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Preventing Sea Sickness

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Booked a charter out of the Outer Banks next month and was looking for input on how to beat prevent sea sickness in kids, well teens anyway, 15 through 19.

Any suggestions, caveats, pearls of wisdom?

 

 

 

 

 

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The only sure thing is don't get on the damn boat!:lol:  I owned a boat most of my adult life until a huge tree fell on it!:mad: A double dose of Dramamine taken 1 hour before getting on the boat usually works. Also, don't eat a big greasy meal right before and what @fishnut said about staying on deck!  Good luck and remember, the only cure once you are seasick is to get off the boat. The other thing I found was at the first sign of nausea, I would give the helm to the victim and just go for a ride. something about being in control of the motion would make them feel better pretty quickly!

Best of luck:)

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Stay as far aft as you can while underway.

Don't eat a big meal or a greasy meal before heading out.

Don't look at stuff close up for any length of time, like, don't read a book.

Move around.  Don't sit with your head down and eyes on the floor.

EDIT:  Have your cuppa Joe well before you head out, dont drink citrus or acidic beverages.

Get yourself a bag of Gem brand ginger chews. 

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If you're going to take something try Bonine.  It doesn't make you drowsy.

@fishnut is correct.  Stay on deck but stay away from the transom as the exhaust fumes will make you feel worse

@JohnnyB is correct too.  I used to run boats at work.  I'd never get seasick as long as I was at the helm.  I knew pilots who would get airsick if they weren't at the controls.

FWIW I never got airsick although I've flown in small aircraft when the pilots did crazy stuff.

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Thanks everyone!  We will be on a 54 footer, so nothing too small,  in the past I have given my son Dramamine and it worked well, even out on 6 ft seas once, the only drawback as mentioned is making you drowsy, I will check out Bonine as well. 

 

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7 hours ago, GRIZ said:

If you're going to take something try Bonine.  It doesn't make you drowsy.

This. Dramamine knocked the S*** out of me. Bonine was better. Still loopy but at least functional. And that was on a big gray boat in 20’ seas and they served fish in the mess. Most JAFO’s doing the technicolor yawn. 

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Have been challenged with motion sickness my whole life. As long as I am operating the vehicle(car, jet ski, etc.), I am fine.  Otherwise motion sickness kicks in almost immediately.  I fly alot on business but they won’t let me fly the plane, lol. 

If the time on the boat will be in limited durations(eg 4 -5 hours at at time, then I recommend Dramamine. In my case I take one third of one pill approx 1 hour before boarding.  Last about 3 hours.  Eat light.   Avoiding chocolate, coffee, etc is very important. 

If each duration on the boat will be most of the day, then recommend Bonine. My sons have used it and it works well.  I myself am allergic to Bonine(body aches, flue like symtoms.). If your sons have never used Bonine, recommend they try it in advance of the trip. 

If you are going to be on the boat continuously, then I recommend asking your physician if the patch (scopolamine, sp?) is safe for them.   I used it 10 years ago on a week long trip to India.  Worked extremely well for the flights and extreme traffic congestion while there. Wore it continuously from the time I departed until I arrived back home. (As I recall, each patch lasted 3 days. Then put on a new one.) However, this is a strong medicine and I experienced a very uncomfortable dryness in my mouth and throat while using it. Drank a lot of water tonhelp with that.

Hope this helps.

p.s. I also have tried using the “Relief Band” device. $150.00.  Sends an electric shock into your wrist every two seconds.  I suppose it is to distract your brain from inducing motion sickness. However was not effective in my case.

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On 7/14/2019 at 3:20 AM, GRIZ said:

If you're going to take something try Bonine.  It doesn't make you drowsy.

@fishnut is correct.  Stay on deck but stay away from the transom as the exhaust fumes will make you feel worse

@JohnnyB is correct too.  I used to run boats at work.  I'd never get seasick as long as I was at the helm.  I knew pilots who would get airsick if they weren't at the controls.

FWIW I never got airsick although I've flown in small aircraft when the pilots did crazy stuff.

Keep yourself occupied. Only time I ever came close to being airsick was as an instructor in the right seat in moderate turbulence.  Never ever had an issue while I was flying in as bad or worse conditions. 

Also heard from people who are on boats often who said greasy food is a bad idea.  So is no food.  Go with pretzels or something similar.  But do eat something.

 

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If you feel like you are going to puke,  MAKE yourself puke.  Get it over with or you stay miserable all day. You will feel alot better after puking.  Peanut butter and jelly sammich and water after. I have puked with the best of them,  and cant wait to get back out there again.

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I've puked on most boats on the east coast and then fell upon this. The night before you go have an early dinne some plain white rice or a plain bagel and that's it. Take a bonine pill right before bed and one when you wake up stay away from dramamine unless you want to be lethargic. NO - ALCOHOL, GREASY FOODS OR GOING INSIDE THE CABIN. Get involved helping the mates  get things ready to keep busy and take your mind off it. If you have to throw up do it right away don't wait it makes it worse. It will be hard to do when you are sick but you must get something in you because the dry heaves are the worst. Sip some ginger ale or water but ginger ale is the best. go on a few local fishing trips before you go there. the 1/2 day trips are perfect. 

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2 hours ago, Handyman said:

I recommend a sixer of Schlitz and a box of Yodels. 

I tried the Schlitz and Yodels prescription.  Didn't work.  So I took my troubles to the gypsy with the gold capped tooth.  She recommended Bud and Ring Dings.  Works great.    

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9 minutes ago, BobA said:

I tried the Schlitz and Yodels prescription.  Didn't work.  So I took my troubles to the gypsy with the gold capped tooth.  She recommended bud and Ring Dings.  Works great.    

Well they do say that marijuana does help with nausea...........

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Sea Bands - been using these for years.  Goes over the wrist and hits a pressure point.  Definitely helps me.

I've also used the Transderm Scop patch with good results - we went on a cruise right after Hurricane Joachin in 2015 and the seas were ROUGH.  

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2 hours ago, Krdshrk said:

Sea Bands - been using these for years.  Goes over the wrist and hits a pressure point.  Definitely helps me.

I've also used the Transderm Scop patch with good results - we went on a cruise right after Hurricane Joachin in 2015 and the seas were ROUGH.  

I cast another vote for Sea Bands.  On a river or on a lake i'm fine, but on the ocean when there boat is pitching, rolling, yawing and heaving, I puke until I dry heave, then I dry heave until I'm back on land.  I don't get motion sickness on planes, helicopters, motor-vehicles, etc but boat smaller than a cruise ship, I get sick. I use sea bands and they worked. 

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3 hours ago, NJLEFTY said:

I've puked on most boats on the east coast and then fell upon this. The night before you go have an early dinne some plain white rice or a plain bagel and that's it. Take a bonine pill right before bed and one when you wake up stay away from dramamine unless you want to be lethargic. NO - ALCOHOL, GREASY FOODS OR GOING INSIDE THE CABIN. Get involved helping the mates  get things ready to keep busy and take your mind off it. If you have to throw up do it right away don't wait it makes it worse. It will be hard to do when you are sick but you must get something in you because the dry heaves are the worst. Sip some ginger ale or water but ginger ale is the best. go on a few local fishing trips before you go there. the 1/2 day trips are perfect. 

you lost me at "NO - ALCOHOL"!  That condition is totally unacceptable! 

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7 minutes ago, JohnnyB said:

you lost me at "NO - ALCOHOL"!  That condition is totally unacceptable! 

Hes right though about 75% of people who start pounding beers in the morning are green and puking by lunch time. Luckily for me I only got sea sick once when I was a little kid, I can drink all I want and not get sea sick. 

However if I spend more than two or three days on the water I get land sick when I get back to shore. I dont puke but I'll definitely have a queasy stomach for a few hours 

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Just now, fishnut said:

Hes right though about 75% of people who start pounding beers in the morning are green and puking by lunch time. Luckily for me I only got sea sick once when I was a little kid, I can drink all I want and not get sea sick. 

However if I spend more than two or three days on the water I get land sick when I get back to shore. I dont puke but I'll definitely have a queasy stomach for a few hours 

On 99% of my boat experiences, it was my boat and I was the Captain. I never drank in the morning but at most a couple beers in the afternoon were always in order!  Never more than that as I never wanted to be impaired on the water or on the drive back.  My passengers could have as much as they wanted as long as they did not puke on or fall off of my boat! :lol: They never got stupid drunk since they knew they would not be invited back!

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42 minutes ago, JohnnyB said:

On 99% of my boat experiences, it was my boat and I was the Captain. I never drank in the morning but at most a couple beers in the afternoon were always in order!  Never more than that as I never wanted to be impaired on the water or on the drive back. 

I was exactly that way on my boat too. Always need a few cold ones in the cooler.

I  wonder if any of this sea sickness is psychosomatic??

I had a buddy who I fished with regularly. We would go out into Sandy Hook bay. No matter what the sea or wind conditions were, he was always fine in the bay. But if we attempted to go out into the ocean, as soon as we hit the tip of Sandy Hook, he would start getting nauseous. Every time, no matter what the sea or wind conditions were.

Made me think his mind was the problem...

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1 hour ago, JohnnyB said:

I usually found the Delaware Bay much more choppy.  I used Shark River Inlet as my path to the Ocean. Once past the inlet I found the ocean often much more tolerable generally!

I never noticed the transition from bay to ocean at the tip, it's pretty wide there... but for him, it was just like hitting a switch each time. Even on almost dead calm days with light breeze.

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7 hours ago, Sniper said:

if we attempted to go out into the ocean, as soon as we hit the tip of Sandy Hook, he would start getting nauseous.

Sounds like anxiety.  Some people freak out when they get to the open sea, especially when they can no longer see land.

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10 hours ago, Regular Guy said:

I cast another vote for Sea Bands.  On a river or on a lake i'm fine, but on the ocean when there boat is pitching, rolling, yawing and heaving, I puke until I dry heave, then I dry heave until I'm back on land.  I don't get motion sickness on planes, helicopters, motor-vehicles, etc but boat smaller than a cruise ship, I get sick. I use sea bands and they worked. 

Third vote for SeaBands

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10 hours ago, Sniper said:

I was exactly that way on my boat too. Always need a few cold ones in the cooler.

I  wonder if any of this sea sickness is psychosomatic??

I had a buddy who I fished with regularly. We would go out into Sandy Hook bay. No matter what the sea or wind conditions were, he was always fine in the bay. But if we attempted to go out into the ocean, as soon as we hit the tip of Sandy Hook, he would start getting nauseous. Every time, no matter what the sea or wind conditions were.

Made me think his mind was the problem...

You are still getting that nice salty fresh ocean air at that point. It could be the lack of pollution that is making him sick

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There is no real way to prevent sea sickness, regardless of what remedies or elixirs you find on the internet.  Have those teens man up, stand watch and keep an eye on the horizon. 

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+1 for Ray Ray.  I was told and have found that if you are feeling seasick, don’t focus or look at things nearby.  Find a point on the horizon, a lighthouse, building, bridge, any type of structure and focus on that.  Things in the distance aren’t rocking as much.

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