Patricia April 5th, 2007

Ok, it is time to answer the question about motion sickness for anyone who is wondering or even worrying a bit.

First, for the record, I speak with authority as I’m a sufferer and have been there, done that.

Now on to the good stuff.

Motion sickness, commonly called “seasickness,” is no different than car or air sickness. So, to know if you are prone to it, ask yourself, “do I get carsick or air sick? If the answer is no, then the chances are that you will not have a problem. However, if you are like me, who can not be a passenger without being a touch green, I’m going to offer you a few pieces of advice.

1. This will sound odd, but the emptier your stomach is the worse you will feel. I know it seems odd that there is food everywhere on a ship, but the cruise lines know that full passengers are not sick passengers. So, eat a good breakfast, go to the welcome aboard buffet, keep a little bit of food on your tummy.
2. If you are looking for a non-medicinal method to quell the queasy, then consider ginger pills. They are the only ones that proved effective on the Discovery Channel show, Mythbusters.
3. Most of the population will get relief with a Dramamine or Meclizine, but they do come with some amount of sleepiness.  I have found “low dose” versions, and while they did make me less sleepy, I did retire early the first night.  Now, Michael swears by this, go to bed early the first night with a few pills and wake up all fine and with sea legs.
4. There are bands, pressure point things and such.  I’ve heard people rave about them and I’ll freely admit I have no experience one way or the other with them.
5. Finally, and this is what I currently use, there is the scopolmine patch.  It is a little thing that goes behind your ear.  It is available via prescription only, thus you’ll have to talk to your doctor, and my pharmacy mentioned that not many insurance companies cover it.  Does this stop me?  NO.  I put it on about mid-morning the day I’m boarding a ship and I am not bothered by queasiness at all.  I have found that I don’t “get sea legs” like I did with the Dramamine and sleep method, so I have to re-apply the patch after 3 days.  I also found that I need to switch off the sides of head to apply it, else my skin gets irratated.

Now, I don’t suggest everyone in the world get the patch, nor do I think there is ONE cure for everyone.  For some, they will not be bothered at all; others merely need to eat a few crackers and all is good.  However, for me, I needed to call in the big guns and since I do this often, I thought it worth a chat with my doctor.

If you have specific questions, feel free to ask — or if you have advice for all your new friends — I am not a medical professional — I am just a travel agent who gets motion sick — your mileage may vary (you know the drill, right?)

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