The first step in dealing with any ailment is understanding what is wrong with you so that you can mentally deal with the problem and help overcome it. This is very important in dealing with motion sickness, a.k.a. sea sickness. Motion sickness starts with the inner ear, your balance center.
Even though your head aches, you are sick to your stomach and basically feel terrible, you are not really sick, just out of balance. YOU can do a lot to help make yourself feel better, and very quickly!
As an analogy, you might turn around in a circle until you fall down and feel sick. If you stop turning, you feel better very quickly. Your balance center was just out of kilter.
Some things to remember- Fresh air will help and you should stay low and to the stern of the boat. That is where you will encounter the least motion. The bow of the vessel pounds through the waves, up and down; the stern drags through the water. The ride is much smoother at the stern. The boat rocks from side to side. The higher you are the more movement you will encounter.
Think of a flagpole in the wind. There is very little movement at the base while the top may sway back & forth by severa1 feet. So, you want to be low and to the stern. Look at the horizon and try to regain your balance. Take some deep breaths and rotate your shoulders. Realize that your body is probably tight and stiff. Try to relax and roll with the vessel instead of sub-consciously stiffening up and fighting the motion. It's called getting your sea legs. Sometimes it takes awhile. Sometimes a nap will help. Try to take your mind off how bad you feel and focus on something else. Remember, the first step to controlling motion sickness is to realize what is wrong with you and deal with that, not concentrate on how sick you may be feeling.
Medications:
There are several good medications on the market. The best are prescription medications. One is the scopolamine patch by Transderm Scop. Another is Scopace in tablet form. Both are excellent and are usually easy to obtain with a simple call to your doctor. Dry mouth is usually the only side effect, but that is true with most all motion sickness medications.
There are several over the counter medications. The one we like best is Bonine. Drowsiness is a side effect, but less so with Bonine than with other brands. To be effective you should get this medication in your system 8 hours before you board the boat. If possible, sleep on it and take more when you board. This way, it will be in your system and you will feel less drowsy.
Many people find that a ginger drink such as Smooth Sailing works quite well and has the added benefit of settling the stomach. Combining Smooth Sailing and Bonine can also work well.
Wristbands can work for some people but are not generally considered the best remedy. A relatively new product along this line is called Relief Band, a medical device that you wear on your wrist like a watch. Although a bit on the expensive side, we have found this device to work well on most peopleand can be used before or after symptoms begin. Best of all, it produces no side effects. It is battery powered and can be used over and over. It needs no prescription.
Severe motion sickness can be treated by using a combination of both the scopolamine-patch and an oral medication like Bonine and almost never fails. But you should check with your doctor first. The side effect is hunger and more drowsiness.
