seasick medication (1 Viewer)

[WendyMcW]

I'm (hopefully) going on my first pelagic on the weekend (from Port Fairy, VIC) and would appreciate any advice on what seasick medication is the best, or at least works. I'm aware of Dramamine, Ginger and a travel band called sea-band. I'd appreciate it if anyone has got experience of these and a response to their effectiveness?

Thanks in advance. This is my first posting!

 

[BirderoftheNorth]

Dramamine works pretty well for me, when I feel I may need it. (I am not prone to motion sickness though)

My sister, who is very prone to motion sickness, has to take something called Gravol; Dramamine doesn't quite do it for her.

 

[Lee J]

Im not prone to travel sickness myself so dont tend to get sea sickness unless the sea is realy bad. However i do sometimes take tablets if i know that the sea is going to be rough. My girlfriend on the other hand is terrible for sea sickness, so courtesy of her, this is my experience of various different types:

Joy-rides are widley available and a resonable price, although mostly intended for children for car sickness, they do work very well. The only problem is they tend to make most people fall asleep.

Other tablets although can be good tend to be a bit more pricey, and still have the side effect of falling asleep.

If you'd rather not take tablets there are some travel bands on the market. they are simple consisting of two wrist bands with a dimple which you place in the centre of your wrist. These are also very effective providing that you put the bands on before you start the journey, and have no side effects. They are a little pricey however costing around £12.00 over here in the UK, however once you've brought them, you can use them over and over again

 

[dan pointon]

I've heard that the bands dont work, never tried them myself. Two decent brands are Sturgeon and Kwells. I've only ever once felt sick using these two brands, and that was by my own admission by going 'below deck' on the Scillonian in rough weather. The trick is to stay on deck and keep focused on the horison wherever possible. This helps your brain to orientate your body with the movements of the boat. The other option is sleep with your eyes shut, as this prevents conflicting messages from your eyes and the bodys balance sensors, however if your on a pelagic I doubt this could help as much as there's birds to see! If you do get some tablets, make sure you take them prior to travel, and if neccessary, during. Once sea sickness has ensued there is nothing you can do but sit it out! Hope you have a good trip...pelagics are one of the best forms of birding!

Cheers

D

 

[will@bill]

I'm (hopefully) going on my first pelagic on the weekend (from Port Fairy, VIC) and would appreciate any advice on what seasick medication is the best, or at least works. I'm aware of Dramamine, Ginger and a travel band called sea-band. I'd appreciate it if anyone has got experience of these and a response to their effectiveness?

Thanks in advance. This is my first posting!

was there not some tablets called sealegs but then again i get Lethal sea/car sickness and I took some and they never worked for me but I may be too bad a subject for any tablets to work on me. I remember last summer on a raft on ullswater it took about a minute before I had a blinding headache and seasickness and the lake was like a snooker table!

 

[JimMorris]

As an ex sailor I reckon Dan is about right except to try and get midships that's in the centre of the boat as there is a little less movement there. All the best, hope you have a nice trip.

 

[Corax67]

My wife was really not a good sailor but was determined to come on a pelagic last year so bought some acupressure bands.

Not only was she 100% on the pelagic (where conditions worsened out to force 5/6 ! ! ) but also agreed to a cruise as our honeymoon.

 

[patmartin]

"Sit under a tree, doesnt matter what type of tree as long as its on dry land"
thats what an old skipper once said to me. Pat

 

[Mike Cook]

I took a boat trip out into Hartlepool Bay, only going about 3 miles out and my wife and I both felt pretty rough by the end of it in spite of taking Kwells. I don't know if any of the others would have been better.

One thing you need to do when reviewing the recommendations on this thread is to check the names of the active ingredients on pharmacy web sites. Kwells and Joyrides are the same thing - hyoscine hydrobromide. Similarly, Dramamine and Gravol are the same - dimenhydrinate.

Good luck with the pelagic

 

[stuart C smith]

my uncle who owned two trawlers in brixham used to swear by a fatty bacon sandwich with piccalilli or hogs pudding. ugh ! ! . i never ever tried it. :t:

 

[Twite]

Stugeron works for me. I quit sea angling 20 years ago because of seasickness, every time I went out I was sick despite using medication (Sea legs, I think). This year I went on two pelagics, it was rough, the trip leader had to coax the skipper to take us out. I had two great trips while some others didn't. I put it down to Stugeron. Oh and no beer the night before.

Twite.

 

[Karl J]

No experience of actual seasickness but recently i've been needing medication for sickness caused by the side effects of chemotherapy. Having tried several different drugs, the best for me has been Cyclizine. Now i appreciate its a different cause but i only mention it as the leaflet says "...used for travel or motion sickness"

I ought to add that mine's prescribed and i "don't think" you can buy it over the counter here - but i may be wrong on that bit.

Good luck

 

[Vectis Birder]

Stugeron is pretty good, as well, according to a couple of seasick-prone friends of mine. I don't get seasick, so I'm lucky but I do take Stugeron if I'm going on a long car journey (and not doing the driving, as Stugeron can cause drowsiness) or a long bus/coach journey because I get road sick.

 

[amelia1730]

I've used Stugeron, amongst others, in the past and they were good for me.

The Sea Bands I have found very effective (I am a bad traveller on anything that moves!) but you must get them in the correct position on the wrist. I used to work for a group of GPs a few years back and one of them used the bands when she was pregnant because she suffered from continual "morning sickness" for several weeks. They worked for her very well indeed and she was a real sceptic so it's not just a case of "mind over matter".

Have a good trip!

 

[martin kitching]

I know a few people, previously suffering with crippling motion sickness, who've really benefited from using sea-bands.

Personally, I never bother with anything more complicated than drinking ginger beer and eating pretzels; actually more effective than Stugeron and without any of the possible side-effects. On one trip I took last year, the hardened sea anglers on board were being ill while I was cheerfully spending the best part of 10 hours looking through a camera lens.

Also, remember to keep warm, stay well hydrated and don't consume fatty food or alcohol immediately before sailing.

Enjoy:t:

cheers
martin

 

[Marcus Lawson]

When I did a couple of pelagics in NZ I used the rather expensive patches that you put behind your ear, I have suffered previously on boats but with these I at no point felt unwell (or tired). I think they did dehydrate me a bit so take plenty of water. Hopefully they are sold over-the-counter at Pharmacies in your neck of the woods.

The other thing with the pelagics over there was that there was plenty to look at so my mind was always focused on this rather than feeling sorry for myself!

I hope you have a good one.

Marcus

 

[Sancho]

Ginger works for me, but it has to be raw. Cut slivers off and chew them they're very hot!). Start about half an hour before you get on the boat. Just chew an inch-long, thin sliver every twenty minutes or so.

 

[Vectis Birder]

Coca Cola is also effective against feeling sick. At least it works for me.

 

[Stranger]

I used to do a lot of Wreck fishing out of the Southwest ports and found that rough seas and flat calms did`nt bother me,but gentle swells would definitely make me queasy.
I tried most brands of anti motion tablets,but as already mentioned all they did was make me want to sleep.
I found the best remedy was to keep occupied and try not to think about it.
Incidentally you could always tell which ones in our local had been out on a trip as they were the ones swaying at the bar before they had even had a drink.

 

[Penny Clarke]

Hi Wendy

When I went on the Good Shepherd to Fair Isle I had taken tablets, had accupressure bands on and had eaten ginger and I was violently sick over and over again for 3 hours - I felt like I was dying - so none of these helped me!!!!! I was going back on the plane, but decided to take the risk after hearing a local tip was to lay down along the back seat in the cabin and close your eyes - not something I would have even considered doing!!!! but I thought I would try this and if it worked brilliant and if it didn't, I would NEVER go on that boat again! To my amazement it did work, I didn't feel brilliant though, but I made it without being sick once. And I went the following year to Fair Isle and made it across both ways! I have heard several people say the best thing to do is to lay flat, but of course you won't get much seawatching done that way! But remember this tip if you end up feeling bad! Hope you have a good trip:t:

Best Wishes Penny