Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Rockin' the Boat

Rockin' the Boat - If all else fails,
 find a sympathetic bartender
Mal de mer...

That's a fancy French way of saying seasickness, motion sickness, upset stomach... and all that goes with it. Those who are afflicted claim only dying will relieve their discomfort. Many first time passengers are anxious about whether they'll be stricken with it.

Our good friend and avid cruise traveler, Dr. Joe Reynolds from Bastrop, Louisiana, recently told me, "I always thought one would get nauseated with seasickness, until I had vomiting but was not nauseated. An old sailor aboard the fishing vessel told me I was seasick. HA!"

I had to stop and think about what he meant—in other words, he didn't feel sick before it hit him. Thankfully, he's found a cure that works for him and might be useful for you if your inclined to get seasick as well. He continues, "For cruises I hate to take any prophylactic medications but I want something in the event that I do have a bout. I found SCOPACE which is scopolamine in pill form. A prescription is needed just like the Transderm Scōp® patch (which is the same medicine). So in addition to the Merazine, Meclizine, and other things, Scopace is good to have when the others don’t work. I used it once in the Brainfield Strait in Antarctica and once from NY to Bermuda. One pill only was used each time."

Dr. Reynolds also advises that if your physician has prescribed the Transderm Scōp® patch, you should use care and wash your hands well after applying it. If some of the medication has gotten on your hands and you and get some of it in your eyes by rubbing or touching them, it will dilate your pupils.

For more information on seasickness—its causes and cures, and the emergency remedy at the ship's bar—CruiseDiva.com takes a look at Seasickness: Rockin' the Boat.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

The Port Canaveral/St Martin leg of an eastern Caribbean Cruise took us north of the islands and into the path of some post storm rollers. The ship did some moving which to me, is real cruising. My wife and most of the passengers were in distress. HAL, which used to build real ships, placed bowls of green apples on the tables, in the public spaces, on nearly every flat surface. My wife, who has tried every chemical and voodoo poltice for motion sickness was thrilled with the results. Often it was her dinner. Most on board had never heard of eating a green apple to calm the stomach and were delighted how well it worked. Of course the undisciplined children got stomach aches but - you can't have everything.

Linda Coffman, AKA Cruise Diva said...

Holland America always has bowls of crystallized ginger at the dining room entrances as well for those who are suffering from a stomach upset.

Glad to hear the apples worked for your better half.

Linda