SEA-SICKNESS AND HOW TO AVOID IT.
We come now to the momentous question of _mal de mer_. It is a
question that has puzzled the scientific men of all ages since the
departure of the Argonauts in search of the Golden Fleece on the first
ship that ever sailed the sea, and, from present appearances, it will
continue to be a puzzle as long as the waves of the ocean continue
to roll. By some it is claimed to be a nervous disturbance, others
contend that it is purely a stomachic affair and the nerves have
nothing to do with it, and there are others who argue that the brain
is the seat of the disorder and disturbs the stomach by sympathetic
action. There are wise men who charge sea-sickness to the spleen,
the liver, or other internal organs, and it is not impossible that
we may yet hear of a savant who attributes it to corns on the toes.
Sea-sickness is a mystery, and the more we study it the more are we
at sea as to its exact operation.
Some people, who are bundles of nerves, are not affected by the motion
of a ship, while others, who are nerveless as a paper-weight, are
disturbed with the least movement. Weak stomachs escape while strong
ones are upset, and there seems to be no rule that can be laid down
with exactness or anything that approaches it. But on one point there
can be no two opinions, that sea-sickness is a most disagreeable
malady, even in its mildest form, and that any means of relieving it,
or even of mitigating it in a small degree, will be hailed with
delight by all who suffer from it. It will also be a boon to those
who are never sea-sick, as it will relieve them from a companionship
that is not always the most agreeable in the world.
For some persons there is no escape, and they will be prostrate in
their berths during the whole voyage of the ship, or just able to get
around. But, in the majority of cases, sea-sickness may be wholly
prevented by a free use of cathartics or anti-bilious remedies a day
or two before departure on a voyage. In America, the pills of Ayer,
Brandreth, or Wright will serve the purpose; in England, the famous
"Cockle's pills," and in France the _Pilules Duhaut_. The relaxation
of the system should be sustained during the voyage by the same means
or by the use of Seidlitz powders, or similar effervescent substances;
this simple precaution will save most persons from being disturbed by
sea-sickness, no matter how wildly the ship may toss, provided they
combine with it an abundance of air and exercise. As before stated,
there is no relief known at present for the other fourth of humanity,
except to stay at home.
Dr. Fordyce Barker, an eminent physician who has made a careful study
of sea-sickness, opposes the previous use of cathartics, and advises
that a hearty meal be eaten a short time before going on board. Those
who are subject to sea-sickness he enjoins to undress and go to bed
before the vessel moves from her dock or anchorage. He says they
should eat regularly and heartily without raising the head for at
least one or two days, and in this way they will accustom the
digestive organs to the performance of their functions. He advises
the use of laxative pills the first night out and, if necessary,
during the entire voyage. The following is his prescription:--
LAXATIVE PILLS.
[Rx]. Pulv. Rhei. (Turk.), [Dr]ss.
Ext. Hyoscyami, [Sc]j.
Pulv. Aloes Soc.,
Sapo Cast., aa gr. xv.
Ext. Nux Vomicæ Alchoh., gr. x.
Podophyllin p., gr. v.
Ipecac., gr. ij.
M. ft. pil, (argent) No. 20.
S. Dose--one, two, or three.
Where there is a tendency to diarrhoea, which sometimes happens at
sea, he recommends the following, and he also advises the traveler to
carry it in his journeys over the Continent to counteract the effects
that occasionally come from drinking bad water. The dose is, for an
adult,
[Rx]. Tinct. Camphoræ, [Sc]vj.
Tinct. Capsici, [Sc]ij.
Spts. Lavendul. Comp.,
Tinct. Opii, aa [Oz]ss.
Syr. Simp., [Oz]ij.
M.S. A small teaspoonful in a wineglass of water after each movement.
Dr. Barker says that in cases where the victim has suffered several
days from sea-sickness, with constant nausea, nervous depression, and
sleeplessness, he has found great benefit in the use of bromide of
potassium. The powders are to be taken in a half-tumbler of plain
soda-water, and, if this cannot be obtained, in cold water sweetened
with sugar. It is to be sipped slowly, so that the stomach may be
persuaded to retain and absorb it. The powders should be kept in a
wide-mouthed vial, or in a tin box, so as to protect them from the
effects of the sea-air. The following is the prescription:
[Rx]. Potass. Bromide, [Oz]j.
Div. in Chart No. 20.
S. One, two, or three times a day.
He also recommends a person about making a sea-voyage to take a supply
of "mustard leaves," which can be had at the druggist's. They are
useful in allaying the nausea and vomiting by getting up a counter
irritation, and should be applied over the pit of the stomach.
Many individuals, especially those inclined to corpulency, find relief
in wearing a tight belt around the waist. This is so well understood
that some of the makers of surgical appliances advertise "belts for
sea-sickness" as part of their stock in trade. Some persons recommend
a tight-fitting undergarment of strong silk, but, in order to be of
use, it must be altogether too close for comfort, and the wearer is
quite likely to say that he considers it the greater of the evils.
A recumbent position is better than the erect one when a traveler is
suffering from the nautical disturbance, and, in most cases, he is too
weak to take any other. It is better to lie flat on the back than in
any other way, and there are many persons who are well when thus lying
down, but become ill the minute they attempt to rise. A friend of the
writer belongs to this category. His mode of taking his meals when at
sea is to lie flat on his sofa, while the steward cuts his meat into
small pieces and gets everything ready. At a given signal the sufferer
rises to a sitting posture, and swallows a few mouthfuls as rapidly as
possible. Then he drops back, rests a few minutes, and repeats the
feeding operation. In half a dozen performances of this sort he will
take in a creditable dinner; as long as he remains on his back his
digestion goes on all right, but he cannot be five minutes on his feet
without a return of nausea.
A round of heavy dinners and champagne suppers before starting is not
a good preparation for a sea-voyage, neither is a "send-off" on board,
with farewell glasses of inspiriting liquids. Many a man has suffered
at sea from too much conviviality before his departure.
The sufferer on the water is not charmed with the mention of the
table, and even the greatest delicacies fail to arouse his appetite.
Give him anything he wants, it won't make much difference, though it
is well, perhaps, to deter him from ham and eggs, chicken or lobster
salads, and anything, in fact, that contains grease or oil. Tea and
toast are the great articles of diet for the sea-sick, and they may be
safely trusted with baked apples, and with nearly all kinds of fruit.
A cracker or an Albert biscuit will sometimes have charms when nothing
else can be swallowed, and when the victim is convalescent he feels as
though a pickle would do him good. Lemonade is admissible and
soda-water is a safe beverage; brandy and soda may be ordered by those
who do not shine as members of a temperance society, but it should be
taken with caution and the doses must not be repeated too frequently.
All drinks that contain carbonic-acid gas are beneficial, and many
persons find relief in occasional small allowances of champagne. Those
who intend to put any reliance on this wine during sea-sickness should
equip themselves with a "champagne tap" before starting; they can then
draw what they desire from a bottle and keep the rest without fear
that it will become stale through loss of gas.
Hartshorn, cologne, and other substances intended for inhalation are
all good at this time, partly because of their effects on their lungs
and partly by the distraction of taking them. A volatile article used
with great success in sea-sickness is the nitrite of amyl; it is
prepared in the form of a pearl with a thin shell of glass around it
so as to prevent its evaporation. Any reputable druggist can procure
it, and with the pearls it is desirable to have a tube for crushing
them and liberating the liquid. In the absence of the tube they may be
crushed in the handkerchief, but when taken in this way a large part
of the effect is lost.
Always go on deck when you are able to do so, even if you are carried
up by your friends or the stewards and deposited in your chair like an
armful of wet clothing. Wrap yourself well against the cold, and on
the first instant of chillness get more covering or go below. Whenever
you feel the impulse to feed the fishes in the early stages of a fit
of sea-sickness always go to the lee side of the ship (the one the
wind blows from) and never to windward. By so doing you will save a
considerable amount of damage to your clothing, and also to that of
any who may be near you.
Many persons will tell you that it is an excellent thing to be
sea-sick, as you are so much better for it afterwards. If you are a
sufferer you will do well to accept their statements as entirely
correct, since you are thereby consoled and soothed, and the malady
doesn't care what you think about it, one way or the other.
And now comes a bit of advice which might have been given at the
opening of this dissertation on the discomforts of the heaving deep,
but has been reserved to the end in the hope that it will leave a
lasting impression. When the ship casts loose from the dock, or lifts
her anchor and gets under way, you should think of anything and
everything except sea-sickness, and if any one starts the topic in
your hearing leave him and walk away, or ask him to change the
subject. If you cannot be thus abrupt, change it for him by starting a
political discussion or other agreeable wrangle; do anything rather
than allow a continuation of his remarks. Many a man and many a woman
has been talked into being sea-sick, or has meditated and wondered on
the possibility of it till the malady has put in an appearance. We all
know how much the mind dominates the body, how bad news takes away the
appetite and good news increases it, and we have all heard how a well
man was driven to his bed by the concentrated efforts of a dozen
practical jokers who separately informed him that he looked very pale
and something must be the matter with him. Don't talk or think of
sea-sickness; you will know it fast enough when it comes, and till
that time it is the wisest course to assume that you are to be the
healthiest passenger on the ship.
Prof. A. G. Wilkinson, of Washington, D.C., says:
"During Atlantic crossings for four years past I found but one
instance in which from twenty to thirty grains of bromide of soda in
ice-water three times daily for four days, commencing two days before
sailing, failed to prevent loss of a single meal. Get dry powders put
up in foil and enclosed in ground-stoppered bottles, to prevent
deliquescence. I learned this from experimenting for several years
with chloral and the various bromides. Soda alone was never
distasteful. Dr. G. M. Beard, of New York, was independently
experimenting at the same time, and first published his conclusions.
_After vomiting commences_ he recommends,
Bromide of soda, [Dr]i. Tinct. belladonna, xxx guttæ. Aqua, [Oz]vi.
Teaspoonful every ten minutes until relieved.
A lady friend had never been able to take a single meal at sea; the
second day out, while she was sick, I gave her the above, and she took
every meal for the rest of the voyage."