Sea Sick!

Hello Fishies!

Here is a very important topic that you don’t often find discussed. Almost everyone suffers from seasickness at one time or another, and believe me it is unlike anything you have ever experienced. Most of those who experience it pray for death, it's that bad!

Almost all of those involved in Deadliest Catch have it when they first put to sea. The former engineer on the Cornelia Marie was legendary for two things: he was a world class chef and never had one moments respite from seasickness.

Seasickness is one area that will never be shown to you on this series. Why? Because we humans have a tendency to sympathize with the sufferer to the point that we will join them in their misery. Can't have you puking while you are watching TV!

From Wikipedia:

Seasickness is a form of motion sickness characterized by a feeling of nausea and, in extreme cases, vertigo experienced after spending time on a craft on water. It is typically brought on by the rocking motion of the craft, but people who are particularly vulnerable to the condition can feel seasick simply by setting foot on a boat, even if the vessel is in dry dock.

Seasickness can be a debilitating condition and can be dangerous if the sufferer has an important role to carry out, such as steering a yacht through stormy seas while avoiding rocks and other hazards.

Cause

Human beings instinctively seek to remain upright by keeping their centre of gravity over their feet. The most important way this is achieved is by visual reference to surrounding objects, such as the horizon. Seasickness often results from the visual confusion on a moving craft, when nearby objects move with the motion of the craft. Because the lines of the masts, windows, and furniture on a ship are constantly shifting with respect to fixed references, humans can suffer a number of afflictions, especially those unaccustomed to being at sea.

Sea-sickness has such a remarkable effect because both the sense of sight and touch are disturbed by the motion of a craft on water. The severity of seasickness is also influenced by the irregular pressure of the bowels against the diaphragm as they shift with the rising and falling of the ship.

Many experience similar effects while not at sea:

• in railway carriages
• in automobiles
• on swings
• while looking from a lofty precipice where known objects, being distant, are viewed under a new aspect and not so readily recognized
• while walking on a wall or roof
• while looking directly up to a roof
• while observing the stars in the zenith
• on walking into a round room, where there are no perpendicular lines of light and shade and the walls and ceiling are covered with an irregularly-spotted design
• on twirling round, as in waltzing
• while watching video captured by an unsteady camera
• carnival rides (my addition)
  

Prevention and remedy

Over-the-counter and prescription medications such as dramamine and scopolamine (as transdermal patches and tablets) are readily available. Ginger capsules are also considered effective in preventing motion sickness. Some sufferers find that wearing special wristbands helps stave off the condition.

Those suffering from seasickness who are unaccustomed to the motion of a ship often find relief by:

• keeping their eyes directed to the fixed shore or horizon, where possible
• lying down on their backs and closing their eyes
• drinking any substance that is likely to temporarily diminish their senses of sight and touch
• move into a position where fresh air is blowing on their face
• sucking on crystallised ginger, sipping ginger tea or taking a capsule of ginger.
• keeping near the centre of the boat where any rocking motion is least pronounced
• taking the helm of a yacht can reduce sickness as the sufferer has something to concentrate on, and can also anticiptate the movement of the vessel

Unlike with a hangover, succumbing to nausea normally does not relieve the symptoms of seasickness, and, once started, is often difficult to stop.

A "Coast Guard cocktail" is a prescribed combination of drugs used to combat seasickness. Traditionally the cocktail base is promethazine, an antihistamine that is used specifically to prevent motion sickness. Because of the drowsiness associated with this drug, a stimulant is added to complete the cocktail. Traditionally the stimulant is either ephedrine or pseudoephedrine. There are other combinations of drugs used to prevent seasickness but they are not generally referred to as the "Coast Guard cocktail".

Motion Sickness or kinetosis is a condition in which the fluid in the semicircular canals of the inner ear becomes agitated. This causes disagreement between the apparent visually perceived lack of movement and the inner ear's sense of actual movement. Depending on the cause it can also be referred to as seasickness, carsickness, simulation sickness, airsickness, or space sickness.

Dizziness, fatigue, and nausea are the most common symptoms of motion sickness. In fact, nausea in Greek means seasickness (naus means ship). If the motion causing nausea is not resolved, the sufferer will frequently vomit within twenty minutes. Unlike ordinary sickness, vomiting in motion sickness tends not to relieve the nausea.

About one third of people are susceptible to motion sickness in mild circumstances such as being on a boat in calm water, although nearly two thirds of people are susceptible in more severe conditions. Approximately half of the astronauts in the U.S. space program have suffered from space sickness.

Motion sickness on the sea can result from being in the berth of a rolling boat without being able to see the horizon. Sudden jerky movements tend to be worse for provoking motion sickness than slower smooth ones, because they disrupt the fluid balance more. A "corkscrewing" boat will upset more people than one that is gliding smoothly across the oncoming waves. Cars driving rapidly around winding roads or up and down a series of hills will upset more people than cars that are moving over smooth, straight roads. Looking down into one's lap to consult a map or attempting to read a book while a passenger in a car may also bring on motion sickness.

The most common theory for the cause of motion sickness is that it evolved as a defence mechanism against neurotoxins. The area postrema in the brain is responsible for inducing vomiting when poisons are detected, and for resolving conflicts between vision and balance. When feeling motion but not seeing it (for example, in a ship with no windows), the inner ear transmits to the brain that it senses motion, but the eyes tell the brain that everything is still. The area postrema will always believe the inner ear signal over the eyes, as the eyes are more susceptible to trickery. As a result, the brain will come to the conclusion that one is hallucinating and further conclude that the hallucination is due to poison ingestion. The brain responds by inducing vomiting, to clear the supposed toxin.

Here is a great site for more information:

http://seasickness.co.uk/

Stay tuned!

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