What Causes Seasickness and How to Prevent it While Diving?

Being seasick during a scuba diving trip that’s supposed to be fun can ruin everything. Everyone has the potential to become seasick. However, everyone’s tolerances are different.
Knowing how likely you are to become seasick can help you overcome the situation and still have that dive you were looking forward to.

Continue reading to learn more, including some helpful tips that you can use the next time you’re going to be on a boat diving trip, and you want to avoid feeling ill.

What Causes Seasickness/ Motion Sickness?

The sea has the highest probability of the different triggers of motion sickness. Primarily because we have the least control over our surroundings.
Motion sickness occurs when the brain becomes confused by conflicting sensory signals that it’s receiving from various parts of the body.

If you are riding in a car with bad shocks and reading a book, the ears responsible for balance will “report” balance issues while the eyes on the stationary pages of the book “reports” no movement. We can simply stop reading and look out the front window, and the body will start to recover.

An airplane can cause a similar reaction in people, especially in turbulence. Unless it is a very bad storm, looking forward will calm you long enough for the roughness to settle down. On a boat that unpredictable rocking can last hours.

Being nervous, hung over, dehydrated or having a spicy meal can reduce your resistance to motion sickness.It’s important to know that seasickness is a completely normal reaction to being on a boat and that most people will experience it at least once. The more often you experience the conditions, being in rough seas, the less it will affect you. Thankfully, though, there are things that you can do to deal with it and prevent it.

Also read: Here is How You Should Behave on a Boat Dive Trip

Symptoms of Seasickness

While most people associate nausea and vomiting with seasickness, it’s important to note that anxiousness is also very commonly the first symptom that occurs with motion sickness. You may also begin feeling confused and overwhelmed before nausea actually takes place.

Photo Credit: Jeremy BrooksPlanning a scuba trip? Then you should download the ultimate scuba dive checklist just like 5000+ other divers already so you will not forget to bring anything.,## Move to the Center of the Boat and Look Out to the Horizon

Moving to the center of the boat, where the motion is less intense, is the first step you can take to minimize any feelings of seasickness. You should look off into the distance, do not fix on one point but look out naturally.

Your vision will begin to see the whole picture ahead of you, from the stable horizon to the waves in the periphery, and this will begin to make more sense to your brain and will help stabilize you. You may also wish to close your eyes and lie down to ease up on the sensory overload your body is experiencing. To some people, this will feel worse, in which case, sit in a corner where you can support both shoulders.

Comfort Your Stomach

Never go out in conditions that might induce motion sickness with an empty stomach. Have a light, easy to digest, meal. Pancakes, bagels, or toast with jam and butter are good choices.
These will help keep your stomach acids in check. You also want to avoid acidic beverages like coffee and orange juice.

Over-the-Counter Remedies

Antihistamines may help tame seasickness, but they aren’t recommended for divers because they usually cause drowsiness, and affect your sinus passage.

Bonine and Dramamine are two popular brands of motion sickness remedies that are sold over-the-counter. You can try them out before you leave for your trip to determine what side effects you feel. If your body reacts well to them, take them as much as 12 to 24 hours before your trip. Waiting until you’re seasick may be too late to take these remedies.

Folk Remedies

What might be the best method to combat motion sickness from happening and to reduce its effect if it does is a ginger candy. In many cultures, ginger is used to treat upset stomachs.

Raw ginger is too strong to use by itself, but ginger candies are an excellent means to get it into you. Another benefit is that sucking on the candies keeps your saliva working which also helps balance out the stomach acids.

Bring onboard a couple of plastic bottles of green tea. Green Tea has been increasingly popular as a cooling drink with many potential health benefits. Whether they are all true or not, the scientist can battle out, but for motion sickness, it does help. Lemons, either slices or as a drink, are another folk remedy that works.

Photo Credit: chkltcow

Pressure Points

A spot on the inside of the wrist, referred to as P6 in the world of acupuncture and acupressure, is said to relieve nausea. You can press in on this point or, better yet, purchase bracelets, such as “Sea Bands,” that will apply the pressure for you.

Do you have any tips you would like to share with us regarding Seasickness and Scuba Diving?
Let us know in the comments below

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This article is published by The Scuba Page, the online magazine for Scuba Dive lovers around the world. The Scuba Page is part of RUSHKULT : the online booking platform for adventure sports. Visit the RUSHKULT platform to book your next Scuba Dive training, guided trip and accommodation.