How to best combat motion sickness/post-travel discomfort?

[Nemo2]

That's a bit of a jerky move, don't you think..why would he do something like that?

Perhaps the father suspected that the seasickness reaction was psychosomatic, and that a placebo would work, (which it apparently did)?

 

[braumeister]

Pretty obvious, I thought. If it didn't work the first time, he would have replaced the pills. But it did work so we saved the cost of the meds and had a nice private joke between us.

 

[ivinsfan]

Perhaps the father suspected that the seasickness reaction was psychosomatic, and that a placebo would work, (which it apparently did)?

Perhaps you missed the comment that it continued for years...laughing at her behind her back I guess..

 

[Nemo2]

Perhaps you missed the comment that it continued for years...laughing at her behind her back I guess..

If, as a placebo, it worked, why not continue?

And, if the placebo worked, then possibly revealing its existence might have caused it to cease being effective? In which case the mother would likely have returned to taking unnecessary medication.

Which is worse?

 

[Amethyst]

I'm afraid of motion-sickness drugs, as they all seem to be anticholinergics which are said to contribute to dementia.

In a car or bus, it helps to fix my eyes on one landmark far in the distance. In a plane, it helps not to look at anything at all! Ships don't bother me unless there is a *lot* of rocking motion (crossing the Irish Sea on a ferry, I simply had to put my head down and keep it there for the duration). If I feel a bout of nausea coming on, it's probably too late and I'll just have to grab a sick bag.

 

[kaneohe]

........and if possible stay away from seasick people.........the sights and sounds of them work on your psyche and make you susceptible to their affliction.

 

[Koolau]

I'm moderately prone to sea sickness. On a cruise (750 ft ship) we were in seas so rough they had to drain the pools to avoid them spilling across the decks. The bow of the ship actually left the water at times and crashed back down as I've seen on VICTORY AT SEA regarding some campaign in the Pacific during WWII. This was early 80s and all the bars on ship handed out dramamine (or equivalent) to anyone who asked. That's all I needed to avoid being sea sick.

Those who have mentioned feeling strange back on land - noticing yourself rock back and forth for no apparent reason - this is considered "normal" and should usually not cause sea sickness. YMMV

 

[Moemg]

The only thing on cruise ships that makes me nauseous is being seated at a table with a window facing the water . The up and down motion of the waves makes me ill. So avoid that at all costs .

 

[NW-Bound]

If, as a placebo, it worked, why not continue?

And, if the placebo worked, then possibly revealing its existence might have caused it to cease being effective? In which case the mother would likely have returned to taking unnecessary medication.

Which is worse?

Hmmm... Perhaps many other medicines are also placebo.

We can have much cheaper cancer drugs.

From what I have read, many new drugs do not work that well anyway. They may be placebo from start.

 

[Nemo2]

We can have much cheaper cancer drugs.

Cancer, AFAIK, is not psychosomatic.......but sea sickness could very well be.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/883927

A forty year old study suggests:

certain personality characteristics are associated with a high degree of susceptibility to motion sickness.

 

[Nemo2]

Those who have mentioned feeling strange back on land - noticing yourself rock back and forth for no apparent reason - this is considered "normal" and should usually not cause sea sickness.

Often referred to as mal de debarquement.

 

[kitesurfer2]

my dr subscribed meclizine for me yesterday.

Wednesday, I opened the back door to my van, reached up to the roof to take a measurement and fell d own (vertigo). Thursday morning, I crawled under my van , rolled over on my back, looked up at the oil filter and vertigo hit me like a brick. I was able to roll out and over, and start pukin my guts up!

I spent many years in the navy and got see sick once--and it lasted for 3 days. But so did most of the crew .we had major damage topside.

I thought I wanted to fly early in my naval career, but acrobatic maneuvers caused issues. It seemed after each flight, I was med down for 3 days. I got behind in my schedule..log story short, I quit flying.


so vertigo is not new to me. I hope the meclizine cures me.

 

[REWahoo]

kitesurfer2, Google the Epley maneuver. I've heard a lot of success stories about the technique.

Also, I learned to never sleep without my head elevated by a couple of pillows.

 

[Nemo2]

One approach to minimizing seasickness, that I have recommended to people feeling queasy, with a modicum of success, is to go outside to the highest accessible deck, sit midships, (between port & starboard), and face the stern.....look at the horizon.

 

[omni550]

my dr subscribed meclizine for me yesterday.

Wednesday, I opened the back door to my van, reached up to the roof to take a measurement and fell d own (vertigo). Thursday morning, I crawled under my van , rolled over on my back, looked up at the oil filter and vertigo hit me like a brick. I was able to roll out and over, and start pukin my guts up!

I spent many years in the navy and got see sick once--and it lasted for 3 days. But so did most of the crew .we had major damage topside.

I thought I wanted to fly early in my naval career, but acrobatic maneuvers caused issues. It seemed after each flight, I was med down for 3 days. I got behind in my schedule..log story short, I quit flying.


so vertigo is not new to me. I hope the meclizine cures me.

kitesurfer2,

Yikes, sounds awful.

Hope the meclinzine and/or the Epley procedure helps!

omni

 

[MRG]

........and if possible stay away from seasick people.........the sights and sounds of them work on your psyche and make you susceptible to their affliction.

I was on a flight that was delayed for takeoff. Hot, stuffy and pretty miserable. Someone lost their stomach in the main cabin...... There was a large sympathy response from many others. Wasn't the best flight, luckily very short.

 

[MRG]

my dr subscribed meclizine for me yesterday.

Wednesday, I opened the back door to my van, reached up to the roof to take a measurement and fell d own (vertigo). Thursday morning, I crawled under my van , rolled over on my back, looked up at the oil filter and vertigo hit me like a brick. I was able to roll out and over, and start pukin my guts up!

I spent many years in the navy and got see sick once--and it lasted for 3 days. But so did most of the crew .we had major damage topside.

I thought I wanted to fly early in my naval career, but acrobatic maneuvers caused issues. It seemed after each flight, I was med down for 3 days. I got behind in my schedule..log story short, I quit flying.


so vertigo is not new to me. I hope the meclizine cures me.

I hope you have a quick recovery. Any chance you recently had inner ear or other infections? Sometimes related and antibiotics may help if it's infection related.

Your doctor can also give you valium, it's sometimes helpful for the symptoms as is meclizine. I'd agree with checking out the Epily maneuver as it's helped millions.

Good luck.

 

[kcowan]

We were on a catamaran in heavy surf off Waikiki Beach and there was spray coming onto the deck. Everyone went inside. I spent 5 minutes there and then went outside. Kept my eyes on the horizon and my hand on a beer can. The guys that joined me and I were the only ones spared. Got a little wet.

 

[braumeister]

Yes, beer has many health benefits.