seasickness

n.
Motion sickness resulting from the pitching and rolling of a ship or boat in water, especially at sea.

seasick sea'sick' adj.

(sē'sĭk'nĭs)
n.

Motion sickness resulting from the pitching and rolling of a ship or boat in water, especially at sea. Also called mal de mer.

Finding the right drug to fight off the dreaded nausea
The word nausea is derived from the Greek word naus, meaning ship. Between 25 and 30 percent of passengers on the old transatlantic liners became nauseous within the first three days of a normal passage. On small yachts, the percentage is much higher. About 60 percent of survivors of shipwrecks cast adrift in inflatable life rafts succumb to seasickness, according to studies carried out during World War II. If sea conditions are bad enough, almost everyone will get sick for at least a limited period.The cause of seasickness is believed to be a conflict in the brain between what the eyes see and what the inner ear “feels.” When you are down below in a seaway, the balance system of your inner ear informs your brain that you are being subjected to accelerations. But your eyes, looking around the cabin, insist that your body is stable. You certainly do not appear to be moving, no matter what your inner ear is reporting. This theory does not cover all the bases, of course. People get seasick on deck, too, even when they can see the horizon and there should be no conflict in the brain.It is also not clear why the eye-ear conflict should result in the brain giving orders to the stomach to empty its contents, except that some of the symptoms of seasickness may be similar to those of food poisoning. The symptoms usually occur in the following order: frequent yawning or sighing, slight headache, dry mouth, unnatural paleness, cold sweat, nausea, and vomiting.Once you recognize the first symptoms, either stay on deck as long as possible or lie flat on a bunk down below. On deck, you should stand upright if it’s not too rough, with legs slightly apart. Don’t sit down—that’s the position most conducive to seasickness. Down below, lie face up, eyes closed, as close to the fore-and-aft center of the boat as possible, and keep a supply of strong paper bags nearby.If you are seasick for a prolonged period—days, rather than hours—your bodily fluids may get seriously out of balance. Drink a half cup of seawater once or twice a day to restore them. You may not keep it down long, but your tissues will absorb enough vital salts to help put things right.There are about a dozen drugs on the market for controlling motion sickness. Over-the-counter drugs include Dramamine, Bonine, Meclizine, and Marezine. Prescription drugs include Antivert, Phenergan, Phenergan plus ephedrine, TransdermScopolamine, and Scopolamine HBR plus dextroamphetamine. Widely used by boaters, Transderm-Scopolamine is manufactured in the form of a dime-sized patch worn behind the ear for 72 hours, by which time you should have adapted to the boat’s motion.The golden rule is to take these drugs well before you go to sea. Before choosing any drug, discuss your plans with your family doctor.The only good news about seasickness is that extremely few people die of it, though many in its grips wish they would.See also Drinking Seawater.

---

Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

The noun has one meaning:

Meaning #1: motion sickness experienced while traveling on water
  Synonyms: mal de mer, naupathia

---