I took Dramamine for the last time about five years ago: it made me so drowsy I had to put to shore for a nap (maybe that's its mode of action?). I haven't used those pressure-point bracelets, but other paddlers I know report mixed results. I think a year or two ago, someone on the list suggested ginger as a cure. Treatment with powdered ginger was shown to be as effective or more effective than the original dramamine in a clinical trial, and of course it doesn't have the drowsiness side effect. Recommended dosage runs from 200mg to 2 gm (total daily dose), so there's a bit of a range there! Haven't been seasick again myself to test it, but one friend has used it and seems pleased. Have other folks on the list tried this, should I add it to my first aid kit? > My girlfriend is prone to sea-sickness, and has had good results with the > new, less-drowsiness formula Dramamine (which we couldn't find in Canada). > That was in rather light swell, though she gets sick pretty easily. Has > anyone had a failure of this stuff in severe tests?? Not familiar with any improvements in Dramamine, Mike --- even kids' Benadryl knocks me out --- but has she tried those little pressure point straps for the wrists? I'm not prone to sea sickness, but, in continuing chop on workboats during prolonged tests at sea, I have felt pretty punk, and found those straps <did> make a difference. Or I <thought> they did, which is all that counts. An option --- relatively inexpensive and drug-free. Jack Martin *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
On Fri, 9 Apr 1999 08:14:48 Sarah Ohmann wrote: > I think a year or two ago, someone on the list >suggested ginger as a cure. Have other folks on the >list tried this, should I add it to my first aid kit? My wife and I tried ginger once, _once_. Shortly after taking the pill I felt queasy and we weren't even on the boat yet. Shortly after leaving dock we were both violently ill. Once I had emptied my stomach and gotten that stupid ginger out of my system I was much better and spent the rest of the day OK (halibut fishing out of Homer). We never plan to take ginger again and personally file it under a lot of those herbalist things GNC sells as being basically a quack. Mel --- There are three types of people, those who can count and those who can't. -----== Sent via Deja News, The Discussion Network ==----- http://www.dejanews.com/ Easy access to 50,000+ discussion forums *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
At 08:59 AM 09-04-99 -0800, Mel Grindol wrote: >My wife and I tried ginger once, _once_. Shortly after taking the pill I felt queasy and we weren't even on the boat yet. Shortly after leaving dock we were both violently ill. Once I had emptied my stomach and gotten that stupid ginger out of my system I was much better and spent the rest of the day OK (halibut fishing out of Homer). >We never plan to take ginger again and personally file it under a lot of those herbalist things GNC sells as being basically a quack. >Mel Ginger root, Zingiber Officinale, is used for loss of appetite, dyspepsia and motion sickness. It is positively inotropic, promotes secretion of saliva and gastric juices, and is a cholagogue. It acts as an antispasmodic in animals. In humans it increases the tone and peristalsis of the intestines, and has been shown in clinical trials to be an antiemetic. Ginger root should not be used for morning sickness, and should not be taken by those with gallstone conditions (because it stimulates the flow of bile to the duodenum). Administration can be via comminuted rhizome and dry extracts for teas. Powdered drug is used in some stomach preparations. For the tea, use 1/2 to 1 gram of drug (one teaspoon is 3 grams) in boiling water and steep for 5 minutes. Total daily dose of drug is 2 to 4 grams. The antiemetic dose is 2 grams of freshly powdered drug taken with some liquid. I don't know if the pill form you took was tested for the same effect as the above methods of administration, or how much you took. Gingersnap cookies made with real ginger (not flavoring) is also said by some users to work well. That's about as much as I know about the stuff. For those who have heard of Cayenne (Capsicum Annuum) as a treatment for motion sickness, I would avoid that herbal remedy, because of its toxic effects on liver/kidneys/ nervous system, its potentially life-threatening hypothermia with toxic doses, and its unknown (conflicting reports) carcinogenic and mutagenic and teratogenic effects, especially at the higher doses. Hope this helps. Leander overfall_at_ix.netcom.com *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
Leander wrote: > >BIG SNIP > > For those who have heard of Cayenne (Capsicum Annuum) as a treatment for > motion sickness, I would avoid that herbal remedy, because of its toxic > effects > on liver/kidneys/ nervous system, its potentially life-threatening hypothermia > with toxic doses, and its unknown (conflicting reports) carcinogenic and > mutagenic and teratogenic effects, especially at the higher doses. > Hope this helps. > Leander > overfall_at_ix.netcom.com > Please tell me that you aren't trying to tell me that TABASCO SAUCE is bad for me!!!! James, in New Mexico, where some form of capsicum is normal as breathing. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
At 06:32 PM 09-04-99 -0700, James Lofton wrote: >Please tell me that you aren't trying to tell me that TABASCO SAUCE is >bad for me!!!! >James, in New Mexico, where some form of capsicum is normal as breathing. LOL...good comeback. What is life without a good hot sauce. Actually, there are different varieties of capsicum, from mild bell peppers and paprika to varieties much hotter and more pungent. A number of the peppers fall in this category. For instance, paprika comes from the dried ripe fruit of Capsicum annuum or Capsicum fructescens. There are external and internal uses of the compounds. Use of "medicinal" doses of creams and gargles for more than two days can cause dermatitis, ulcering and blistering. Internal use can cause diarrhea, gallstone colics. Other possible side effects are as per the previous post. Remember that the "medicinal" uses of herbs are usually much higher amounts than normal uses like cooking. The external uses of cayenne are generally for things like muscular tensions and rheumatism, with external doses of 10 grams per day maximum. Local effects are pain, then warmth, then hypersensitivity; peripheral nerve damage is possible (reversible or irreversible). It gets more complex than this, but basically, cooking with peppers and such, the doses are so small; it's different than the high dose herbal therapies. Just because one is good does not mean that six is better. Like anything in this world, too much of something, even water and oxygen, can cause trouble. Except kayaking; there's no such thing as too much kayaking. ;-) As for the seasickness topic which started all this, ginger is safer than most things (see the previous post), but no one solution works for everyone. Some will find relief with Dramamine, some with Scopolamine patches, some with ginger, some with pressure bands; some will get no relief with anything. Most fortunate are those who never get seasick. The good news is, after about 3 days on the sea, you acclimate (big help for sea kayakers, eh?). Regards, Leander overfall_at_ix.netcom.com *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
Maybe the ginger cure works in the same sort of cruel-to-be-kind way as the famous "bacon cure" we used to describe to queasy tourists when I helped out on charter fishing boats in the Maritimes: "Ah, boyz, you just gets a nice greasy piece of raw bacon, and you ties it to the end of a piece of fishing line. Then you swallows the bacon, keeping hold of the other end of the line, and jingle the bacon up and down in your stomach. Pretty soon, you'll throw up, and that'll make you feel much better." Invariably, the mere description of the technique was enough to make the tourists lose their lunch, after which they did feel better. >My wife and I tried ginger once, _once_. Shortly after taking the pill I felt queasy and we weren't even on the boat yet. Shortly after leaving dock we were both violently ill. Once I had emptied my stomach and gotten that stupid ginger out of my system I was much better and spent the rest of the day OK (halibut fishing out of Homer). > >We never plan to take ginger again and personally file it under a lot of those herbalist things GNC sells as being basically a quack. > >Mel N49°16' W123°08' ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
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