You’re Looking a Little Green Around the Gills There
Eat some dry crackers.
Drink some ginger ale.
Suck on these hard candies.
Everyone has a suggestion or home remedy to combat motion sickness. For those who are especially prone to getting sick in cars, on rides, or on boats, a 14-day research cruise onboard a ship can be particularly anxiety inducing. Many of us are hoping for the best, but preparing for the worst. Much of the science crew, who are not as used to the (literal) ups and downs of life at sea, are pulling out all the stops to avoid praying to the porcelain god (i.e. throwing up in a toilet for those who unfamiliar with that phrase).
Motion sickness is caused when your brain has difficulty interpreting the signals it receives from the motion sensing parts of your body; like your eyes, joints, muscles, and inner ear. Your brain cannot determine if you are in motion or stationary, and reacts with making you feel sick. If you have ever experienced motion sickness before, you are WELL aware of what this feels like. For those lucky ones that have never had the pleasure, some of the most common symptoms are dizziness, cold sweats, headaches, pale skin, rapid breathing, irritability, an inability to concentrate, etc.
How does my body handle these confusing inputs? Well just ask my mother, who had to have an ample supply for Dramamine on hand for all of our family car trips from the mid-80’s to the late 90’s. So the answer is not well.
But I am not alone in this on the ship. A large group of us have been talking about what the best medicines are to take, etc. It was a major point of discussion in our pre-cruise meetings with the crew.The bottom line is all on board want everyone to be as safe as possible and to not feel embarrassed if you get sea sick. It happens a lot during these research cruises. The main concern is if you do get sick, that you don’t end up super dehydrated. Extreme cases of seasickness can be a serious health concern and would result in the ship having to return to port. A situation that no one wants.
Some are using simple methods such as ginger candies or acupressure seasick bands. A friend who came to see us off in Wood Hole swears by electronic “watches” that give you a little shock in the pressure points on your wrist to combat feeling sick. A little bit of fresh air, or a light snack may do it for others. Most of us are relying on medicinal interventions to help. Oral medications such a Dramamine or Bonine are popular, though more are taking Bonine as it does not make you as drowsy. I am relying on the big guns, or the seasick patch. This subdermal patch is placed on the skin behind your ear and delivers scopolamine to the wearer for a 72 hour period. Although there are some side-effects of using these medicines, in general they are much preferable to being violently ill for hours of the day.
Group check-ins show that we are all okay so far, with some people feeling pretty awful the first 48 hours. We have been blessed with calm seas so far, but this could change quickly if the weather deteriorates. Some large storms are currently forecast in the Atlantic next week, so many are really hoping the weatherman is wrong. Time will tell. Until then, wish us all smooth sailing and calm seas.