Seasickness question

We have always used bonine.....which is the same thing as dramamine,
that has been used for decades. We take 1 tablet after we board and
every day after that...my hubby gets very seasick....I am so-so but take
it more as a precaution.
As for the ginger...I love crystalized ginger...can eat a lb. at a time
but can no longer have it because I am on coumadin, plavix and aspirin
for a-fib and stent. That's a real bummer for me but know that ginger,
liver and all leafy greens can cause blood to get too thin......

wrote:

Some things work better for some people and some things work better
for other people. Mostly when it is tested, ginger comes up as really
providing some benefit, and most other non-pharm things do not. I
keep ginger candy on hand for guests, and my mother used to give us
ginger ale. She insisted on Canada Dry Ginger Ale, which was made
with real ginger at least in those days. I think ginger snaps or
something like that would work too.

Good advice here!!

Kevin and I have never gotten seasick and have been in some really bad
weather on our 22 cruises. Since Kevin is getting chemotherapy now I
keep ginger capsules in the house and the oncologist said it was fine to
try it before using prescription meds if he had problems. I brought the
ginger capsules on our Jan. cruise to be safe, but fortuneteller he did
not need them. A couple of people at our dinner table were getting
seasick, so I gave them each some of the ginger capsules and they had no
further seasickness.

Marcia, I would try the wristbands and also bring some ginger capsules
with you. As Rosalie said ginger ale, ginger snaps or anything else that
has a lot of ginger will help.

Also if your fiance does get seasick, talk to your waiter. He knows what
foods to eat to ease it. Green apples are supposedd to be helpful.

If safe alternatives like these don't work, then it would be time to try
Bonine (generic name meclazine).

sue

Tom K wrote:

I've been on about 40 cruises (plus or minus). I DO have a tendency to
get seasick as did my kids.

Tom, you unfortunetly get seasick before the ship sails!!

We did try the bands for the kids on one cruise. All they do is dig a
hole in your wrist while you still get seasick.

SNIP

Seasickness is an inner ear issue. Putting something on your wrist may
make you think it will work, but if it does it's likely because you've
convinced your brain that it will work (similar to placebo affect).

The bands do help many people, as with everything else each person if
different. The bands work on accupuncture principles and accupunture has
been proved to help with nausea etc. The bands and/or ginger helping is
not placebo affect, they have both been proven to help nausia and
seasickness. They may not work for you and your family, but they do work
very well for many people.

I wouldn't count on the bands though. On the other hand, if you do try
the bands, you can always get Bonine later on board anyway. And it is
over the counter, so you don't need an Rx for it.

Tom, that is the thing, I would rather try the bands and add ginger if
needed. Then move on to Bonine if needed, but would much rather not take
any meds, even OTC, unless nothing else works. Ginger is a food item
and the bands work on acupuncture priniples and I would much rather try
them before taking bonine or any other medicine.

sue

On 3/11/10 12:45 PM, Joyce wrote:
We have always used bonine.....which is the same thing as dramamine,


Technically (chemically), that's not true. They are different materials.

Bonine contains meclazine.

Dramamine contains dimenhydrinate (chemically, dimenhydrinate is a salt
of two drugs: diphenhydramine, and 8-chlorotheophylline, a chlorinated
derivative of theophylline, added in order to counteract drowsiness.)

Dramamine is a brand name that recently has come out with a "non drowsy
Dramamine" which does contain meclazine (same as Bonine), but the
original Dramamine was a very different material that made people VERY
drowsy. After a Dramamine tablet, our son spent the entire lunch
sleeping with his head down on the dining room table just after we
returned to the ship after a very rough tender ride from CocoCay (which
took about an hour since the ship had to move twice).

--Tom


that has been used for decades. We take 1 tablet after we board and
every day after that...my hubby gets very seasick....I am so-so but take
it more as a precaution.
As for the ginger...I love crystalized ginger...can eat a lb. at a time
but can no longer have it because I am on coumadin, plavix and aspirin
for a-fib and stent. That's a real bummer for me but know that ginger,
liver and all leafy greens can cause blood to get too thin......

On 3/11/10 1:38 PM, Sue Mullen wrote:


Tom K wrote:

I've been on about 40 cruises (plus or minus). I DO have a tendency to
get seasick as did my kids.

Tom, you unfortunetly get seasick before the ship sails!!


Yet I don't recall needing them for the Crossing on the QM2.

But for several sailings out of San Juan, PR... they were a HUGE help.

Oh... and the time Charles and I sailed through the Nor-Easter on the
way home from Bermuda... that time I needed to take a second tablet...
and fell asleep and had nightmares. LOL.




We did try the bands for the kids on one cruise. All they do is dig a
hole in your wrist while you still get seasick.

SNIP

Seasickness is an inner ear issue. Putting something on your wrist may
make you think it will work, but if it does it's likely because you've
convinced your brain that it will work (similar to placebo affect).

The bands do help many people, as with everything else each person if
different. The bands work on accupuncture principles and accupunture has
been proved to help with nausea etc. The bands and/or ginger helping is
not placebo affect, they have both been proven to help nausia and
seasickness. They may not work for you and your family, but they do work
very well for many people.

I wouldn't count on the bands though. On the other hand, if you do try
the bands, you can always get Bonine later on board anyway. And it is
over the counter, so you don't need an Rx for it.

Tom, that is the thing, I would rather try the bands and add ginger if
needed. Then move on to Bonine if needed, but would much rather not take
any meds, even OTC, unless nothing else works. Ginger is a food item and
the bands work on acupuncture priniples and I would much rather try them
before taking bonine or any other medicine.

I hear you... but it's an UGLY few hours while you're fining out the
other stuff ISN'T working...

And I'm not sure what ginger is going to do in the inner ear. Ginger
calms the stomach after you've thrown up... but I can't see what it's
going to do to the inner ear (where the issue starts).

Who's even more sensitive than me is Renee from our Viking gang. As
soon as the ship has a little motion, she needs to pop a Bonine.

And it's nothing to be embarrassed about. It's just an increased
sensitivity to balance in the inner ear.

--Tom


sue

TEP wrote:




I was kind of surprised not to see them listed on either the
Walgreens or CVS website

http://www.cvs.com/CVSApp/search/sea...ckness%20bands


It didn't come up for me. I'll go over there tomorrow, thanks.

Sue Mullen wrote:


wrote:

Some things work better for some people and some things work better
for other people. Mostly when it is tested, ginger comes up as really
providing some benefit, and most other non-pharm things do not. I
keep ginger candy on hand for guests, and my mother used to give us
ginger ale. She insisted on Canada Dry Ginger Ale, which was made
with real ginger at least in those days. I think ginger snaps or
something like that would work too.

Good advice here!!

Kevin and I have never gotten seasick and have been in some really bad
weather on our 22 cruises. Since Kevin is getting chemotherapy now I
keep ginger capsules in the house and the oncologist said it was fine to
try it before using prescription meds if he had problems. I brought the
ginger capsules on our Jan. cruise to be safe, but fortuneteller he did
not need them. A couple of people at our dinner table were getting
seasick, so I gave them each some of the ginger capsules and they had no
further seasickness.

Marcia, I would try the wristbands and also bring some ginger capsules
with you. As Rosalie said ginger ale, ginger snaps or anything else that
has a lot of ginger will help.

Also if your fiance does get seasick, talk to your waiter. He knows what
foods to eat to ease it. Green apples are supposedd to be helpful.

If safe alternatives like these don't work, then it would be time to try
Bonine (generic name meclazine).

sue

I'm writing all of this down...even if I don't reply to every post.
Thanks for all of the suggestions. I will get some ginger caps for him.
He's not a pill taker, so I do fear hew will fall asleep from some of
the meds.

Marcia

Tom K wrote:
On 3/10/10 8:45 PM, Marcia R. wrote:
My fiance is a little concerned about getting seasick on our cruise.
I've been looking around the internet for those wrist bands, but I can't
seem to find a store that sells them. Does anyone know where I can buy a
pack in an actual store and not online? I'm kind of hoping to return
them after the cruise if we don't need to open the package. Thanks.

Marcia

Charles is right. Bonine. Some additional detail...


I've been on about 40 cruises (plus or minus). I DO have a tendency to
get seasick as did my kids.

We did try the bands for the kids on one cruise. All they do is dig a
hole in your wrist while you still get seasick.

What DOES WORK is the over the counter drug Bonine (generic name
meclazine). It's a mild anti-histamine which just happens to have anti
seasickness properties.

My Doctor recommended it years ago. It works GREAT.

After the first cruise, the next 39 have been on Bonine. One tablet (or
even a half a tablet) taken once a day.

It works so well that it's also used for chemotherapy patients. Plus
it's used for people who at times get an imbalance in their inner ear
and feel light headed (where the room spins).

Seasickness is an inner ear issue. Putting something on your wrist may
make you think it will work, but if it does it's likely because you've
convinced your brain that it will work (similar to placebo affect).

There's also a stronger prescription drug (that comes in the form of a
patch), but it was actually withdrawn from the market for a number of
years, if I recall correctly. My Doctor didn't recommend that.

Some people talk about Ginger. If that works for him, fine. But it
tends to settle the stomach. I don't think it's going to do anything
about the inner ear cause of the problem.

So, with all the options (ginger, bands, Bonine) what the ships actually
have at the purser's desk for passengers who feel seasick is Bonine (or
the generic meclazine) tablets.

Some other points to consider. There are more calm areas of the world.
And more rough areas. The Western Caribbean, south of Cuba, is one of
the most calm areas. If you're there, chances are he won't need much of
anything. The Eastern Caribbean sailings tend to spend more time in the
Atlantic Ocean, which is rougher.

The place I would start is with your fiance's doctor. Or if he doesn't
want to do that, hit the pharmacy for some Bonine, just ask the purser's
desk for something once on board if he starts to feel seasick. They'll
give you generic bonine tablets.

I wouldn't count on the bands though. On the other hand, if you do try
the bands, you can always get Bonine later on board anyway. And it is
over the counter, so you don't need an Rx for it.

--Tom

We're sailing to Alaska from Seattle. I understand there is one rough
spot we go through.

Marcia

John Sisker wrote:
"Marcia R." wrote in message
...
My fiance is a little concerned about getting seasick on our cruise.
I've been looking around the internet for those wrist bands, but I
can't seem to find a store that sells them. Does anyone know where I
can buy a pack in an actual store and not online? I'm kind of hoping
to return them after the cruise if we don't need to open the package.
Thanks.

Marcia




Marcia,

Of all the cruises that we have personally been on, we found Bonine
works the best for us. In fact, we always recommend Bonine to our
clients who do have a concern about possible seasickness. However, and
in all honesty, we never tried the wrist bands, but at one time or
another, have tried just about everything else. Bonine is convenient;
just one chewable tablet a day, and at least for us, never made us
drowsy as Dramamine did.

Likewise, it was interesting to us, that another thread mentioned
Catalina Island. For on a clear day, we can actually see Catalina Island
if we cross the street from our house. Yet, many people do make the
mistake of comparing their private trip to Catalina with what they will
encounter of a cruise ship. Yet, a cruise ship is built for comfort and
has stabilizes to help smooth things out. The boats to Catalina are made
for speed, and of course have no stabilizers. There is another thing
that many people do not know, is that is the trip from shore to Catalina
Island has to cross a very rough part of the ocean for the most part.

All this said, even before going on a day trip to Catalina, we still
take Bonine, and never encountered a problem.

John Sisker - SHIP-TO-SHORE CRUISE AGENCY®
(714) 536-3850 or toll-free at (800) 724-6644 & (Agency ID: 714.536.3850)
www.shiptoshorecruise.com / www.tinplatedesign.com
Facebook/Twitter/Blog/Flickr/MyPage


We once took the bigger boat to Catalina, which even made me queasy.
I'm fine on little boats and cruise ships. He might be fine, as well
but we won't know until we get on the ship.

I remember getting on a cruise ship for the very first time thinking I
wasn't going to be happy, but I got used to that feeling very quickly.

Marcia

Tom K wrote:

I hear you... but it's an UGLY few hours while you're fining out the
other stuff ISN'T working...

The other stuff works quickly if it is going to work, you don't have to
wait to be very sick before switching to bonnine.


And I'm not sure what ginger is going to do in the inner ear. Ginger
calms the stomach after you've thrown up... but I can't see what it's
going to do to the inner ear (where the issue starts).

I can't explain the "why" it works, but I have seen ginger working first
hand. I may be wrong here, but I think it is the inner ear problems that
causes the nauseousness or seasickness and ginger works very well for
nausea.

And it's nothing to be embarrassed about. It's just an increased
sensitivity to balance in the inner ear.

Of course it is nothing to be embarrased about and I don't think anyone
has ever said it was.

sue