If you are headed on a cruise soon or are planning on one in the future, this is the
video for you.
Today I'm going to share with you some simple tips and advice that will keep you from getting
sick on your cruise and help you enjoy your time on board.
Welcome to another travel edition of Family Med, your medical home for practical and accurate
information to help your family make healthy decisions.
If this is your first time watching let me introduce myself.
I'm Doctor Erik Richardson, my passion is helping you cut through all the health information
clutter on the internet.
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A common problem with traveling is that we spend a lot of time planning all the fun things
we want to do but we don't put a lot of thought into the small things that can derail that
fun.
No matter where we go this can be the case but when we talk about a cruise there are
some specific things that may get you in trouble so its important to prepare before you leave.
So let's talk about them: First of all, the first thing that you should
do before going on a cruise is take a visit to the travel website from the Centers for
Disease Control.
This is a great resource where you can look up each country that you will be visiting
and see if there are any specific health recommendations there.
More specifically it lets you see what kind of immunizations you may need at each of the
areas that you get off.
It will go through precautions that you should take especially related to ways that you can
avoid infectious diseases specific to that area.
I highly recommend that you visit this well in advance of your trip in case there are
any immunizations that you need to get to protect yourself.
Another place to find out this information can be your local health department or some
medical groups have a travel medicine clinic where you can find out what you need.
The Second thing that you should focus on is deciding what you are going to do to avoid
getting seasick.
If you are prone to this then you should prepare for it because once that ship leaves port
you are committed.
Now these ships are typically really big so most people do just fine however if you are
sensitive to it Being sick the whole week is not the way you want to be spending your
time.
So what's available to help you through this?
Well, there are a lot of things that are out there, some more effective than others, but
we'll try and go through some of those that seem to be most common.
We'll start with the one that you can get from your doctor.
This is called the Scopolamine Patch.
This is a little patch that you put behind your ear that can help control the effects
of motion sickness.
This is probably the best studied and therefore most proven method of helping control symptoms.
It can work a little better than your oral medications because when you are seasick your
stomach doesn't absorb things as well so medications you take by mouth may not get digested.
The best way for the patches to work though is if you apply them the day before you are
going to need them and they need to be replaced every 72 hours.
They don't work as well if you wait till you start feeling sick to take them.
The biggest downfall to the patch is that it can cause some side effects like dry mouth,
constipation, feeling cloudy and sometimes some drowsiness.
The other downfall is they can be expensive.
Currently on the day of filming, the average price for 4 patches was between $30-60 dollars
depending on the pharmacy, not including the trip you need to take to your doctor to get
it.
So let's talk about some over the counter options that are available.
Probably the most common ones are your Dramamine type products.
They come in a drowsy and a non-drowsy type.
Your more drowsy or original formula is made of up of something called dimenhydrinate.
Your non-drowsy formulas usually have a medicine in it called Meclizine.
Both are antihistimines that help to decrease the effects of motion sickness.
These are effective and are better if taken 1-2 hours prior to being on the ship.
The dimenhydrinate can be taken every 4-6 hours while the meclizine is a once a day
dose.
When they have looked at which one is better the dimenhydrinate oftentimes had the edge
but you typically get more drowsiness than with the meclizine.
Both can have the side effect of dry mouth, cloudy head and drowsiness.
Other options out there would be the other first generation antihistimes like Benadryl
or one called Chlorpheniramine.
They are slightly less effective but still can be helpful.
The same kind of side effects would apply.
Make sure you talk to your doctor about what would be best for you and follow the instructions
on the box.
Just as a side note, the newer antihistimines like Zyrtec, Allegra or Claritin haven't been
found to be helpful with motion sickness.
The biggest limiting factor to these medications would be the side effects.
However most who are prone to seasickness agree that it beats getting sick.
So what are some more natural ways that can be helpful?
One of those is Ginger.
Raw ginger, ginger tea, gingerale or ginger capsules.
All have been shown to be helpful in decreasing nausea associated with motionsickness.
One study in naval cadets showed that taking 1-2 g of ginger prior to motion exposure significantly
decreased the amount of motion sickness.
Remember though, just because something is "natural", doesn't mean that there can't be
problems with it.
Ginger can cause some diarrhea, acid reflux, gas and some mouth irritation.
Also, and more important, make sure you check with your doctor if you are on any medications
as ginger does interact with some.
Most importantly, if you are on blood thinners or certain kinds of high blood pressure medications,
there can be some interactions and this may not be a good option for you.
Another option that you could consider are acupressure bands.
These have been studied but the results have been mixed.
Some say it works and others don't.
The good thing about them is there isn't any known problems with using them.
So those are the main things that have been studied to any great length.
There are certainly a lot of other products out there.
I'm curious to hear if you have anything that works for you?
If so, let me know if the comments below.
Besides medications or supplements though there are some things that you can do yourself
to make it less likely to get sick.
Some simple things that you can do are: Looking at the horizon or a distant stationary
object Avoid reading or looking at a screen while
moving.
Staring at a stationary close object while you are moving confuses your brain and can
lead to feeling sick.
Get a good night sleep before you start on the cruise.
This may not seem to be a problem for most on a cruise but actually eating frequently
can help.
Try and avoid the real spicy or fatty foods but having something light on your stomach
can help.
Make sure you get plenty of fresh air, head outside, a cool breeze will really do wonders
to clear your head.
If that doesn't work try and stay toward the middle and lower decks on the ship as these
are the areas that move the least.
Then when all else fails remember each ship has a doctor on board with great medical facilities
that can help if it gets too bad.
So the next thing we are going to go over is how to avoid getting sick from other people
on this cruise.
ON a cruise you have the amazing privilege of spending your vacation with about four
thousand of your newest and now closest friends and inevitably a few of them will come on
board sick.
The most dreaded thing that we are trying to avoid is awful Norovirus.
This is a viral infection that spreads rapidly causing significant diarrhea and vomiting.
It is typically spread through touch or respiratory routes.
Vomiting and diarrhea can last for 2-3 days and you can still spread the virus for a couple
days after that.
It's easily spread so it's important to protect yourself.
The best way that you can do that is wash your hands.
The cruise ships do a lot to try and prevent it but it won't be enough.
Wash your hands as much as possible, avoid touching things in public and use hand santizer
when you can't wash your hands.
Be especially careful at the buffet, in fact I would recommend that you use some hand sanitizer
after going through the line and before eating your food.
If you can minimize your time in the buffet and take most your meals in the dining room
you are less likely to be exposed.
Certainly I don't recommend spending your whole time paranoid about germs but taking
some simple precautions can help you avoid it.
The fourth thing you should focus on is adequate water intake.
Make sure you are getting plenty of fluids.
Dehydration can increase your likelihood of getting seasick as well as making it harder
to fight off any illness that may come your way on the ship.
Alcohol is a common source of dehydration so make sure you keep your alcohol consumption
in moderation.
I recommend getting the bottled water from the ship not only to have something easier
onboard to drink, but also so you can take it when you get off of the ship.
The 5th tip were going to share is make sure you bring your sunscreen and use it.
You'll want to make sure you bring something with at least a SPF of between 30-50.
You'll want to make sure you apply it liberally and often.
Make sure you reapply at least every 2 hours or sooner if you are sweating a lot or doing
water sports.
Not only do you want to apply it to avoid getting cancer in the future but you'll want
it to make sure you enjoy your trip.
The only lobster you should be enjoying is at the gourmet restaurant not you.
Also did you know that getting a sunburn decreases your immune system and makes it more likely
that you can get sick of something else?
Make sure you are protecting yourself.
So the 6th and Last tip I'm going to share has to deal with all the food that there is
in abundance here on the ship.
Cruise ships are not known for their moderation and certainly it's fun to indulge a bit.
If you are already at risk, sudden excessive intake of fatty foods can put you into a gallbladder
attack.
This is a very painful condition that may require surgery.
A cruise ship is not where you want to have this happen.
Also make sure you are keeping your alcohol intake in moderation.
Sudden, excessive intake of alcohol can lead to things like pancreatitis-a very painful
dangerous condition, certain heart arrhythmia and even alcohol poisoning.
So enjoy your time and even indulge a bit, just keep it within reason and you will be
sure to have a great time.
So that's all I have for you today.
This certainly isn't an exhaustive list of things that you can do to keep yourself healthy
on a cruise, Nor does it touch on all the things that can go wrong, but hopefully its
enough to help you think about some simple things that you can do to make sure you have
an incredible time with your loved ones as I did with mine.
I'm a cruising novice so maybe there are some tricks that you use that I don't know about.
Let us know in the comments below about what you do to avoid getting sick on your cruise.
So hopefully you have found this information to be helpful.
Remember to go ahead and like, subscribe and even share these with your friends.
It really is key for me to be able to continue to produce this kind of information for you.
So until next time, This is FamilyMed with Dr Richardson and remember take care of your
body, because it's the only one you have.