Seasickness is something that happens to all of us, although there is a huge disparity of symptoms. Some people are unconscious of the symptoms, while for others the reaction can be more dramatic. It is essential to ensure that all crew members are able to manage seasickness and that the master is aware.

There are numerous myths and old wives’ tales that surround seasickness, just as there are many patches, pills, drinks, bands, etc. Some work for some people, others can even make things worse. But here are a few of them: Tablets and patches; The patches are applied behind the ear, releasing a drug into the bloodstream. For some people these are a life-saver and for others they are a nightmare, causing drowsiness and disorientation. The patches can be more effective than tablets for someone already suffering, in which case they may have difficulty keeping them down until they start to work. The little red symbol on the packet, indicating that the user should not use machinery, is there for a very good reason. Wrist bands; These are very simple, bands with studs that apply pressure to a point on the inner wrist, supposedly suppressing nausea. These can work for some people, but their effectiveness is not proven. Some people swear by ginger, either raw or crystallised, to settle the stomach, but the only certain cure is the most fundamental one – sit under a tree! Extensive research busts a few myths, notably the idea that there are people who do not suffer from seasickness, demonstrating that everyone suffers to a greater or lesser extent. While vomiting is not always a symptom, the reaction to the marine environment is such that everyone has been tested has shown sympathetic affection such as changes in breathing, blood pressure and heartbeat, slowing of digestion as well as symptoms of headache, drowsiness and disturbed arousal, all effects of vessel movement.

Seafaring is a constant adaptation to a new environment, the brain receives information from the inner ear, the eyes, through the soles of the feet and through the process of proprioception that supplies the nervous system with information on the body’s upright stance. Even when someone stands motionless, there is still a slight bodily sway that is part of the body constantly assessing its posture. When this system is affected, the result can be symptoms of seasickness. Being at sea can be tiring, particularly in bad weather when even sitting can be fatiguing, this is not a physical fatigue due to exertion, but more a centrally- located tiredness of the brain. The body is compensating and de-compensating all the time and this affects our capacity to calculate speed and distance that is apparent as clumsiness.

The other side of the equation is mal de debarquement, which affects people after they are back on shore and it can take as long to acquire land legs as it does sea legs. The golden rule is three days to get your sea legs, and the same time to adapt to being back on land. Fishermen who are back on shore score badly in calculating moving objects and many say that they should not drive a car for those first few days. Blame your inner ear A group of researchers in this field have been able to extend the research by examining cetaceans. All life began in the oceans, but around 50 million years ago some land mammals returned to the sea, becoming cetaceans, and the first of those aquatic mammals must have suffered from seasickness, so how did they adapt? Examination of the inner ears of whales has shown that cetaceans evolved to cope with motion sickness by de-developing organs of the inner ear that are no longer used. The bad guy is the inner ear. Those who don’t have a functioning inner ear don’t get sick, the process of getting over at least the outward symptoms of seasickness is when the brain learns to ignore or dampen the inner ear’s false signals. Everyone gets seasick, but nausea and vomiting are widely regarded as the only symptoms, when in fact other symptoms may remain that are not necessarily perceived as such, including losses of dexterity and alertness that can contribute to accidents. There are of course huge individual differences, but in general we can group people into those who are prone to seasickness and those who are less prone to it. There are people who claim they never experience seasickness – but they do. It’s just that the outer symptoms aren’t there. A natural reaction

Is there a cure for seasickness?

The concept of a cure is wrong. This is not a sickness. Seasickness is a natural reaction to a sick environment. We can talk about a cure if a person is unhealthy or injured, but that isn’t the case here. Seasickness is the reaction of a healthy person with a healthy inner ear to an unnatural environment, so there’s nothing to cure. A ‘cure’ for seasickness is a huge question for industry and for any seafarers who need to be alert and effective, one of the best symptom- relieving drugs is Scopalamine, which through its anti- cholinergic effects causes little drowsiness. Most of the other anti- seasickness drugs do cause drowsiness and are often made with caffeine to counteract drowsiness and in the past even contained amphetamines for just that reason, these are all strictly anti-symptomatic drugs. The effectiveness of seabands may be a placebo, as they are supposed to suppress nausea that like drugs, do not address the root cause of the body’s postural control system being overloaded while at sea.

Don’t go to sea. That’s the only way to not be seasick!