Conference abbott::cruise_travel

    I've known folks that swear by them and I've also known folks that
    had them and were at the doctor's office 5 minutes away from the
    dock for dramimine. I think (like many of these things), that it
    probably takes a little faith and perhaps belief in witch doctors.
    On the otherhand, many people don't have any problems with sea
    sickness anyway and if you are sailing in the Carribean, its almost
    always smooth as glass.
    
    Anyway, if they aren't too expensive, I'd opt for them and if they
    work, great because it is true that medicine does have side effects.
    If they don't work, you can get dramimine from the doctor's office
    (usually free).
    
    The one thing you don't want to be is sea sick. Only happened to me
    on my very first cruise and I've been on some rough one since then,
    e.g., an earthquake in Alaska, the end game of a hurricane in the
    North Atlantic, etc but on that first one, I was afraid I'd die and
    as it got worse, I was afraid I wouldn't.
    

    I didn't get a chance to try the braclet but will swear by the motion
    sick patch thats applied to the area behind your ear.
    
    Take it from someone who had to leave the wave pool at Water Country I
    get queezy *everywhere* and Dramamine always made me sleepy - even when
    I only took 1/2 a pill.  I used the 'patch' (by perscription only) for
    a 1 week trip that included a total of 14 hours on a plane, several
    train rides with about 20 hours of riding and 3 hours on a canal boat
    and not one moment of sickness. 
    
    Joyce

        Copied from the NY times Q/A column without permission

    The least rocking motion is experienced in a cabin in the lower part
    of midship, according to the spokeswoman for Cruise Line International
    Association, which represents 31 cruise lines.

    Dr. Kenneth L. Koch, a gastroenterologist at Hershey Medical Center in
    Hershey Pa., who specializes in the study and treatment of motion
    sickness, offers this additional advice to those prone to seasickness:

    When on deck face forward and keep your gaze on the horizon.  The sight
    of rolling waves or the nearby shoreline can contribute to nausea.

    Eat lightly, mainly starchy meals or snacks like cereal, toast or
    crackers.  Laboratory tests have found the a stomach doing the work of
    digestion is less likely to suffer the most intense symptoms.  Fatty
    meals, which slow the stomach down, do not help.

    Divert your attention with a card game, for example, or some other
    activity.  Pilots and astronauts report little nausea when engaged in
    tasks requiring concentration.

    If you worry that the above won't help, ask your doctor about
    medication.  Dr. Koch says that many travelers find a scopolamine patch
    worn behind the ear to be effective; these work for three days.  The
    side effects can be dry mouth, blurring of vision and some sedation. 
    Dramamine and Bonine, trade names for two types of antihistamines used
    to prevent motion sickness, often cause sedation.  Dr. Koch said that
    motion sickness had been controlled continuous electrical stimulation
    of a point on the left wrist said by acupuncturists to affect nausea. 
    A portable stimulator is being developed and some use a wrist band
    with a lump that applies pressure to the point.

    Finally, Dr. Koch said, remember that if you do get seasick, the malady
    will most likely pass. Most people adapt to their new moving
    environment.  How long that takes varies, but for most it is within a
    few days.

    Just wanted to pass on one other point -- my mom and I took a cruise to
    Alaska and got prescriptions for the patches.  I did just fine with
    mine - not even any sedation problems.  Unfortunately we discovered
    that my mom was allergic to something in the patch -- she broke out in
    a rash all over and was quite uncomfortable until we found out what was
    causing it, and the medication wore off after we took the patch off. 
    The bracelet wasn't available then, but would have been a great
    alternative for her.  Luckily she turned out to be a great sailor and
    didn't need the help anyway.
    
    Pat
    

On the two cruises I've been on (one in Alaska, one in Hawaii), the ships
offered meclizine for seasickness.  It worked great for me and my S.O.
They warn that it can cause drowsiness and dry mouth, but we didn't have
any problems.  And it enabled us to partake of all the food with no
qualms! :-)  (And there were some kind of rough seas on our Hawaii cruise.)

							-- Nina

    Update to base note re wrist bands:
    
    I gave it a valiant try, but they didn't work for me.  I had to settle
    for the dramamine and once taken I was fine, but it definitely was not
    fun for awhile.  My husband, on the other hand, wasn't bothered in the
    least.  Course he can eat chili at 11:00pm too....different
    constitutions I guess.