose.

in my view ginger does work but not like some people say! It’s not a magic cure - but if you are feeling off, ginger (eg ginger nuts) will be better than other foods at getting energy into you without making it feel worse. I’m not a fan of ginger beer but I expect if you like it this would be very good. Everytime I’ve actually spewed on a yacht I’ve been a bit cold/tired/dehydrated to start with. Helming helps focus on the horizon and I find standing up let’s the legs damp the motion.

 

[alan_d]

The dose-effect ratio with Stugeron (cinnarizine) varies greatly from person to person, so it may be worth experimenting. If the recommended loading dose of 30mg makes you excessively sleepy, try taking 15mg instead. You might find that you are less sleepy but still get the anti-emetic effect.

 

[Bathdave]

I don’t suffer, but my wife and daughter do

following a recommendation from a fisherman in Gibraltar we added Avomine to the medicine cabinet when we did our transat, alongside the sturgeron and patches

my wife and another crew member got on really well with avomine, and it’s all she uses now

you can get it over the counter in the U.K. from pharmacies, but it’s not on the shelf

 

[MoodySabre]

My wife found Seabands effective. Worth a try if feeling queasy rather than actually sick.

 

[Adios]

my wife and another crew member got on really well with avomine, and it’s all she uses now

How is this for causing drowsiness?

 

[shan]

Loratadine (antihistamine) is surprisingly effective and doesn't make you drowsy. If that doesn't work, a glass of alcoholic ginger beer or a small beer/lager (1/2 a pint) or even a small glass of Cava seems to work wonders! It slightly dampens your senses without compromising you. Make certain you do snack on crackers and ginger biscuits. A empty tummy will also add to nausea.

 

[Bathdave]

How is this for causing drowsiness?

The packet warns it might but my wife hasn’t experienced it

it is an antihistamine

she takes them in half tablet doses, one the night before and one in the morning

she says she gets a headache if she takes it for a while

 

[sailaboutvic]

Try a nice greases fly up before you leave .
It won't stop sea sickness but it help it to come up much quicker.

 

[auditdata]

Seasickness
What causes it? There are three systems in the body that control where we think we are in space. 1. Vision/Eyes (E). This is the dominant sense. 2. Vestibular System(V). Those 3 semi-circular canals of the inner ear. 3 Proprioception (P). The neurological feedback from our muscles tendons and joints. This 3rd one is often overlooked but important in sailing. These 3 systems are brought together in the brainstem. We feel sick (the body telling us to stop doing this) because the brain is trying to resolve the conflict mainly caused by the eyes saying “We are stationary in respect to our surroundings” (The Boat) and V and P saying “No we are moving”. This is called Conflict Theory. It is just that at present as so far there are no Functional MRI studies that show where in the brain this occurs, but it certainly does. The very first sign that you will all have seen is the person going quiet.

How to we treat it? A) Non-drug interventions immediate. There are two ways to do this. 1 Resolve the conflict and 2 Distract the brain from the conflict. For 1 the absolute best thing is to get it early and put the three systems EVP back together. For the E get the person to look out rather than in, particularly good if that view is in relation to the boat ie looking over the boat at the horizon. For the V there is nothing you can do. For the P get the person on the helm. Their whole body will now be moving in time with the boat and even better their E will be perfectly placed to see the boat and the horizon. For 2 distract the person by telling them about something interesting or get them to tell you about something. (Side note. Virtually all of us get some form of seasickness when we have to go below and particularly if we have to read something forcing E into absolute conflict, however when I used to race I was more often than not the navigator and had to spend lots of time looking at tides and weather and charts. Even in force 8’s I was never seasick down below because I had to do complex brain work that distracts the conflict model. In vestibular labs they use this distraction to test nystagmus suppression but that is getting technical!) Finally, if all else fails going below somewhere warm preferably near the keel with eyes shut will partially resolve the conflict, oh yes being sick can give some temporary relief.
B) Non Drug interventions long term. The obvious one is habituation. The brain does eventually give up trying to resolve the conflict and almost always goes back to the E sense as its primary. The trouble is this can take 6 hours or 6 days. This is characterised by Susceptibility. Susceptibility can be increased or decreased by a number of factors. Genetics is one. If your parents got seasick you are likely to. Age. Babies do not get seasick but old age people, children between 10 and 16 and women do. We know this habituation is true because patients with bilateral vestibular failure do not get seasick as the brain has long since given up resolving the conflict. You can be trained out of it but would you want to!!! This is called specialised habituation training. In essence it is putting you in motion simulator and presenting you with the conflict. Boy is it grim. You will be sick and sick and sick for most of the 7 days it takes. It is usually only used in very specific situations for example Military Pilots in the middle of training who suddenly develop motion sickness. Lots of money has been spend so specialised habituation training is justified. (For the military at least but maybe not for the poor pilot who has to endure it.)
C) Drug interventions. Drugs do work mainly by suppressing the nausea Anticholinergics. eg Scopolamine, Antihistamines. Eg Cinnarizine. This is a complex subject and too detailed to go into here but the two widely used are Scopolamine patches (Prescription in the USA and not easily available in the UK and Europe) and Stugeron (Cinnarizine) (Not available in the USA)
D) Non Drug interventions the Placebo!!! So there are magical cures, sitting on brown paper, wrist bands, copper bracelets, eating pumpkin seeds, sliced apple and finally slapping the captain with a flounder 3 times. All but the last will work. The Placebo effect is massive here. If a skipper tells you to try something and you believe in it or him/her it will likely have an effect. I never stop people believing in those costly wrist bands. The more they cost the better they are likely to work because the more you have invested in the idea.
E) Diet/Foods. There is no doubt that you are less likely to feel sick if you keep hydrated, have light fairly bland food before starting, avoid alcohol. Ginger actually works! In randomised control trials there is an effect but unfortunately not quite enough to prove statistically significant but an effect non the less. I always have ginger biscuits on board.
Finally, this is my take on the subject and only that. Do what works for you.

 

[salad]

Try a nice greases fly up before you leave .

I fully intend to!