[Closed] Sea sickness

stugeron works for some but you have to take it in advance.

My wife suffers sea sickness, last year she found MQ patches worked well;
http://www.amazon.com/MQ%C2%AE-Motion-Sickness-Patch-Count/dp/B00S9FSPOG

During our two week cruise we met a lovely woman who swore by the use of cannabis oil

stugeron works for some but you have to take it in advance.

Yeah, this. Makes you drowsy and all wobbly but it takes the edge off trying to figure out if it’s the boat/ship you are in bobbing around or just you.

Try those wrist pressure bands (no, not the bedroom type) those rubber (ohhherrr) type from the Pharmacy ..

I’m a seasoned Yotter and I get sick for about 6-8hrs offshore then get over it, like most I’ve tried all sorts and the pills are the least invasive irritant.

Spike Milligan: A sure cure for sea sickness is to sit under a tree.

I've tried various things in around 20 years of diving.  The wrist bands got covered in vomit.  Stugeron was OK but not that reliable.  The best stuff I used was something called Phenergan which you have to take the night before and the effectiveness seemed to increase over several days usage, but it's got me through some heavy seas when I'd have been in stage 6 seasickness:

1 - Denial

2 - Nausea

3 - Vomiting

4 - I think I'm going to die

5 - I just want to die

6 - I'm scared I'm not going to die

@thepurist speaks the truth!! I got seasick in the Panama Canal and continued for 2 weeks all the way back to NE USA, hoping for a shipwreck to release me from my situation!! Lying in a hammock on the top deck was the closest I came to comfort.

I went through all of those stages on a flat hulled dive boat off the coast of Cairns. After 24 hours, if someone had offered me 50/50 chance of survival by attempting to swim to shore I very genuinely would have been in the water like a shot swimming west.

Fortunately is passed after 36hrs.

Good luck.

Bit of experience here as I'm on the local Lifeboat Crew... and in big seas I get as sick as a dog if I'm not careful.
The sea-sickness and car sickness you're getting are the same thing. It's something to do with stability of the inner ear and one direction of motion will affect you more than others. Those behind the ear patches help by drying/stiffening parts of the inner ear that detects motion.
In rolling seas standing and looking in the direction of travel is usually best (difficult in rougher seas when you need to be strapped in) and is why sitting in the front of a car is best for you - you'll be looking out of the front window not the side.
Keeping the mind occupied is also a good idea as it gives you less time to think about getting sick. Singing sea shanties works for some but you might want to keep this inside your head!
Ginger works for some mints work for others... don't eat a mars bar though as they taste much better on the way down!!
If you're getting the feelings of being seasick don't fight it for too long as it will take you longer to recover.
Oh, and almost everyone gets seasick at some point.

I work on ships and scopodermic patches are the best IMO. They will turn some one from praying into the porcelain to a eating, functioning human again for around three days each patch in any weather.

Failing that, you can get Gravol in any pharmacist in Canada; does a pretty good job, although can cause drowsiness.

as above, watch the horizon, if not, head down eyes shut (reduces the sensory input). Anything between the two, you will feel ill. For some this passes after a day or so afloat.

Anyone tried the anti motion sickness glasses 🤔

VR ??

🤣🤣👊😎

The Ferries between the mainland and Vancouver Island aren't exactly small (unless you're on an obscure route).  The whale watching tour boat size varies from "pretty big" to small depending on company.

Ginger works well for me.  Used to work offshore and anyone who tells you "they never get sick" hasn't been in rough enough seas. I definitely built up an immunity over time that I've probably now lost again.

Ginger can work with some people (like root ginger) I do a bit of boat fishing & I ate loads of root ginger, all I could taste was ginger flavoured puke. I was puking while hauling cod in. We were on a 42ft boat & the swell was about 20-30ft, 10 miles off Hartlepool.
Kwells seem to work best for me & a mate eats jam sandwiches. Again they don't stop you being sick but it tastes better when it comes back up. 🙂

. I was puking while hauling cod in. We were on a 42ft boat & the swell was about 20-30ft, 10 miles off Hartlepool.

How big was the cod?

After 24 hours, if someone had offered me 50/50 chance of survival by attempting to swim to shore I very genuinely would have been in the water like a shot swimming west.

I've done a fair bit of open water swimming of the wild and hairy variety. The only thing worse than sea sickness in a boat is sea sickness whilst swimming! I've had some big swims where I was violently throwing up into the water whilst swimming along leaving a cloud behind me!

As a boatie type I'm always sick as the first trip of the year then fine for the rest of the season. Taking the helm nearly always curbs it - I guess it gives you mind something to focus on and you are watching the horizon constantly.

I used to spend my summers sailing as a student - I was usually "ill" on the first night of the season, probably not aided by consumption of alcohol and usually trying to navigate the Bristol Channel, often with wind against tide making for a 'choppy' night. In contrast, I've been out at sea in force 8-10 gales with 30ft following seas which dumped huge amounts of green water onto the boat and at other times, the swell would pick up the 90ft boat and we'd be surfing on the face of a wave!

I’ll just leave this here.

The Great White Stomach Pump

Like bikebuoy (and Wiksey) I've done plenty of sailing and boating and I get sea-sick. I've learnt that Stugeron (start taking it the night before), sensible steady eating (it's easy to miss a meal on an offshore race), and staying on deck watching the horizon tend to keep me o.k. Scopoderm patches are more powerful but not so easily available in Blighty. After a couple of days at sea I get acclimatised but that won't apply to the OP. I bought a pair of those glasses with the liquid in the frames but they are difficult to use. Acupressure bands are a waste of time for me. I tried them for years but still got sick. Once I went to Stugeron I pretty much said goodbye to all but the worst sea states. Incidentally, the worst sea states are not necessarily when it's blowing old boots, but often when the wind drops after a blow and the sea is still swashing about.

So, to summarise, keep watching the horizon and take Stugeron - you'll be right.

Phenergan, if taken correctly, will work but it will make you very very drowsy. It is also sold as a sedative, e.g. in Night Nurse - there was a recent thread on this.

Might be best to sit outside and stare at the horizon instead.

Dramamine gave me the worst case of restless leg syndrome I've ever experienced. Advise caution. I don't get seasick but would happily spend a week puking over the side to taking Dramamine again.

Postafen is the only drug that has ever helped me. Really works, but keeps you very awake, side effects state drowsiness, not in my case.

Despite years at sea, I still get sick if it’s rough when I join and we sail straight into bad weather.

Don’t eat protein heavy food.
Do eat small amounts of fruit and veg, nothing more than a handful at a time. Dry crackers? Don’t bother they only relieve the symptoms of puking by mopping the acid from the oesophageal tract, they will come back out in disgusting lumps.
Ginger helps, but not for everyone.
Lie down in a darkened cabin, if that’s available. The less stimili the better.
Going on deck and looking at the horizon is only temporary relif on a small vessel. Purely psychological on a big boat.
Get as close to the motion center of the vessel as possible, minimises your movement over the swell. This is especially true on larger vessels, less effective on small boats.
Drink small amounts of cold water regularly.
DON’T GET DEHYDRATED.

Hats off to Wiksey for lifeboat duty.
I got regularly smashed about in the North Sea, Hebrides and found a full stomach was best when I first started out. Stopped me feeling nauseous and nothing worse than heaving on an empty stomach.
Once tied a female diver to the mast on a crossing to St Kilda as she was feeling seasick and refused to get off the deck in a huge swell. Spanked her with a flipper when we got there for being naughty. Happy days.

I crossed from Gigha to Port Ellen in a wet 6m yacht in choppy weather and was quite pleased that by watching the horizon I managed not to feel sick at all.

Thanks for the suggestions so far, obviously the 'may make you drowsy' options are out because i don't fancy falling asleep while doing a whale watching tour and as the only one of the two of us who will be driving I need to be fairly alert.

On the return journey of Lundy I was fine because we stuck to the other advice and we were on the deck and I could see where we were going better.

Patches or pressure things I think would of been better and not risked clashing with my existing concotion of medication so it's good to know that they're worthless so I won't bother trying them!