How to Overcome Sea Sickness
A small percentage of people get sea sick all the time and a small percentage never get sea sick. Most people are somewhere in the middle. Given the right conditions, these people will get sea sick---that lovely form of motion sickness that leaves you feeling as if death would be a welcome improvement. A variety of ways to overcome sea sickness, from folk remedies to drugs, have been proposed or used over the years by physicians, researchers and seamen. Some may even work.
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Instructions
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Go on deck and watch the horizon if you begin to feel queasy. According to a study in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, if your body is exposed to the forces of motion, but your eyes see no apparent reason for what your body feels, a "neural mismatch" makes you sea sick. Going on deck and watching the horizon lets you see what your body feels.
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Take Dramamine, Bonine, Marezine or their stronger---and more expensive---prescription cousins, scopolzmine or promethazine, as directed, but remember that all of these can cause drowsiness and dry mouth. Prescription Transderm patches relieve the symptoms of sea sickness for up 24 hours.
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Try an alternative treatment. Ginger has long been advocated by professional seamen and yachtsmen, a claim widely reported but supported by mostly-anecdotal evidence. Wristbands have been advocated by acupuncturists. A study reported in the Journal of Midwifery and Women's Health says that Seaband wristbands---originally promoted to relieve the symptoms of sea sickness---relieve nausea in pregnant women when worn properly.
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Expose yourself to conditions that cause sea sickness in small doses. A study by James Lackner, Ph.D., of the Ashton Graybiel Spatial Orientation Laboratory at Brandeis University, says that, "spaced exposure of short duration can lead to a buildup of adaptation . . . if only minor symptoms of motion sickness are allowed to develop before terminating each exposure period."
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Don't leave the dock when the boat does. A few unlucky people will become sea sick regardless of treatments or efforts to overcome sea sickness. The only alternative to the symptoms is to remain ashore.
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