Fending Off Seasickness When Traveling on a Boat
Certainly not every vacation activity or destination involves boarding a ship – in fact, most do not. However, if you take an international trip, your odds certainly increase – and so does the likelihood of dealing with motion sickness.
Motion sickness on a boat or ship can be a problem for anyone, given the right movement circumstances. It is simply caused by the way your ears adjust to your eyes that results in some people feeling queasy shortly after they get on a boat while others are perfectly fine.
Recognizing the Symptoms
Seasickness comes about when your eyes are looking out straight, but your body is moving, causing your ears to be out of sync with your eyes.
If you stand still looking at something and your body is moving back and forth, your five senses simply do not “understand” that, and the result can be some level of nausea.
The symptoms of seasickness are easy to spot. You may start to sweat a lot, have a problem focusing on certain objects, feel as if you may vomit, and have extreme dizziness.
All in all, it is not a pleasant feeling, though it is not dangerous. Once you step off of the boat, you will start to feel better after a little land adjustment.
Preventive Measures
If you are prone to becoming seasick, there are preventive medications you can take and also things you can do while on the boat to minimize the symptoms.
First, prior to boarding the ship, start with the medication that your doctor provided. Alternatively, you can purchase a motion sickness patch that you put behind your ear to assist.
You can find these patches at your local pharmacy or even at the boarding dock before departure. These patches are made for your body to balance itself and so your visual cues won’t be different from your bodily cues.
Get Some Fresh Air
Once you are on the ship and feel a bit of seasickness coming on, it is best to get some fresh air. Since the waves themselves cause seasickness, keep your eyes fixed on the horizon, or simply lay down on a steady object on the ship.
Do so on your back to give your body more stability to help your ears can work in conjunction with your eyes. It is best to keep your eyes open as well since when closing them you tend to succumb to the motion of the waves.
Finally, try to eat something that will take the nausea away – crackers or soda can serve this purpose. You may not be able to rid yourself of seasickness once you have it, but at the very least you can adjust to and cope with the symptoms.
