Part 2, What is Seasickness? And 50 Ways Professional Mariners Tackle It!

by John Konrad

What is the definition of misery? Answer: Seasickness

26.Saline Drip & O2 – Between sweating, vomiting and forgetting to eat or drink seasickness can quickly dehydrate you worsening your condition fast. So, for some, a trip to the ship hospital results in an IV and an 02 mask which hydrate and oxygenate the patient making then quickly feel better. But a far simpler solution is to drink water and get fresh air before you get dehydrated.

27.Hammock – A hammock strung fore-to-aft will let you lay motionless while the ship rolls beneath you. It won’t remove all motion (you still feel the up and down heave of the ship) but it does reduce the rolls.

28.Be A Burrito – If the hammock doesn’t work for you try wedging lifejackets under your bed to create an acute angle between the mattress and the wall, then climb in. This essentially turns your matteress into a burrito shaped shell, pinning you against the wall and preventing you from rolling in your bed.

29.Get In The Water – While this is impossible on most ships, if you are on a dive boat or on a cruise ship with a swimming pool you can reduce the water’s motion by submersing yourself in it! This works best when you are fully underwater with a SCUBA set.

30.Stay In The Middle – A ship balances at it’s center so that is the place where motion is least pronounced. The bow and stern should be avoided at all cost.

31.Get To Work – Dinghy sailors rarely get seasick and this is because their is too much work to be done by the small crew to notice the bad weather surrounding them. Free your mind and body with work or exercise to avoid getting sick.

32.Hair Of The Dog – In Britain new sailors are called Greenies for the color their skin takes when the ship starts rolling. Many people get terribly seasick in the beginning of their careers but become old salts after battling their first major – week long – storm.

33.Lay Down – Some say that lying down prevents histamine from reaching the brain, decreasing nausea. Try laying on your back to prevent your stomach from being pushed into the deck by your body weight.

34.The “Navy Cocktail” - This remedy consists of a heavy dose of both ephedrine and phenergan taken orally and was reportedly used by both the US Navy and NASA astronauts. We can’t suggest taking either without seeking a doctor’s advice.

35.Roll With The Punches – Fighting the roll of a ship can quickly cause fatigue which can lead to seasickness. Try to roll with the ship instead of stiffening up and fighting the motion (as most newbies unconsciously do).

36.Ice Water – Immerse your feet in ice water. We are not sure if this is a wive’s tale or real cure but I know of at least one sailor who swears by it.

37.Drink Coke OR Avoid Coke – Some people swear that Coke helps prevent sea-sickness others say that it causes it. Some also say that any carbonated beverage will help quite the stomach but that ginger beer works best.

38.Get a Diagnostic – Some people don’t have sea-sickness at all. They have vertigo or food allergies or other medical conditions that – once cured – relieve themselves to be the true culprit.

39.Steer The Ship – Taking the helm keeps your eyes on the horizon (2), allows you to change heading (19) and keeps you busy (30) but mostly it gives you a feeling of control over the elements and can be a fast cure to sea-sickness.

40.Clean Your Ears – Most of us take frequent showers and clean our ears out regularly but, if you don’t, wax build-up in your ear has been reported to lead to motion sickness.

41.Lean Back - Keeping head movements to a minimum may help you reduce the number and complexity of inputs to the brain. To do this recline your chair slightly resting your head.

42.Pull The Trigger – Don’t sit around fearing the sickness and go ahead an tickle your throat by sticking your fingers way down inside. Some sailors swear by it!

43.Removing Part Of Your Brain – A university study (Hoffer, 2003). found that by removing the nodulus section of a dog’s brain effectively prevented motion sickness. It’s also thought by some that children under 2 are immune from motion sickness because this part of the barin has yet to develop.


44.Monitor your breathing – Hyperventilation can lead to lightness of head and induce many of the symptoms of seasickness. Take deep, controlled breaths and stay calm to prevent hyperventilating.

45.Always Puke To Leeward – If you feel like you might throw up then go topside and puke to leeward. This is important!

46.Take a Chill Pill – Doctors don’t always do as suggested. I sailed with a doctor once who prescribed Scopolamine to all his patients but, for himself, he preferred Valium. Diazepam , lorazepam and klonazepam are all reported to work but, becarefull, these meds are sedating and can be addictive.

47.Decongest – Stuffed and runny noses play havoc on the inner ear so, some suggest, vapor rub or chili powder to clear the nasal passages.

48.Get Some Rest - Sleep deprivation magnifies the occurrence of motion sickness because, according to US Navy research, it interferes with the vestibular system ( located in small cavities hollowed out of bone within each ear) habituation process. In the maritime environment, this is often a compounded problem since the sleeping conditions aboard a vessel. The solution? Get plenty of rest before the storm arrives.

49.Be Friendly - Some studies have suggested that motion sickness tends to be greater in introverts (Kottenhoff & Lindahl 1960) this may partly be due to their being slower adaptors (Reason & Graybiel 1972).

50. Know the enemy -

But what is motion sickness? Sometimes the best prevention is knowledge so, to answer the question, motion sickness is a generic term for the discomfort and associated vomiting induced by a variety of motion conditions aboard ships, aircraft, vehicles, on swings or amusement park rides, in zero gravity environments (e.g. space), and elevators. Actually, the term “motion sickness” is somewhat of a misnomer from two perspectives. First, it can be induced in the absence of motion as during a virtual reality simulation, and secondly, sickness implies that it is a type of disease, when in fact it is a perfectly normal response of a healthy individual without any functional disorders (Benson 1999). Although the symptoms and physiological responses are consistent for all motions, seasickness varies with the individual.

What causes motion sickness? Most research suggests that motion sickness is caused by the vestibular apparatus (located within the inner ear, the vestibular apparatus provides the brain with information about self motion) sending signals that do not match the sensations of motion generated by visual or kinaesthetic (awareness of the position and movement) systems, or what is expected from previous experience. Said simply, it’s caused by sensory mismatch, the brain gets confused by too many unexpected inputs.

We shall leave you with this note from Dr. Timothy Hain, an expert on motion sickness. He writes of some interesting sea-sickness facts:


Motion sickness is the nausea, disorientation and fatigue that can be induced by head motion. The first sign is usually an unhealthy pale appearance. Yawning, restlessness and a cold sweat forming on the upper lip or forehead often follow. As symptoms build, an upset stomach, fatigue or drowsiness may occur. The final stages are characterized by nausea and vomiting.

Horses, cows, monkeys, chimpanzees, birds and sheep have been reported in scientific publications to show motion sickness. Rats, unfortunately I suppose, do not vomit so cannot serve as experimental subjects.

According to research, nearly 100% of (human) occupants of life rafts will vomit in rough seas. 60% of student aircrew members suffer from air sickness at some time during their training. For vertical motion (heave), oscillation at a frequency of about 0.2 hz is the most provocative. Motion at 1 Hz is less than 1/10th as provocative. About 7% of seagoing passengers report vomiting during a journey (Lawther and Griffin, 1988).

Women are more sensitive to motion than men, by a ratio of about 5:3 ( Cheung, B. and K. Hofer , 2002). Women are more sensitive to motion around the times of their menstrual cycle (Glunfeld and Gresty, 1996). This may be due to interactions between migraine and motion sickness.


About The Author

John Konrad

Captain John Konrad is co-founder of Unofficial Networks, Editor In Chief of this blog and author of the book Fire On The Horizon. He is a USCG licensed Master Mariner of Unlimited Tonnage and, since graduating from SUNY Maritime College, has sailed a variety of ships from ports around the world. John currently lives in Morro Bay, California with his wife and two children.