Anyone know anything about seasickness?

Question

I was just wondering if sea-sickness is a brief malady or if it's something that plagues you for a whole voyage (eg, you vomit and then feel fine, or vomiting makes no difference).

Also, am I right in understanding that a sailor's 'sea legs' are his/ her ability to withstand sea-sickness? And if so, is it something you have for life or do you have to develop sea legs for every voyage?

Lastly, how relevant is the size/ type of a vessel to levels of sickness? EG- small fishing boat, lots of sea sickness; aircraft carrier, next to no sickness?

Thanks for your help!

Answer 1

In reality, seasickness or motion sickness in general is caused by the body (inner ear) telling the brain that it's moving. The brain checks with the eyes and says... "Nope, we're not moving... we're POISONED!!!"

The vomiting is a last ditch effort by the brain to rid the body of the perceived toxin.

Thankfully, mercifully, the malady in most cases is quite short-lived, but some people are seasick forever. "Sea Legs" simply refers to getting used to the rolling motion of the ocean. Really there is no correlation between the size of the vessel and the severity of seasickness.

A good way to combat the malady is to be on deck, where the eyes can SEE that indeed, you're moving. Occasionally, I even feel a bit off after a period below decks and being at the helm helps a great deal in regaining composure and a natural color.

Gravol, or the newer anti-motion sickness bracelet have saved countless people their lunches.

Hope this helps.

Answer 2

We went on a cruise last year, and had an injection, after a 2O minute lay down, we was fine, no more seasickness for the entire cruise.

The year before that we was on a fairy up an down Ferry, I found that if you keep yourself cool, and made your way towards the very middle of the vessel, and if you can keep your eyes on the mainland, that seems to do the trick.

Or there are bracelets - something to do with acupuncture points, I have not tried these but a friend of mine swears by them?

The motion of the little boats are far worse then a large cruise ship, but either way, if you are the type that suffers sea sickness then you will. I have not found that it gets easier the longer the voyage personally.

I can honestly say that it IS the worse sickness to suffer I have known. Sea legs prevent you from falling over, but I was told that some real old sea dogs can still get sea sick given the right weather. Good luck!

Answer 3

Good question. Most people get seasick now and again and it generally lasts up to a day. You shouldn't be sailing if you get it for longer as it is quite a miserable experience. Most people say they feel better when they have had a spew - don't forget to go to the side opposite from where the wind is blowing but I would prefer you to commandeer a bucket and use that. Its dangerous hanging over the side and if you do use a life line.

I think sea legs are when you feel comfortable at standing steady to the swing of the boat - practise this on the London underground. I find I develop this each voyage and I also feel queasy (but rarely get sick) for the first day.

Some people are prone to seasickness - most people are not but I know of no one who hasn't felt a bit dicky at some time on a boat. I guess the bigger the boat the more stable it is and the less chance of sickness.

Answer 4

Sea seakness does not even require the sea . This is a disturbance of the inner ear. The inner ear is like a level used by the body to well maintain its level and know when its off level and when its standing and so on.
A person that has an inner ear disturbance has sea sickness
that just means that the little level bubble so to speak has been shaken so much it wont settle and so it keeps sending signals to the rest of the body off balance even when it may be right balanced. this results in the feeling of nausea and often the result is too vomit. Gravol is used to treat this most often . there are other drugs such as a patch that is used to provide slow absorbtion of the drug over a longer period of time . A person may adjust to the rocking and be fine however at some point if the rocking is great enough any person will feel sick.
Sea legs are sort of like sea sickness except that is a term that refers to how well a person adjusted to the rocking in so much as the body and brian are now able to anticipate the rolls and so
start using the legs and body to correct for the rolls automatically . When a person who has been at sea on a ship or just swimming for awhile goes back on shore and stands still
they may then feel dizzy even fall down and can vomit. This is
sea sickness sort of in reverse. no longer does the middle ear and body need to keep up a rythm of anticipation of a roll but it still does for a few minutes or even a day or two . so the person ie me feels like i am on a boat in the waves when on land. so you might say i had my sea legs but now dont have my land lovers legs.
the size of the vessel is relevent to the pitch but the design is off much greater relivence. a small tri haul boat or ship can stay still in large waves yet a ship with a v haul is rolling about like mad.
the discovery channel had a great show on this and how oil rigs are able to not just tip over and such.

Answer 5

Bear with me. I once crewed a small pasenger ship for two years. The crew had different duties to do on a rota basis. When it was my duty to 'go below' [especially in rough seas] I was felt 'green' in these conditions. When I was 'top-side' on the bridge [wheelhouse] I never felt any seasickness at all , even in large seas. The movement of any vessel can disturb your equalibrium [balance] , which is in the ears. It all depends on where you are on the ship and , more importantly , what you are doing to keep yourself busy. The centre of a vessel is usually the best place to be. It's not the first time that I 'spewed my ring' over the side , but remember , in doing so , make sure you spew away from the wind or 'you'll get your own back' : If possible , get a job on the bridge , so that you can see all around you and you will be concentrating on the sea conditions

Answer 6

sea sickness is an easy way to ruin a good time, if your unsure if you will get it take dramamine about an hour before getting on the boat just to be safe. once your sick keeping it down will be a bear.
Sea legs are different altogether. sea legs are a sailors term to dealing with the swaying of the boat and predicting the next move of a boats rocking. sea legs come over time.
As far as boat size to seasickness you can get motion sickness on any boat weather is a large factor as well. the smaller the boat the worse the swaying/rocking will be in equal weather conditions. Although i was on a 500 foot ship taking 45 degree rolls to both sides (nasty weather)

Answer 7

I do a lot of deep sea fishing in Fla out 30 40 miles in my
boat thirty four ft , I have over the years know when I am
getting sick my legs get to feel a weak sensation. when
that happens I look straight up into the sky and focus on
a cloud ,star , moon, sun some thing... in several minutes it
goes away An old retired navy Doctor taught me that It
dont work for everyone but it really works for me .been
out there in 12 to 16 ft swells no problem..

Answer 8

i was in the royal navy for a few years. the very first time i went to sea i was as sick as a dog, and had to keep heading up to the upper deck for the view of the horizon. it's pretty nasty but i think your body adjusts to the motion thus obtaining your sea legs. as for the size of the ship a smaller vessel will move more violently than one the size of an aircraft carrier.some of the severe suffers will deliberately drafted onto aircraft carriers to combat this which in the main worked, but it was not unheard of for personnel to be discharged for severe cases. hope this helps

Answer 9

The size and shape of the vessel can be a factor in seasickness. The old cross-channel hovercraft produced a lot of sick passengers but when the owners increased the length by about a half, the travel was much smoother.

Answer 10

I can tell you something of my own experience; I have only ever actually thrown up once, and that was the first time i went to sea i was about 7, i got over it though, but i do get quesy now and then, it is temporary, and tends to only last an hour or so. I tend to do something when i start noticing that i am "losing it", like have some ginger tea, put music on, stand up, take the helm, fresh air, avoiding strong smells like diesel fumes, etc. Ginger is best, though.