Travel / Motion Sickness - Help!

[northwest monkey]

To be honest, I feel a bit of a wuss admitting this, but I could really do with some help.

I'm 40 and have had bad motion sickness for as long as I can remember and I think it's getting worse. Never mind going on fairground rides, I can't actually look at things like the Waltzers without starting to feel odd (head spinning etc). I went on a big wheel thing in Manchester a couple of years ago and felt rough for 24 hours afterwards. Last time I went on a pedalo, I nearly threw up. It's got that bad, my son was playing a game on the PS3 last week (Pod Racing IIRC) and the screen was all over the place - within minutes, so was I!

Sitting backwards on a train is a no-no but funnily enough I have no problems on planes (tend to fall asleep before the plane has left the runway).

Here's my problem - I'm going to France in a couple of weeks and we're going on a ferry. Last time I went on one was from Algeciras to Ceuta on a hydrofoil thing which was ok - it was only an hour and I stood at the back not talking to anyone. This time, it's a proper big ferry.

Couple of questions...

Why am I getting this?

Is there anything I can take to deal with 6 hours on a boat?

I have done a few ferry crossings before, but not for some time & the last time (Newhaven - Dieppe nearly 30 years ago) I was sick as a dog before we even set sail.

Ta for reading folks

[FatSumo]

You can use travel sickness tablets, however I found that I was better without them as most of the side effects WERE sea sickness


What we do is stick to plain drinks such as water mixed with cordial, light food and ginger biscuits which seem to stop the feeling of nausea trying to stay near outside doors can be a big help too so that you can watch the horizon and get fresh air, the ferries can get very stuffy!

[Martin_M]

I've met a good few people who swear by the travel sickness bracelets.

[Prof Prolapse]

Martin_M said:

I've met a good few people who swear by the travel sickness bracelets.

I do hope you slapped them very hard with a science book.

[mrpurple]

Martin_M said:

I've met a good few people who swear by the travel sickness bracelets.

Placebo or not they worked for me.

[Martin_M]

Prof Prolapse said:

I do hope you slapped them very hard with a science book.

I've never felt the need to look up the science behind them. If it works for those people then good for them.

[HootersGsy]

Have to admit I'm not great on boats either. Lying down really helps as the motion doesn't feel quite so bad, as does getting lots of fresh air. My preferred technique these days is get the overnight boat, have a couple of beers and sleep through!

You could always cancel the ferry and get on the Channel Tunnel instead

[jenmx5]

Martin_M said:

I've met a good few people who swear by the travel sickness bracelets.

I swear by them, I get really bad motion sickness and they're the only thing that has worked. Never read into the science of them and tbh, placebo or not, they work so I don't really care either way

[Prof Prolapse]

Would any of you like to buy some rocks that keep tigers away?

£5 each.

[Z06George]

mrpurple said:

Martin_M said:

I've met a good few people who swear by the travel sickness bracelets.

Placebo or not they worked for me.

+1
I had really bad travel sickness as a child and found them to be much better than tablets!

[northwest monkey]

HootersGsy said:

Have to admit I'm not great on boats either. Lying down really helps as the motion doesn't feel quite so bad, as does getting lots of fresh air. My preferred technique these days is get the overnight boat, have a couple of beers and sleep through!

You could always cancel the ferry and get on the Channel Tunnel instead

We've got a cabin and it's a daytime crossing so at least I can go for a walk or a lie down. Did look at the train, but it just didn't work for schedules etc. I'm not a huge fan of tunnels either if I'm honest

Thanks for all your advice chaps - I'll let you know how I get on

[MrChips]

I get it really bad. Trains, coaches, planes, ferry, you name it. Try some Stugeron tablets (most pharmacies have them).
They work for me, with no side effects at all.

You could always try some at home to check for side effects first?

[Graculus]

MrChips said:

I get it really bad. Trains, coaches, planes, ferry, you name it. Try some Stugeron tablets (most pharmacies have them).
They work for me, with no side effects at all.

You could always try some at home to check for side effects first?

Stugeron are excellent but can make some people extremely drowsy so definitely try them at home first, especially if you will need to drive after the ferry trip.

Whilst on the ferry, try to stay near the middle of the ship where motion will be at a minimum. Also, looking at the horizon tends to help reduce nausea.

[northwest monkey]

Graculus said:

MrChips said:

I get it really bad. Trains, coaches, planes, ferry, you name it. Try some Stugeron tablets (most pharmacies have them).
They work for me, with no side effects at all.

You could always try some at home to check for side effects first?

Stugeron are excellent but can make some people extremely drowsy so definitely try them at home first, especially if you will need to drive after the ferry trip.

Whilst on the ferry, try to stay near the middle of the ship where motion will be at a minimum. Also, looking at the horizon tends to help reduce nausea.

Cheers chaps - we'd originally booked an overnight crossing with a cabin, but the ferry company cancelled the cabin and have moved us to a daytime crossing with a cabin (and paid for a hotel in France). As annoying as it was when this happened, in hindsight it will probably be a blessing as we have a 350 mile trip once in France so if I didn't get any sleep on the ferry I would be in trouble the following day (the OH doesn't drive). At least this way, I don't need to sleep on the ferry and we've got about a 45 minute drive to our hotel in France where I can get a proper sleep in a room that doesn't move

The funny thing is, I don't get any travel sickness on planes - much to the annoyance of my OH I find them very relaxing and normally fall asleep before we've taken off.