You are all excited about your Scuba trip – but as soon as the boat hits the open waters, all the excitement is gone: Seasickness has kicked in. You are starting to feel headaches, dizzy, sick and maybe you even have to start vomiting. Seasickness is not fun at all. Let’s have a look how to prevent and stop seasickness so you can enjoy your Scuba trip to the fullest!
Why Do We Get Seasick at All?
Motion sickness occurs when your brain can’t make sense of information sent from your eyes, ears and body. Lots of motion — in a car, airplane, boat, or even an amusement park ride — can make you feel queasy, clammy or sick to your stomach. An estimated one in three people get motion sickness at some point. Women, and children age two to 12 are most at risk. Still, the condition can affect anyone.
How Can We Prevent Motion Sickness?
Many divers experience seasickness while spending time on boats in between the dives or on the wa to the dive site. You can lower the changes of getting seasick with some easy actions. First of all: Be well rested before the boat trip and drink plenty of water. Choose low-fat, bland and starchy foods before entering the boat as well so your stomach is light. During your time on the boat, sit up and look at the horizon.
Of course there are a number of drugs available to help prevent or treat motion sickness. Typically these drugs come as a pill, which you should take before the symptoms of seasickness start to kick in. These pills can cause drowsiness as a side effect, so it’s a good idea to discuss which medication might be right for you with your doctor or pharmacist.
And What to Do When You Are Sick?
As soon as you start feeling sick, make sure you sit in the middle of the boat and try to get some fresh air. It might seem surprisingly obvious, but fresh air does wonders for clearing your head. Also have a look at the horizon: Looking at the horizon can help give your brain a point of reference, allowing it to sense the motion of the ship and your body’s movement with it.
Ginger helps a lot too: Raw, candied or brewed in a tea – Ginger has been used to treat seasickness for centuries. Just chew on some ginger or if you don’t like it, use some ginger capsules instead.
Other option is our favorite one: DIVING HELPS! If you start to feel ill, enter the water. One submerged, the body no longer receives conflicting signals from the eyes and limbs – so you will start to feel better while diving.
And if you must vomit, its best to let it happen. You will feel much better afterwards.
Of course we can not regulate the weather: but we will only take the trip to Daymaniyat or Fahal Island for Scuba Diving or Snorkeling in Oman if we feel like the sea condition will be good enough to make the way there and the way back.
