How to avoid sea sickness

What is sea sickness? Sea sickness or Mal De Mer is a form of motion sickness caused by a mismatch of inputs to the brain. Your brain gets signals from your inner ear about your body’s movement which do not match with what your other senses are telling it about your body’s motion. This confusion translates to discomfort, nausea and vomiting.

Will you get sea sick on a boat here in Thailand? That largely depends on your susceptibility, some are more prone to motion sickness than others. Although some lucky folks can go out in any weather with no adverse affects most of us will suffer from some form of motion sickness at some point in their lives. The more time you spend at sea the more acclimated you become but if you rarely step on board a boat and have a trip planned you may be nervous about getting sick. Here is some advise to prevent it.

Tips to help you avoid sea sickness:

1. Avoid bad weather. Apart from avoiding sea travel altogether the next best thing to do is to go boating on a day when the sea is flat. On the Andaman sea side of Thailand, so the sea around Phuket, Khao Lak, Phi Phi, Krabi, Koh Lanta etc, that means January to April. In these months the sea should be perfectly flat. At other times of year some waves are always possible, the best you can do is check the short term weather forecast. If you know that you are prone to sea sickness avoid small, slow boats and long journeys.

2. Take sea sickness medication. You can’t always predict the weather or choose the ideal time of year to take your holiday, sometimes medication is the best option. Some sea sickness pills, like Dramamine, contains antihistamines which will make you drowsy but there is also some very effective medication available with no tiredness side effects such as Stugeron. Ask your pharmacist’s advice. Scopolamine patches can be prescribed by a doctor for serious sea sickness sufferers but they are too strong to be used on a regular basis. Other useful meds could be decongestants, if you are congested your inner ear balance will be affected which could cause sea sickness. Medication should usually be taken early, before you board the boat. It may be too late once you feel the start of symptoms so if you think there is any chance of you suffering, take the medication.

3. Try natural remedies. The best is ginger, try ginger tea or ginger biscuits.

4. Look out to sea. Once on the boat stay on deck in the fresh air and look out at the horizon to give your brain a reference point. Going inside a hot and smelly cabin will probably make you feel worse so if you must go below decks try and stay somewhere well ventilated with no strong galley or engine smells. Sitting in the centre of the boat will reduce the effects of the boat’s roll.

5. Do nothing. Staying still and closing your eyes gives your brain fewer confusing inputs to compute. Don’t lay on your belly, it will push up and make you feel worse. Don’t read a book or play with your smart phone, focusing on anything small often makes people feel sea sick.

6. Do something. Having something to do can also help, even if it just takes your mind off your malady. Can you take the wheel for a while?

What to do if you are sick.

1. Let it all out. Once it’s out you’ll feel a lot better. Be sick on the downwind side of the boat or at the back, don’t block the toilet or fill the bin so the smell sets everyone else off.

2. Jump in the water. Obviously you should wait until the boat stops. Most people find that they feel 100% better as soon as the jump off the boat.