Sea sickness could change your best day to your worst night
This was the best day of Paul's life. He married Maria in a
wonderful ceremony at the Catholic church in Coconut Grove,
Florida. They had been in love for a year and he had proposed
two months ago. A white Rolls Royce took them from the church to
the family gathering. Two hundred family and friends assembled
under a tent on Paul's parents' property. They were all very
nice people who smiled, danced and laughed all evening. The food
and champagne were plentiful.
The married couple escaped to board a cruise ship in Miami
Beach. They had the best cabin and the newly wed Maria lay on
the bed surrounded by flowers and presents. Maria's shoes and
stockings were removed by Paul and he started to undress her as
the ship left the shores to the sea.
A few minutes later, Paul was no longer with Maria. He was on
the lower deck, his bow tie hanging on the side, his white shirt
half-undone. Paul's suntanned face had turned to green. He was
hanging on the riggings having the worst case of sea-sickness
you can imagine. He was dizzy, his mind was foggy and he was
vomiting the three course meal from the reputed French chef his
parents had hired for the wedding.
It was Paul and Maria's worst night.
Many people experience sea-sickness or motion sickness and it is
a normal response to conditions similar to those found on high
seas during stormy weather. Individuals can get nausea, malaise
and other unpleasant symptoms while on a boat, in a car, on a
plane, in space or even in an elevator. Space motion sickness is
a well-recognized problem for space flight and affects 73% of
crew members within the first 2 or 3 days of their initial
flight. Illness severity is variable, but over half of the cases
are categorized as moderate to severe.
Some people actually get "seasick" after returning to land after
being out on a boat for an extended period of time. To
experience motion sickness, one must have a normally functioning
vestibular, or balance, system. Most people adapt fairly rapidly
to motion, and after a few days at sea, for example, no longer
experience the symptoms.
Most medications used for prevention and treatment (e.g.,
anticholinergics and antihistamines) induce unwanted sedation.
Furthermore, no one drug is completely effective or preventive.
Some of the medications used for sea and motion sickness are:
Antihistamines
Dimenhydrinate (Dramamine