Motion sickness can strike at any time and can easily turn a fun boat cruise into a miserable experience.
Motion sickness or being seasick is more common among women and children but it can affect anyone.
It occurs when your brain can’t make sense of information sent from your eyes, ears and body, such as lots of motion — in a car, plane, boat, or even an amusement park ride, and as a result you feel queasy, clammy or sick to your stomach.
With summer approaching, the opportunities for travelling, cruising and sailing are endless.
So before you get on that boat, here are some quick tips to help you enjoy yourself whether you’re having a whale watching at sea or enjoying the deck life on board a cruise ship.
Look to the horizon
This tip works best when you have a landmass or object to look at and is highly recommended by sailors and backed by science.
Focusing on the horizon is a good tactic for managing seasickness as motion sickness is caused in part by conflicting sensory signals to your brain, your eyes are telling it everything is still while your vestibular, the inner ear balance mechanism, says you’re moving.
Looking at the horizon can help give your brain a point of reference, allowing it to sense the motion of the ship and your body’s movement with it.
Fresh air
Fresh air does wonders for clearing your head. It is recommended that you sit out at the front of your boat or ask to sit with the skipper in the cockpit as this is one of the highest places on a boat.
Medication
Since nausea is caused by neural activity, there are a number of drugs available from your doctor that can help soothe the nerves in your inner ear or suppress the brain’s vomiting response. Typically these drugs come as a pill, which you should take before the symptoms of seasickness start.
Avoid seasick passengers
Believe it or not, seasickness can spread. If you’re on a cruise ship or large pontoon boat, try to stay away from those who are already sick. Seeing or hearing others being sick won’t help you.
Sea bands
Taking their cue from ancient practices such as acupuncture; sea bands are elastic bracelets with a plastic stud attached to the inside of the band. This stud places pressure on an acupressure point that is believed to relieve nausea and vomiting. Sea bands are cheap and easy to find at many pharmacies.
Try ginger
Ginger is one of the best natural remedies. Ginger ale has been a remedy for feelings of nausea and vomiting for years. Try sipping a little to see how you feel. Some people prefer it still carbonated and others prefer it flat. Ginger pills or even pieces of raw ginger may help.
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