Thread: Motion Sickness and the Patch

Hello,

I tend to get motion sickness and I use the patch when I fly and go to amusement parks. Has anyone used the Patch while cruising? If so how did it work out for you?

thanks,

My mother used the patch on her one cruise and found it helped. And she gets motion sickness at the turn of a key.

They did a show on motion sickness on Myth Busters and they tried several different things to stop motion sickness. The one thing that worked best for them was ginger pills. You can buy these cheaply at drug stores.

As with most things, what works best for one, may not work for someone else. Some people find the patch works best, while others use the wrist bands, and yet other swear by the ginger pills.

If you tend to get motion sickness, you want to make sure your cabin is as close to the middle of the ship as possible - this will lessen the 'motion of the ocean', as I like to call it. Also, the lower on the ship you go, the better it'll be, but this will only work for you if you're in an inside or oceanview cabin since balcony cabins are up higher. And yes, sometimes you have to pay more to be in the middle of the ship, but it can be worth it.

Pete

Great answer, Pete. I think you really covered it all. Thanks

Thanks for all the suggestions. I would love to hear from anyone else that has used the patch while cruising.

One of my friends uses the patch and swears by it...

Pete, I wish I caught that issue of Myth Busters...that is a great show!

Dolores

My wife and I have used the patch(scopalomine) for all of our 10 cruises--some of which were in smaller ships (20,000 tons) and in rough seas. We have NEVER experienced seasickness even when many of our fellow passangers were quite ill. We have however experienced side effects, particularly a very dry mouth that can be quite annoying. You cannot drink alcoholic beverages while using the patch which may pose more of an issue on a cruise than on a flight. This is a prescription only drug that should be discussed with your doctor. It may be well worth it if you are very prone to motion sickness. Depending on where you are cruising and the size of the ship motion issues will vary. The newer big ships are more stable and unless the seas are rough you can hardly feel the motion.

Originally Posted by Sirdar

My wife and I have used the patch(scopalomine) for all of our 10 cruises--some of which were in smaller ships (20,000 tons) and in rough seas. We have NEVER experienced seasickness even when many of our fellow passangers were quite ill. We have however experienced side effects, particularly a very dry mouth that can be quite annoying. You cannot drink alcoholic beverages while using the patch which may pose more of an issue on a cruise than on a flight. This is a prescription only drug that should be discussed with your doctor. It may be well worth it if you are very prone to motion sickness. Depending on where you are cruising and the size of the ship motion issues will vary. The newer big ships are more stable and unless the seas are rough you can hardly feel the motion.

Well stated!

The newer larger ships all have the latest stablizing devices, so they tend to be more stable than the older smaller ships without the newest devices. And it also depends on where you'll be sailing - the Caribbean is a protected environment, so the seas are relatively calm most of the time. Whereas traveling out of the coast cities, such as New York, Los Angeles, etc, where the ship is in the Atlantic or Pacific oceans, then there is a greater chance of encountering rougher seas.

So there are many things to take into consideration when deciding when to go, where to go, what ship to go on, where on the ship you should be, and what medications to take.

Pete

Thanks everyone,

I have used the patch before with little trouble w/ side effects. I am not much of drinker so it looks like this is the way to go. I get very very motion sick, which is why I never cruised before. I have finally worked up the nerve to give it a try.

I was seasick on our Alaskan cruise. SIL informed me that when I was walking down the hallway to dinner I was over-compensating for the movement. She insisted I have a drink with dinner and the motion sickness went away.

I have a tendency to feel the movement and fight it without realizing that I am. I'm not really a big drinker, but if I start to get that feeling, or someone tells me I'm moving more than the ship, I have an amaretto & coke and it goes right away.