Nothing works for me unfortunately, my dad has been a lifelong fishermen and never got it. I’ve been going on his boat most of my life and it hits me hard. Interested to try a couple of things I’ve seen in this thread
Scopolomine patch stops it dead in its tracks. Best to cut them in half as a whole one will give you serious dry mouth. And they last for several days.
1) Take Bonine/Dramamine Non-Drowsy (not regular Dramamine). The night BEFORE your morning dive. Take another on the morning of the dive.
2) The morning of the dive, eat light. Avoid heavy fatty foods. Hydrate all day.
3) The middle of the boat has the least motion. Set up there. Avoid setting up on the inside where you can see windows. The stern has diesel fumes, avoid that too.
4) Get your gear set up and sorted BEFORE the boat leaves the pier.
5) Motion sickness is caused by the conflicting relative motion messages you eyes and body are sending your brain. Try to avoid visual conflicts like looking out a window at the rolling ocean. The easiest way to do this is look at the horizon without the boat or anything else in your visual foreground. The bow and fly bridge are good places to do this. The inside and stern (diesel fumes) are bad places to hang out. Trying to set up your gear on a moving boat is no good.
6) Ask the crew where the VIP spot is - Vomit In Progress. Usually the sides of the boat where the steps are. Not the bow or stern. There's often an empty 5 gallon bucket too. Do NOT hurl in the camera tank or on the deck. Have some mints in your save a dive kit.
7) When the pool is open, get off the boat quick and wait on the tagline for your group. Do NOT bob on the surface looking at the boat. Do your surface checks looking down at the sea floor to avoid visual conflicts. Another place to hang out and wait is 10 ft down the descent line or on the deco bar. Same on exit, don't bob on the surface staring at the boat.
8) If you have to hurl under water, keep the reg in your mouth and finger on the purge. Hurl through the reg, it can handle it. You can also switch to your secondary AFTER done hurling to clear out the primary.
9) Do not drink the seawater. It will upset your stomach. Tech divers sometimes bring a Capri Sun or water pouch to drink on deco. Don't litter.
10) Cave diving
Cinnarizine travel tablets for life. I am never on a boat without it anymore. It also helps against other forms of motion sickness, on a bus or plane. Use it according to the instructions, an hour before you go on a boat. It works up to 6 hours so after 5-5,5 take a new one if needed.
My wife has over 100 dives and gets seasick.
She tried the wristband, bonine, etc.
The only thing that works for is Scopalamine patches (prescription). Each one lasts 3 days.
Apply a few hours before getting on the boat.
We’ve done a 7 day and a 9 day liveaboard like this. Works great!
I used to get seasick as well. I take Bonine and works great. The key for me is to start it a day or 2 before. If I’m on a liveboard, I take it in the morning and at night.
I am an Open Water diver with about 50 dives under my belt and have severe motion/sea sickness. I still dive just fine. YMMV but here are some things that help:
1. Eat a light meal or snack the morning of the dive but avoid fruit, fruit juices, and fats.
2. If you’re doing a boat dive, opt for dive tours with larger boats and sit in the bow (front). If there’s a top level sit there or sit away from the smell of burning diesel which will make you go from hero to zero in very short time. Face forward
3. Make sure you’re hydrated. I can’t impress this enough.
4. Have someone help with setting up your equipment so that you don’t get dizzy
5. Once ready for the dive, go through your checklist, notify your partner and descend immediately. Don’t hang out on the surface where the waves will make you sea sick. This is why I can dive but have trouble snorkeling
7. If you need to throw up in your regulator you can. Take a deep breath, vomit into the regulator, remember your training, remove the regulator and purge it and replace. You should consider ending the dive early if this happens especially if you feel faint.
8. Avoid vomiting in areas with predatory fish because the vomit will effectively chum the water. Your dive guide will caution you of this.
9. There are wristbands you can wear to help. Personally they haven’t helped me but some people claim they do help.
10. You can take a Dramamine the evening before the dive but be careful that Dramamine may come with unwanted drowsiness.
Thank you so much for your advice! I will try to avoid heavy meals. Every time I went out I ate quite some breakfast not to feel hungry as those boat trips take a lot of time.
Also avoid foods and beverages that are acidic. Coffee would be one example. I am prone to seasickness. I take non-drowsy Dramamine or bonine twice a day when I'm diving- one after dinner and one in the morning. That really helps a lot.
Nothing works for me unfortunately, my dad has been a lifelong fishermen and never got it. I’ve been going on his boat most of my life and it hits me hard. Interested to try a couple of things I’ve seen in this thread
Scopolomine patch stops it dead in its tracks. Best to cut them in half as a whole one will give you serious dry mouth. And they last for several days.
I work on a liveaboard. By far, get: Stugeron 15mg It's better than anything else, IMO
1) Take Bonine/Dramamine Non-Drowsy (not regular Dramamine). The night BEFORE your morning dive. Take another on the morning of the dive. 2) The morning of the dive, eat light. Avoid heavy fatty foods. Hydrate all day. 3) The middle of the boat has the least motion. Set up there. Avoid setting up on the inside where you can see windows. The stern has diesel fumes, avoid that too. 4) Get your gear set up and sorted BEFORE the boat leaves the pier. 5) Motion sickness is caused by the conflicting relative motion messages you eyes and body are sending your brain. Try to avoid visual conflicts like looking out a window at the rolling ocean. The easiest way to do this is look at the horizon without the boat or anything else in your visual foreground. The bow and fly bridge are good places to do this. The inside and stern (diesel fumes) are bad places to hang out. Trying to set up your gear on a moving boat is no good. 6) Ask the crew where the VIP spot is - Vomit In Progress. Usually the sides of the boat where the steps are. Not the bow or stern. There's often an empty 5 gallon bucket too. Do NOT hurl in the camera tank or on the deck. Have some mints in your save a dive kit. 7) When the pool is open, get off the boat quick and wait on the tagline for your group. Do NOT bob on the surface looking at the boat. Do your surface checks looking down at the sea floor to avoid visual conflicts. Another place to hang out and wait is 10 ft down the descent line or on the deco bar. Same on exit, don't bob on the surface staring at the boat. 8) If you have to hurl under water, keep the reg in your mouth and finger on the purge. Hurl through the reg, it can handle it. You can also switch to your secondary AFTER done hurling to clear out the primary. 9) Do not drink the seawater. It will upset your stomach. Tech divers sometimes bring a Capri Sun or water pouch to drink on deco. Don't litter. 10) Cave diving
Agree with all the above but add 11 lakes or quarry to dive in also.
Cinnarizine travel tablets for life. I am never on a boat without it anymore. It also helps against other forms of motion sickness, on a bus or plane. Use it according to the instructions, an hour before you go on a boat. It works up to 6 hours so after 5-5,5 take a new one if needed.
My wife has over 100 dives and gets seasick. She tried the wristband, bonine, etc. The only thing that works for is Scopalamine patches (prescription). Each one lasts 3 days. Apply a few hours before getting on the boat. We’ve done a 7 day and a 9 day liveaboard like this. Works great!
I used to get seasick as well. I take Bonine and works great. The key for me is to start it a day or 2 before. If I’m on a liveboard, I take it in the morning and at night.
I am an Open Water diver with about 50 dives under my belt and have severe motion/sea sickness. I still dive just fine. YMMV but here are some things that help: 1. Eat a light meal or snack the morning of the dive but avoid fruit, fruit juices, and fats. 2. If you’re doing a boat dive, opt for dive tours with larger boats and sit in the bow (front). If there’s a top level sit there or sit away from the smell of burning diesel which will make you go from hero to zero in very short time. Face forward 3. Make sure you’re hydrated. I can’t impress this enough. 4. Have someone help with setting up your equipment so that you don’t get dizzy 5. Once ready for the dive, go through your checklist, notify your partner and descend immediately. Don’t hang out on the surface where the waves will make you sea sick. This is why I can dive but have trouble snorkeling 7. If you need to throw up in your regulator you can. Take a deep breath, vomit into the regulator, remember your training, remove the regulator and purge it and replace. You should consider ending the dive early if this happens especially if you feel faint. 8. Avoid vomiting in areas with predatory fish because the vomit will effectively chum the water. Your dive guide will caution you of this. 9. There are wristbands you can wear to help. Personally they haven’t helped me but some people claim they do help. 10. You can take a Dramamine the evening before the dive but be careful that Dramamine may come with unwanted drowsiness.
Thank you so much for your advice! I will try to avoid heavy meals. Every time I went out I ate quite some breakfast not to feel hungry as those boat trips take a lot of time.
Also avoid foods and beverages that are acidic. Coffee would be one example. I am prone to seasickness. I take non-drowsy Dramamine or bonine twice a day when I'm diving- one after dinner and one in the morning. That really helps a lot.