Went on my first ocean adventure along an open beachfront in 3 to 4 foot waves. Did great riding the waves, but going across the beach, got really bad motion sickness and ended up having to be towed back - very embarrassing.
Tried looking at the horizon, but it kept disappearing under the waves!!!
Would Ginger root/anti motion drugs in advance help?
I was fine going into and over the waves, but when they came from the side, it really made me feel ill and I felt like passing out.
Drugs help plus
make sure there is something in your stomach. One of the most common mistakes people make who are more prone to seasickness make is thinking that an empty stomach is better. Actually, a little bit of carb and roughage, like from bread and fruit, reduce the risk.
Drugs…Meclizine
I used to use Dramamine(which does not make me sleepy) -but would also need candied ginger-on a trip last fall another paddler gave me some Meclizine and I was out in pretty big swells and rough water for over 4 hours and did not need the ginger-I also wear the wrist pressure bands.
ML
Thank you…
Thanks, I guess I will have to experiment on dry land and see what works best. I would like to go out again, but got so ill, I couldn’t function.
Some folks are more
prone than others, but I have seen people become acclimated to the motion. Your inner ear may not be used to being in other positions than either laying down, or sitting up. Or, again, your inner ear is just not used to that specific motion yet. I’m willing to wager anything you’ll get past it.
Ruffage and bread, crackers, things like that are better to have in your stomach. I definitely would not want to have bacon, eggs, greasy potatoes and coffee to look forward to tasting again, if I had to consider the possibility of seasickness. May only bad weather keep you from getting out there!
Hmmm
I was going to suggest you keep going out as much as possible but … Three to four foot waves at a beach break really don’t do much to most people.
Do you have inner ear problems? Balance is OK do you do other sports like skiing, skating, bicycling? How about amusement park rides … same issues? I would give it another shot at least and do concentrate on the horizon even if it is changing a little.
Ginger
That show “Myth Busters” on Discovery channel did a test on sea sickness prevention and found that the best thing was Ginger. It was better than all other remedies including prescription meds.
I get car sick easily
If I ride in the back seat of a car for longer than 20 minutes I get sick, but usually if I have fresh air on me I am fine. I have stood on bouncing docks all day and riden waves with no problem.
I did find on waves and rough water a half hour before, until they came sideways at us.
My father suggested it was the side to side movement, as I was fine with up and down.
The only thing I did differently was eat cereal for breakfast six hours previously(with soymilk) and drink gatorade instead of water on the backside of the island.
It took me three days to recover too.
I don’t want that happening again!
I read about candied ginger
I hate taking drugs, so am thinking I may give ginger a try. I read an article that said candied ginger works really well, but didn’t know if anyone here had actually tested it.
Ginger-You have to keep eating it
while you are on the water-so bring a waterproof container to keep it in where you can reach it. And it really affects your bowels the next day-(as in loose as a goose)…mine anyway-but other people have said the same thing. I just buy mine at the local grocery store- Safeway and take it in a zip lock bag and keep it on the front deck where I could grab it as needed. I never had motion sickness-used to take the kids on the carnival rides until they were sick, the more upside down and sideways I liked the best-but not now - an inner ear problem has been mentioned-but I have not had it checked out yet.
ML
well, the seasickness pretty much…
emptied my stomach and my bowels later, so the ginger couldn’t be much worse!
I’ve only eaten it raw once, a piece about the size of a dime, and it was a little too powerful tasting, but thougt the candied stuff might be tollerable.
I get sick at the fair too, but only on the really spinning rides… fine on ferris wheel and merry-go round.
I used to get seasick
– Last Updated: May-23-07 4:23 PM EST –
Living on a sailboat for eight years cured that. Forget the medications, grin and bear it, (hard to do when you're barfing), you will naturally get past getting seasick. One thing I never get over is after a full day on the water I lose my "land legs" and still feel like I'm on the water after getting home and sitting down !
Mythbusters
Those two guys on TV who test urban legends, wive’s tales, and such experimented and found ginger to be the best preventative for motion sickness.
good advice
but might be hard to follow.
It is somewhat hard to barf while sitting in a kayak. The involuntary spasms of muscles involved in puking make the effort of staying upright hard. It, of course, brings out comradery and security of paddling in groups and frequent towing and stabilizing practice for your friends.
Anyways, if you decide that toughing it out is not for you, talk to GP. There are some drugs on the market available to control motion sickness, the ones that really work usually require prescriptions.
Scopolamine works very well. BTW, this what NASA uses for their “vomit comet” flights.
six hours since breakfast?
– Last Updated: May-23-07 5:12 PM EST –
just to confirm,,you were paddling in waves and you were drinking gatorade with the last meal six hours ago? So basically you were putting dilute sugar into an empty stomach. If that's correct it seems you were in a low blood sugar state with sugar the next meal. I've had those kinds of drinks give me the runs if I was low on food and stressing.
My $.02 is to have something in your gut a couple hours before and get wet to begin with. In other words walk into the water and splash your face.
A friend who never gets motion sickness turned green on the first day of a week long trip because of caffeine withdrawal and no lunch. We just made it to the first island before he was emptied out of both ends. It took serious encouragement to get him to hydrate that night as we were heading out again the next day and it would do no good for him to start the day dehydrated.
Next time you drink gatorade dilute it 1/2 strength, if you need calories then eat an energy bay with some substance/protein in it with water. Relying on Gatorade as a meal is a big mistake. If you need a kick then look at energy bars and water. If you need water, drink water, if you need food, eat food. Gatorade can't substitute for a meal and isn't the best high energy source compared to a Power Bar and water.
Scopolamine
I think that is the stuff the doctor at dockside mentioned.
I made the mistake of leaning out to vomit and fell out when a wave swamped me and got mild hyporthermia on top of it.
Felt fine, got back in and went another ten minutes, then it hit again.
Did not fully recover when another wave of seasickness hit and then I got lethargic and felt like passing out or falling asleep one. If I had been alone, it would have been really bad.
It was incompacitating and even when I recovered all I wanted to do was curl up in warm spot and sleep all day.
Had I been on a long trip, I would have ruined it for everyone and that is what I am hoping to avoid.
The swells were constant and the wind stiff, so I think that had something to do with it. We were only twenty feet apart, but when the waves would come, they would all disappear from view. Quite an experience and yes, it did make us all closer, and me very grateful for help.
Did anyone say, how much ginger it took?
Do you chew it constantly? How long before, and how far apart, etc. Any links?
Thanks…
por favor
just checking,was it six hrs since breakfast and gatorade was lunch?
Those two nerdy guys !
The mythbuster geeks no doubt spent the first half of their lives without girlfriends !
too much information!