Seasickness

[Unregistered]

Sorry about putting this here but it is a serious problem and registering with the current indian connection would take literary hours...

So i have a somewhat huge problem when the ship is moving too much due to high waves. I mean, i feel so bad i want to literally quit and never again go close to a ship. While when the weather is calm there is no problem what so ever. The mental state when i feel seasick is horrible

Last trip was from Australia to India, when we passed between the nicobar islands the ship encountered waves of 4-5 meters and even though it was fully loaded the ship often went from a list to port of 14 degrees to a list to starboard of 14 degrees again. I was almost for 2 days on the bed since if i started standing for just a few minutes i would have to run to the nearest toilet even though i havent eaten anything to throw out. After the first 2 days i tried to get to the bridge for some time but after 30 minutes i would start feeling really bad, and the problem didnt seem to get smaller every passing day. I felt just as horrible in the last day like i was feeling in the first day...

Everyone said that seasickness pills are not a good idea since you will never get used to the ship moving like that and you will forever need those pills, plus i heard that if you take those pills often you start developing a resistance to them and the effect is getting weaker every time.

Some suggested me to eat toasted bread(which i havent found useful considering it hasnt stopped me from throwing up), some suggested orange/bananas or just to eat or to keep throwing up till i get used to it? Eating is almost impossible since i feel like i am ready to throw up all the time and anything i ate is still close to my neck... Only if i throw up i feel ok for like 15 minutes and can eat something small and go to sleep so i wont go to sleep on an empty stomach

So do you have any suggestions as to how to fix this issue, because this issue is definitely going to cause trouble when i become second officer. I am a cadet currently on a bulk carrier and that is my first sea phase

[GuinnessMan]

Gingersnaps....

[Masterinthemaking]

Ive heard people getting given ginger beer and crackers on cruise ships, seems to work!

[YoungMariner]

Take the tablet, it'll get you over the pyschologic issues and when you forget to take them you will realise you don't need them.
I always carry a packet of sea sickness tablets, hate taking them but when on small ships in rough weather I get some nasty headaches.

[Hatchorder]

My father, who has recently been on a small boat for a week, usually suffers dreadfully with sea sickness. He went to the doctor and he gave him some patches to put behind his ear. Worked a treat - he never felt sick once. No idea what the patches were called though, but seemed to work wonders...

Now head on over to here and have a read:

http://www.officercadet.com/showthread.php/7240-All-the-questions-about-Sea-Sickness-you-were-afraid-to-ask

There is some advice in there.

Ian

[Hatchorder]

..... hate taking them but when on small ships in rough weather I get some nasty headaches.

After 2 or 3 days without sleep on Anchor Handlers in the North Sea in bad weather I used to get dizzy and disorientated, but only the occasional headache. Think it was more the sleep deprivation than sea sickness though.

Ian

[Clanky]

I have suffered from seasicknes in the past and I know exactly how you feel, I have been at the point of quitting a few times.

There are a few things which I have found help:

Kwells - I have recently been on an anchor handling tug and after the first 24 hours onboard was feeling horrible, took a Kwells tablet and lay down for an hour and was right as rain. Far from making you reliant on seasickness pills they can control the nausea enough to allow you to become naturally used to the motion of the vessel.

Beta-histine (sometimes known as beta histadine) - this is a prescription drug mainly used to treat vertigo, it was prescribed to me by a doctor many years ago and I found that it really helped.

Ginger - if you can cope with the taste then chew on a small piece of root ginger, if that is too strong then green tea with ginger, ginger nut biscuits or ginger ale all help.

Time - I know that this won't help you in the short term, but i have found that I have gotten better and better with more time at sea.

Failing that the only other thing I have found which is guaranteed to work is to sit under a tree.

You really do have my sympathy, I know how horrible it can be, I hope some of the above is of some help to you.

[bobofinga]

First month of my cadetship I spent in the North Sea during Winter ... I felt like quitting the whole trip.

Chief Officer told me it'll get better , which it did. My advice is when your on the bridge look straight at the horizon , dont take seasick tablets they are just a gimmick in my opinion.

[GuinnessMan]

dont take seasick tablets they are just a gimmick in my opinion.

No. They do actually work, you just have to take the before you start to feel ill. Once you start hurling, then it's too late to take one....

[bobofinga]

Do you really want to be relying on pills for your whole sea going career though?

[GuinnessMan]

Do you really want to be relying on pills for your whole sea going career though?

I've no idea, i've never needed to use them.

[Clanky]

Taking the pills allows your body time to get used to the motion. I normally take pills for the first couple of days of bad weather and then find that I don't need them after that.

[Unregistered]

I had problems with sea sickness during my first sea phase, felt like quitting so many times and asking myself is it really worth me putting myself through this. However, I'm now in Phase 4, and 4 weeks into my first contract and this ships rolls like hell and I haven't had the slightest feeling of sea sickness. I put this down to the fact that the whole thing is all in the mind, plus I have Stugeron with me this time and I know it's there if I need it.

Keep at it, you'll get through it.

[GuinnessMan]

The seasickness is very common nowadays because most of us are not addicted to live in this atmosphere. The weather is quite different in the sea and the other issue is most of us are not mentally prepare for this kind of situations so we already feeling sick to see the surroundings.

Eh?

[AndyK]

Eh?

Indeed...I concur

I always get a bit seasick the first couple of days or so - only headaches really and bit disorientated but after that its as sound as a pound :-) Stick with it - its worth it in the end :-)