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Comprehensive
information about diving and undersea medicine for the
non-medical diver, the non-diving physician and the specialist.
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Treatment of Seasickness
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Comprehensive
information about diving and undersea medicine for the
non-medical diver, the non-diving physician and the specialist.
|
|
Treatment of Seasickness
All in your mind?
There are those who will tell you that sea sickness is really a state of the mind - when you and I "know" that isn't true! Actually, the Israeli navy has done studies that show that suggestion plays an important part in producing sea sickness. They also have shown in very good studies that the best drug for mal de mer is scopolamine, recently placed back on the market by the FDA in transdermal form. Scopolamine has many side effects, is difficult to regulate with each individual and may be dangerous to the diver with glaucoma or prostate trouble.
They found that the next best drug was cinnarizine (Stugeron in the U.K.), less effective but with many fewer side-effects. Stugeron is not available in the U.S.
Motion Sickness
Motion sickness is a disturbance in the vestibular (balance system of the inner ear) system as it relates to the visual and proprioception (position sense in space) systems of the brain. Some people only get sick when their eyes are focused on close work, such as donning gear, or when working on navigation in an enclosed compartment. Some people associate diesel fumes with being sick, most likely a psychological stimulus.
The best medications have been found to be "Meclizine", "Bonine", Dramamine and Scopolamine, in the form of the TransDerm patch or in tablet form.
SCOPACE (tablets) contains scopolamine hydrobromide, "the single most effective" medicine in preventing nausea and vomiting induced by motion.(1) The typical prescribed dose is 1-2 tablets taken an hour before travel. Each dose comforts up to eight hours.
Comparing SCOPACE tablets to the scopolamine patch in non-divers, please note the following important differences noted in the web site at http://www.hopepharm.com/motion/versus.html
1. Dosing Flexibility
2. Greater Efficacy
3. Lower Incidence of Side Effects
4. Faster Onset of Action
5. Shorter Duration of Action
6. Cost Effective
REFERENCES FROM HOPE PHARMACY
1. AHFS Drug Information 1996. American Hospital
Formulary Service
2. Wood, M.J. et al Comparison of Dosage
Routes for Antimotion Sickness Drugs. Aviation, Space, and Environmental
Medicine. May 1987; 504.
3. Doweck, I. et al. Rate of Absorption
of Scopolamine After Application of Scopoderm-TTS. Aviation, Space, and
Environmental Medicine. May 1994; A24.
4. Advertisement. CIBA Pharmaceuticals.
5. Parrott, A.C. The Effects of Transdermal
Scopolamine and Four Dose Levels of Oral Scopolamine (0.15, 0.3, 0.6, and
1.2 mg) Upon Psychological Performance. Psychopharmacology. 1986. 89: 3;
347-354.
6. Dobie, T.G. and May, J.G. Cognitive-Behavioral
Management of Motion Sickness. Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine.
October 1994; C1-C20.
7. 1998 Redbook. Medical Economics Company.
Oradell, New Jersey.
8. Graybiel, A. et. al. Prevention of Experimental
Motion Sickness by Scopolamine Absorbed through the Skin. Aviation, Space,
and Environmental Medicine. 1976; 47: 1096.
Relief
Band Device
Woodside Biomedical
The ReliefBand® NST(TM) device
is indicated for use in the treatment of nausea and vomiting due to chemotherapy,
motion sickness and pregnancy. The Food and Drug Administration has approved
its electronic ReliefBand for postoperative nausea.
It is the first such commercially available device to receive FDA clearance, the Carlsbad, California-based company said in a news release.
According to Woodside, the ReliefBand uses electronic signals to stimulate nerves in the wrist. It is believed that those signals stimulate natural nerve impulses in the body, causing them to interfere with nausea messages en route to the stomach, the company explained.
Woodside Biomedical, Inc., is a privately
owned, venture-financed company.
Ginger
Ginger in its various forms can also help--when taken
12-24 hours in advance.
Stomach bolus?
Oatmeal, bagels, crusty bread or any food that forms a
bolus in the stomach can be helpful.
My best treatment is keep your eyes on the horizon, stay
on deck and keep yourself well hydrated with non-alcoholic beverages. There
is some evidence that the use of an artificial
horizon in glasses might be beneficial. Try antacid tablets or lemon
drops and if diving , try to be the first diver in from a heaving boat.
Emmetrol
may be effective.
Disclaimer
Diving Medicine Online' does not endorse any of the medications, products or treatments described, mentioned or discussed in any of the services, databases or pages accessible within or from 'Diving Medicine Online', and makes no representations concerning the efficacy, appropriateness or suitability of any such products or treatments.You are encouraged to consult other sources and confirm the information contained in any of the services, databases or pages accessible within or from 'Diving Medicine Online'. If erroneous or otherwise inaccurate information is brought to our attention, a reasonable effort will be made to correct or delete it. Such problems should immediately be reported to scubadoc@scuba-doc.com
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We adhere to the 'Guidelines for Medical and Health Information Sites on the Internet' of the American Medical Association.The contents of this site are copyright © 1996-2006,
Ernest Campbell, MD, FACS All Rights Reserved.
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