This week I am diving into a much dreaded topic: seasickness! Arg. No one enjoys this one, but it must be discussed as it can GREATLY impact your boat! We will take a look at all facets of this lovely experience from definition, to prevention, to management!

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seasickness [ see-sik-nis ] - noun

nausea and dizziness, sometimes accompanied by vomiting, resulting from the rocking or swaying motion of a vessel in which one is traveling at sea.

Motion sickness: A disorder of the sense of balance and equilibrium and, hence, the sense of spatial orientation that is caused by repeated motion such as from the swell of the sea, the movement of a car, or the motion of a plane in turbulent air. Motion sickness is due to irritation of a portion of the inner ear called the labyrinth.

Source: https://www.medicinenet.com/motion_sickness/definition.htm

Your inner ears, in particular, help control your sense of balance. They are part of a network called the vestibular system.

This system includes three pairs of semicircular canals and two sacs, called the saccule and the utricle. They send information about what’s going on around you to the brain.

The semicircular canals hold a fluid that moves with the turns of your head. The saccule and utricle are sensitive to gravity. They tell the brain whether you’re standing up or lying down.

Your brain takes in all this data, and it usually comes together and makes sense. But sometimes your brain gets confusing signals.

On a flying plane, for example, you feel like you’re moving, but your eyes tell your brain that you don’t appear to be going anywhere. The opposite is true as well. After a long sea voyage, you can stand still on dry land but still feel like you’re moving.

The result is the same: motion sickness.

Penny