Just about everyone who has
been on a cruise can give you advice about seasickness, whether they have
suffered from it or not. But, how do you know which advice is good advice? Read
on as we deal with some myths and realities about seasickness and how you can
cope if it visits you.
Seasickness is a type of
motion sickness, caused by conflicting signals from different senses. Your eyes
tell you that your surroundings are still, but the equilibrium sensors in your
ears say your surroundings are moving. For some people, the brain and body try
to deal with this conflict by shutting down some activities – like digestion,
which leads to nausea.
History is full of creative
solutions for seasickness, such as:
1.
Gently slap the
face of the captain with a flounder (do this three times)
2.
Drink a glass of
ice water while standing on one leg
3.
Down a shot of
rum before bed on the night before you set sail
Do we even need to say that all
of these can be fun to do, but none are proven to work as seasickness remedies?
Now that those myths are busted, here are some practical steps you can take:
1.
Don’t close your
eyes or try to focus on a book. This won’t help resolve the conflict between
your senses, and may make you feel worse. Instead, sit by a window or on deck
and focus on the horizon, which can help reset your equilibrium.
2.
Being on deck
also has the benefit of putting you in fresh air. Strong smells – even a food
or perfume that you usually like – seem to make seasickness worse.
3.
Ask for some
green apples and crackers to nibble (cruise ship crew members swear by this drug-free
remedy). You can also ask for some ginger tea: ginger has long been a popular
home remedy for all types of motion sickness. You can even purchase ginger
pills on shore and bring them with you. (By the way, the popular TV show MythBusters
found that ginger was the only seasickness remedy that worked well, with no
side effects).
4.
Try an over-the-counter
anti-seasickness remedy. If you didn’t bring any with you, you can get some
from the ship’s medical office or purser’s desk.
Hopefully, these suggestions
will provide some immediate relief and your seasickness will pass quickly as
you get accustomed to the motion of the ship. Then, you can get on with all the
fun of your cruise!
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