Seasickness: tips, tricks and recommendations to overcome it

How to overcome seasickness: medications, tips, tricks and recommendations

Seasickness can affect anyone. Sure, for some people, even the sight of a swinging fishing boat at the dock is sufficient to provoke nausea while others can safely slip into the engine room to change a filter during navigation.

Regardless of the degree of predisposition, however, it can happen to anyone to be at least a little nauseous.

Seasickness: causes and symptoms

Like carsickness, seasickness is defined as “motion sickness” because the symptoms derive from the conflict between our sense of balance and the continuous accelerations and decelerations that occur in the boat following different directions. The correct functioning of our balance organs, the ones that are in our inner ear, is therefore fundamental.

While the main cause of seasickness is this conflict between our sense of balance and external forces, there are, however, other reasons that should not be underestimated. Anxiety, tiredness, cold, bad digestion, smells, smoke and the fear of suffering from seasickness can lead us to show the typical motion sickness symptoms: paleness, nausea and vomit.

Medications to prevent and overcome seasickness

From mild gums to the stronger Xamamina tablets, all drugs have their own efficacy but, given that it is always better to ask the doctor for advice, they usually provokee drowsiness and tire the circulation, thus proving to be not exactly the best option for your life on board.

Even the most recent drugs, based on Scopolamine or Dimenhydrinate, have a fair number of contraindications. In addition to  drowsiness, dry mouth and dizziness may in fact occur.

Experience is a very important factor: the more you sail, the more your body recognizes certain movements and learns not to put them in conflict with the sense of balance anymore.

There are also some “mechanical” remedies, like Sea-bands for examples. These are a pair of bracelets which, exploiting the acupressure technique, exert a force on a specific point of your wrists and, in many cases, reduce seasickness effects.

Finally, there is a long list of tips and tricks which can help to prevent and overcome symptoms.

Tips, tricks and recommendations to prevent seasickness from occurring

Tiredness is an important predisposing factor. It is therefore important to avoid going to sea in these conditions, especially if you foresee a demanding navigation.

Cold provokes seasickness. It is therefore essential to dress properly and in advance in order to prevent seasickness to come and to avoid any struggle to recover lost heat.

Stop thinking about seasickness or about the fear of suffering from it. It is important to abandon this thought and focus on something different and pleasant. In case there is someone on board who is sick, the worst thing is to keep reminding him, asking him constantly how he is.

If possible, it is preferable to stand on deck and engage in some activities. Steering, of course, would be the best possible option.

If, on the contrary, you have to stay below deck, we suggest to lie down with your eyes closed, possibly in the center of the boat or at the stern at most, never in the bow where the oscillations are greater. If you are on the deck, try to look at the horizon; this way, you will prevent your eyes and organs of balance from coming into conflict.

Another important trick is to avoid sitting at the mercy of the boat’s movements. It is important to move the head as little as possible and, as mentioned above, to stand on the deck. 

Stay away from strong smells and fumes, try to breathe calmly: fresh air is the best remedy. If you are at anchor, taking a bath is an excellent remedy to overcome seasickness.

Considering that anxiety contributes to provoke seasickness, you can use these winter months to assimilate simple progressive muscle relaxation techniques and apply them on board.

Moreover, if you are afraid that seasickness can ruin your boat trip, you’d better to avoid having fried donuts filled with cream for breakfast and opt for something dry like cereal, yogurt and juices before setting sail.

Even ginger seems to be an excellent remedy; grated in tea or eaten directly, it can give excellent results.

Finally, for the record, we feel obliged to tell you about a pair of glasses that won the recognition of the most interesting nautical accessory at Mets Amsterdam last year.

They are called Boarding Ring and are special glasses with a frame made up of four circular rings half-filled with a colored liquid, two around the two front lenses, and two lateral on the temples. According to the inventor, this device would resolve the conflict between what we see with our eyes and what the organs of balance transmit to us from our inner ear.

If you are willing to accept some jokes and a few giggles, you can buy them for 60 euros and try.