Sea sickness whilst sailing - only in cabins
Discussion
I'm just back from a sailing trip. Love the sport and doing it. However the problem is that when I go down the cabin whilst I sea i feel seasick and cannot seem to get over it very quickly.
For the longer trips it is unavoidable going downstairs - even to make a cup of tea etc I'd be feeling ill.
Can anyone recommend anything for this? Thanks.
For the longer trips it is unavoidable going downstairs - even to make a cup of tea etc I'd be feeling ill.
Can anyone recommend anything for this? Thanks.
It does usually disappear with time, but can take several days at sea. There isn't much you can do to prevent it entirely, but some things can help. Avoid doing things like reading or using a computer down below. Fresh air usually helps, and diesel fumes make it much worse so try and ensure the cabin is well ventilated. Drink plenty of fluids and force yourself to eat, but stick to things which are fairly easy on the stomach - porridge is good, but a greasy fried breakfast probably won't help much.
Seasickness is caused by your eyes and ears sensing different things - you are inside a cabin that isn't moving visually, but your ears say it is. Lying down and closing your eyes can help, as it removes the conflict between the two. Try to keep busy, as concentrating on a task can keep your mind off the queasy feeling - a period on the helm is good for that.
I've never found any tablets that helped all that much, with the exception of Dramamine but that isn't available in the UK any more. Crystallised ginger can help a bit. You can get wrist bands that supposedly act on pressure points, but I've never tried one so don't know if they are effective - I suspect they are more placebo than anything.
The worst thing though is to ignore it. You can easily become dehydrated and drowsy, which can be a safety problem if you are sailing at night for example. Make sure you let someone else know if you are feeling rough so they can make allowances. A small boat in bad weather is not a place to be acting tough.
Seasickness is caused by your eyes and ears sensing different things - you are inside a cabin that isn't moving visually, but your ears say it is. Lying down and closing your eyes can help, as it removes the conflict between the two. Try to keep busy, as concentrating on a task can keep your mind off the queasy feeling - a period on the helm is good for that.
I've never found any tablets that helped all that much, with the exception of Dramamine but that isn't available in the UK any more. Crystallised ginger can help a bit. You can get wrist bands that supposedly act on pressure points, but I've never tried one so don't know if they are effective - I suspect they are more placebo than anything.
The worst thing though is to ignore it. You can easily become dehydrated and drowsy, which can be a safety problem if you are sailing at night for example. Make sure you let someone else know if you are feeling rough so they can make allowances. A small boat in bad weather is not a place to be acting tough.
Paddy_N_Murphy said:
I don't get it at all, but crew have, and taken Stugeron for it. Worked a treat and available over the counterin Boots etc.
I have an iron stomach, which is helpful as a professional bilge dweller spending my working hours in an engine room playing with smelly diesel engines while bobbing around the North Sea. While mucking about in yachts I have felt nausea while tinkering with engines in heavy weather; I have found Stugeron will stop this.OP...I'm guessing you are fairly new to sailing. Just avoid going below...even if it's a cup of tea, get someone else to make it, no one will mind you asking others to do it as a sickly crew is not good for anyone.
If you really do need to go below, learn to recognise the signs and timings. I've sailed all my life and can get sick (not actually honked for many years now thankfully, but I've been close). If I go below to do some nav or something and it's rough, I know I have about 10 minutes. First I'll feel hot, then start yawning, then I'll start to actually feel a bit queasy. If I get back on deck, and then spend 5 minutes steering, I'll be OK again very quickly.
If it's a loo break or similar, get your gear off whilst looking out the window. It's time without seeing a horizon that's the killer...as has been mentioned before if you are getting into your bunk close your eyes ASAP. WRT stugeron, it does work but make sure you take it early (RTFM!) and drink more than normal.
Stick with it and if you sail regularly you will get used to it, when I sailed many years ago in my teens it was a major issue for me, and now I don't even think about it. This sounds odd but I am also convinced there is a big psychological element too. If you sit there and look for the signs of feeling ill, you will be ill. Ive been out in a 27' boat in a F7-8 and had to lie on the cabin floor with my head in the engine compartment bleeding diesel for 45 minutes...I should have been sick as a dog but because I was busy, and "had" to fix the engine, it didn't even cross my mind until afterwards.
Good luck!
If you really do need to go below, learn to recognise the signs and timings. I've sailed all my life and can get sick (not actually honked for many years now thankfully, but I've been close). If I go below to do some nav or something and it's rough, I know I have about 10 minutes. First I'll feel hot, then start yawning, then I'll start to actually feel a bit queasy. If I get back on deck, and then spend 5 minutes steering, I'll be OK again very quickly.
If it's a loo break or similar, get your gear off whilst looking out the window. It's time without seeing a horizon that's the killer...as has been mentioned before if you are getting into your bunk close your eyes ASAP. WRT stugeron, it does work but make sure you take it early (RTFM!) and drink more than normal.
Stick with it and if you sail regularly you will get used to it, when I sailed many years ago in my teens it was a major issue for me, and now I don't even think about it. This sounds odd but I am also convinced there is a big psychological element too. If you sit there and look for the signs of feeling ill, you will be ill. Ive been out in a 27' boat in a F7-8 and had to lie on the cabin floor with my head in the engine compartment bleeding diesel for 45 minutes...I should have been sick as a dog but because I was busy, and "had" to fix the engine, it didn't even cross my mind until afterwards.
Good luck!
Dry crackers and water always helped settle my stomach, whenever I had a bridge watch on the rusty tug, which was fell forward.
A sailboat usually has the helm way aft, which is a much better motion, so that's the best place to be.
If you have to go below, as has been mentioned, you should be O.K. in your bunk with eyes closed.
On the Ocean passages I've done on sailboats, I always found I was O.K. after 3 days. I would sleep a lot during those first three days though!
Seasickness is the worst feeling in the world! But stick at it, you'll get used to it.
A sailboat usually has the helm way aft, which is a much better motion, so that's the best place to be.
If you have to go below, as has been mentioned, you should be O.K. in your bunk with eyes closed.
On the Ocean passages I've done on sailboats, I always found I was O.K. after 3 days. I would sleep a lot during those first three days though!
Seasickness is the worst feeling in the world! But stick at it, you'll get used to it.
I sympathise. They say that there are two stages to seasickness - the first is being afraid you might die, the second is being afraid you won't.
The advice to keep hydrated and try to take in food is absolutely vital, seasickness can be incredibly debilitating to the point where it can endanger a boat. Trying to keep functioning is extremely important and can help. I have found that allowing myself to get cold is a real killer. That and orange juice, which is the devils drink on a boat.
After years of sailing I don't believe anyone who says 'I never get seasick' any more. I think everyone is vulnerable in certain conditions, even if they haven't experienced them yet. My weakness is in light winds with a residual swell whereas heavy weather doesn't affect me in the slightest.
The advice to keep hydrated and try to take in food is absolutely vital, seasickness can be incredibly debilitating to the point where it can endanger a boat. Trying to keep functioning is extremely important and can help. I have found that allowing myself to get cold is a real killer. That and orange juice, which is the devils drink on a boat.
After years of sailing I don't believe anyone who says 'I never get seasick' any more. I think everyone is vulnerable in certain conditions, even if they haven't experienced them yet. My weakness is in light winds with a residual swell whereas heavy weather doesn't affect me in the slightest.
Sea sickness is caused due to the disparity between your visual and vestibular systems (sight and balance). The differences are the same as when you've been poisoned so your brain tells your stomach to jettison contents.
NASA found that visualising yourself upside down and rotating around can help minimise the symptoms - it helps your brain adapt to the conflicting inputs it's getting - but I'm afraid it's anti-emetics or adaptation that work really.
NASA found that visualising yourself upside down and rotating around can help minimise the symptoms - it helps your brain adapt to the conflicting inputs it's getting - but I'm afraid it's anti-emetics or adaptation that work really.
Hi.
I've heard the following:
1. Being cold, tired, hungry and/or dehydrated are all contributing factors to the onset of seasickness. So keep fed, rested, warm and watered. Easier said than done when offshore!
2. A chunky dose of vitamin C. Apparently sensory stress produces histamine, and when this gets to the brain, you chunder. There's been some research showing a dose of vitamin C can help disrupt the histamine production, but maybe a doc/pharmacist can be slightly more insightful here.
Good luck!
J
I've heard the following:
1. Being cold, tired, hungry and/or dehydrated are all contributing factors to the onset of seasickness. So keep fed, rested, warm and watered. Easier said than done when offshore!
2. A chunky dose of vitamin C. Apparently sensory stress produces histamine, and when this gets to the brain, you chunder. There's been some research showing a dose of vitamin C can help disrupt the histamine production, but maybe a doc/pharmacist can be slightly more insightful here.
Good luck!
J
I get the reverse - (mild) motion sickness in a stationary flight simulator or race car simulator.
There, my eyes are telling me the scenery, cockpit and me are moving (often rapidly) but my body is telling me they aren't.
In real aircraft or cars I have no such problems. Hate boats though
There, my eyes are telling me the scenery, cockpit and me are moving (often rapidly) but my body is telling me they aren't.
In real aircraft or cars I have no such problems. Hate boats though
If we're short handed, I top up a decent sized thermos beforehand so I'm not spending too much time down below...I am fine on deck, but if I have to concentrate down below (ie chartwork) depending on the sea state and motion of the boat I get nausea and headaches. For the same reason, I can't read on buses or in cars (train and plane are fine!).
Upwind generally OK, but beam sea not so good.
Not a big problem for me as I don't have to do much chartwork, and don't sail much when the weather is bad.
If I have no option I try to minimise my stints down below, so being prepared is helpful - ie the quicker you can plot a position the better!
When not having to concentrate down below I make a conscious effort to relax my mind and body and not fight the motion, provided you can wedge yourself in somewhere you won't get tossed out of.
Upwind generally OK, but beam sea not so good.
Not a big problem for me as I don't have to do much chartwork, and don't sail much when the weather is bad.
If I have no option I try to minimise my stints down below, so being prepared is helpful - ie the quicker you can plot a position the better!
When not having to concentrate down below I make a conscious effort to relax my mind and body and not fight the motion, provided you can wedge yourself in somewhere you won't get tossed out of.
I'm lucky that I don't really suffer from it. Only time I've felt rough was self-induced on a downwind run after a particularly impressive effort in the bar the night before. I was helming, and I remember my instructor shouting out the hatch to ask if I wanted a sausage (a slightly clammy, wrinkled, cocktail sausage I recall) and that was that. I learn that sugar scoop sterns aren't wonderfully self-cleaning. 
However, with regards to sea-sickness, I can occasionally get slightly squiffy when in the cabin for long periods, but as others have said, an early fix before it takes hold is to get on the helm. Bananas are a good breakfast, and ginger biscuits can also help.
A crew mate used to suffer fairly badly, had similar problems in not being able to spend time below at all, and he absolutely swears by those electric pulse bracelets. If he wears one now he can navigate from the cabin now, without breaks, and without any ill effects at all. We came across the channel a couple of years back when it was relatively lumpy, and he was below almost all the time without problem, whereas pre-bracelet he'd have been hurling within minutes. Might be worth a go, OP.
However, with regards to sea-sickness, I can occasionally get slightly squiffy when in the cabin for long periods, but as others have said, an early fix before it takes hold is to get on the helm. Bananas are a good breakfast, and ginger biscuits can also help.
A crew mate used to suffer fairly badly, had similar problems in not being able to spend time below at all, and he absolutely swears by those electric pulse bracelets. If he wears one now he can navigate from the cabin now, without breaks, and without any ill effects at all. We came across the channel a couple of years back when it was relatively lumpy, and he was below almost all the time without problem, whereas pre-bracelet he'd have been hurling within minutes. Might be worth a go, OP.
rhinochopig said:
Sea sickness is caused due to the disparity between your visual and vestibular systems (sight and balance). The differences are the same as when you've been poisoned so your brain tells your stomach to jettison contents.
Can also be psychosomatic - a lad who was in my year at marine college was violently seasick when he joined his first ship - which at the time was in drydock !Geneve said:
I get the reverse - (mild) motion sickness in a stationary flight simulator or race car simulator.
There, my eyes are telling me the scenery, cockpit and me are moving (often rapidly) but my body is telling me they aren't.
In real aircraft or cars I have no such problems. Hate boats though
Not just me then!There, my eyes are telling me the scenery, cockpit and me are moving (often rapidly) but my body is telling me they aren't.
In real aircraft or cars I have no such problems. Hate boats though
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