Preventing sea sickness?

Asked by I come from a land locked place (in Canada) where there are no oceans around and just lakes.
Whenever I go on a boat in a lake in Canada, I never get seasick and I feel fine. Sometimes when Icome to a place like Mexico and I go out on the ocean, I get sea sick easily while others feel fine. Iwas wondering if getting sea sick can be caused by not being used to being out on the ocean wherethe waters rougher? This might be a little off topic but does the ocean have seasons for when thewaters are calmer and are there places in the ocean that are calmer then others (Is it better to gofarther out? Are you better to stay off the oceans and instead go on a gulf/sea where possible?) Answered by I have written an article about seasickness, so I will give a resume.
Seasickness has nothing to do with willpower. If someone accuses you of that, tell him thatHoratio Nelson and Shackleton on the "James Caird" were both seasick. The exact cause ofseasickness is still unknown. The "frame of reference" theory has the flaw that blind people can getseasick, too. It seems that the H1-Rezeptor of histamine in the brain is responsible for seasicknessbecause only medicine against nausea which is also working on this receptor works againstseasickness.
Condition: The worse your condition, the higher the risk of getting seasick. Most important isgetting sleep and being warm. Do not use any stimulants: No alcohol, smoking or coffee.
Eating,drinking and smells: Breath fresh, cold air. Any obnoxious smell is triggering seasicknessvery fast. If you cannot escape the smell, use peppermint oil under your nose or suck mentholcandys. If you realize that it does not help anymore, remove the candy at once. Do not eat fish,meat or softdrinks because they are producing acid in your stomach. Do not eat (with exception ofmenthol etc.) food with strong smell or taste. Do eat bananas and raw carrots because you canswallow it back (You cannot do that ? Once your stomach is empty, seasickness will NOT cede, butyou will experience EXTREMELY UNCOMFORTABLE seizures.) Transportation: The bigger, the better. Move yourself to the center of mass because themovements are smallest in this area (Ship down if you have fresh air, over the wings in planes).
Lying is better than sitting is better than standing. The feet are always showing in the traveldirection. Look forward, not sideways. Remove any moving things out of your view. Do NOT read orlook TV ! Medicine: I have made the experience that different people react differently to various medicines.
Try them out. The available medicines are ginger (very friendly to the stomach), high doses ofvitamine C (according to Reinhard Jarisch the H1 receptor rapidly consumes this vitamine understress), Do not use Metoclopramid (Cerucal, Paspertin, MCP, Gastronerton). It does not workagainst seasickness. The known substances are (in order of average effect): Dimenhydrinat(Dramamine, Reisegold, Superpep, Vomex, Vomacur, Dramamin, Gravol, Vertirosan), Cinnarizin(Stugeron/Stunarone, Jannsen), Meclizin (Bonamine, Dramamine II, Antivert, Postafen, Itinerol),Scopolamine (Scopoderm TTS). Promethacine (Phenergan, Promethegan, Romergan, Fargan,Farganesse, Prothiazine, Avomine, Atosil, Rhinathiol) is one of the strongest medicines, but has arare and very ugly life-threatening side effect, the neuroleptic malignant syndrome. In extreme cases(patient contemplates suicide) Chlorpromacine (Thorazine) and Prochlorperazine will be used undermedical supervision.
Answered by Familiarity can certainly reduce the likelihood of sea sickness, as your body can get used to it.
The usual problem is the swell - which you just don't get on lakes. Out on the ocean you have nostationary frame of reference so your brain starts to believe the boat is stationary. As it is actuallymoving, this confuses your brain and causes sickness. Different areas have different bad seasons and some seas are worse than others but generally thebigger the expanse of water the bigger the waves and swell. If you are actually wanting a cure, have a read of this question over onhttp://outdoors.stackexchange.com/q/3429/66 Answered by Sea sickness can also differ from sea to sea and from ocean to ocean. I am not so sure if familiarityhelps. I know someone who has been sailing the seas for years, but when he got on to the Northsea, he got sea sick. Being raised in a landlocked area is not necessarily relevant. Furthermore thetype of boat has an influence as well. I am always amazed how quickly people "cure" from seasickness. Sometimes it is as fast as turning a corner or cape. It is a complex mix of boattype,currents, winds, shallowness, etc. The main advice preventing sea sickness is that once you have it get on deck and stare to thehorizon! The worst thing you can do is stay in your cabin. This is usually what you want to do whenbeing sea sick, but it can make things worse. Answered by Sea sickness feeling really depends on the size of the boat.
For instance : during a cruise in January, we had a stopover at Cozumel island; since part of theproposed excursions were on mainland Mexico, many had to board a small catamaran ferry for thecrossing; and the sea was not forgiving on that day.
Many guys who were fine on the cruise ship (a big NCL one) were sick on this short 20-minutecrossing. Interestingly, the small boat had 2 decks. I had the reflex to sit on the upper, open-air one;most passengers here had no sickness. Later, I checked the lower, enclosed deck; sickness aroseso quickly there that crew members were giving barf bags away.
Bigger vessels are more stable, and being in open-air also helps.
Answered by Sea sickness happens to everyone and sometimes in very unexpected situations. I've seen braveand experienced sailors getting sea sick, so it's not all about experience, though it helps.
I can give you a few advices: try to get fresh air / if you're inside the boat get outside. look at the horizon line. Looking at a morestable, distant point helps try to distract yourself. Don't focus on the sea sickness. Do something (ithelps me). Specially if it involves some degree of attention / responsibility. If you're doing a task andstart feeling sea sick stop doing it if possible (don't let it grow). Try point 1 and 2 If it happens thatyou have control over the boat / ship steering, and it's safe, put the boat (bow and stern) in the samedirection of the waves. Try to avoid having your stomach empty. It's more painful if you get to sucha state. Eat soft flavoured food. Avoid strong flavours and smells.
There are also pills that help to avoid sea sickness. They work but it's not 100% fail safe. (it shouldbe easy to find them in any pharmacy).
Answered by I've heard it explained on the MythBusters tv show that it's that you being stationary in relation towhat you see with your eyes, and perhaps your innner ear telling you that you are moving. Onlything that seemed to help in their tests was eating ginger.

Source: http://www.rqna.net/qna/pmxhmp-preventing-sea-sickness.pdf