be prepared in case of seasickness or any kind of emergency
It is utterly miserable to be seasick. I know because I have NEVER taken a trip on the ocean and not gotten at least a little seasick. Most of the time I am down for the count. The trip to Antarctica scared the bejesus out of me because of all the stories I've heard about the Southern Sea and in particular, the Drake Passage. If you haven't done any research on this area of the world please stop reading and do it now! We're talking 60 ft. swells for days on end, people that needed to be strapped to their beds so they wouldn't roll out when they are sleeping and waves so high they crash over the deck of the ship! I was shaking in my waterproof boots! The following is a list of things that I did.
*I am not a doctor so if you have any medical issues, call your doctor and find out if any of the suggestions listed below will interact with medications you are currently taking or any medical condition you have. Be sensible about this, please.
Here are just some ideas of how to combat seasickness:
1. I contacted my physician about 2 weeks before the trip and obtained prescriptions for Transderm SCOP for both me and my hubby. It's available only by prescription so don't wait until the last minute to get on this. Even if you don't need it, it's good to have it in your suitcase. It's a little circular patch that is applied behind your ear BEFORE you get underway. There are a few side effects so check with your doctor. The only side effect I experienced was dry mouth. Since I am wear Invisalign braces, I'm not sure if the dry air in Antarctica or the Invisalign worked against me or if in fact it was the Transderm SCOP. All I can say is I didn't get seasick.
2. At the health food store I purchased Nux Vomica over the counter. I purchased a small tube. The pills are tiny and are placed under your tongue. They taste sweet and melt right away. I popped two of them under my tongue while we were still in calm waters and my tummy gave me no trouble.
3. Green Apples - Ask your stateroom attendant or dining room waiter for green apples. Apparently the pectin in the green apples help to calm an uneasy tummy. I didn't try this but I did have a bowl of apples in my room for when the seas became a tad choppy.
4. Peppermint Tea - It's a good idea if you are already feeling nauseous. It's pretty easy to get your hands on since most ships have different types of tea available. The menthol in peppermint calms the tummy. You can also try sucking on a peppermint candy or putting peppermint essential oil on a tissue and smelling it when you are feeling queasy.
5. Ginger - Ginger is a popular and effective remedy for motion sickness due to its nausea-preventing properties. Our attendant brought me a bowl of sugar-coated ginger slices. Yum! If you can't get your hands on ginger directly you can scour the ships coffers for Ginger Tea or ask a waiter for extra ginger for your fish or meat.
6. Seaband - I didn't use this remedy because I had the Transderm SCOP. However I have a friend who swears by this. I think they are available at Target or Walmart. My impression of it is they use acupressure to combat seasickness. That's easy, non-intrusive and worth a try.
*I am not a doctor so if you have any medical issues, call your doctor and find out if any of the suggestions listed below will interact with medications you are currently taking or any medical condition you have. Be sensible about this, please.
Here are just some ideas of how to combat seasickness:
1. I contacted my physician about 2 weeks before the trip and obtained prescriptions for Transderm SCOP for both me and my hubby. It's available only by prescription so don't wait until the last minute to get on this. Even if you don't need it, it's good to have it in your suitcase. It's a little circular patch that is applied behind your ear BEFORE you get underway. There are a few side effects so check with your doctor. The only side effect I experienced was dry mouth. Since I am wear Invisalign braces, I'm not sure if the dry air in Antarctica or the Invisalign worked against me or if in fact it was the Transderm SCOP. All I can say is I didn't get seasick.
2. At the health food store I purchased Nux Vomica over the counter. I purchased a small tube. The pills are tiny and are placed under your tongue. They taste sweet and melt right away. I popped two of them under my tongue while we were still in calm waters and my tummy gave me no trouble.
3. Green Apples - Ask your stateroom attendant or dining room waiter for green apples. Apparently the pectin in the green apples help to calm an uneasy tummy. I didn't try this but I did have a bowl of apples in my room for when the seas became a tad choppy.
4. Peppermint Tea - It's a good idea if you are already feeling nauseous. It's pretty easy to get your hands on since most ships have different types of tea available. The menthol in peppermint calms the tummy. You can also try sucking on a peppermint candy or putting peppermint essential oil on a tissue and smelling it when you are feeling queasy.
5. Ginger - Ginger is a popular and effective remedy for motion sickness due to its nausea-preventing properties. Our attendant brought me a bowl of sugar-coated ginger slices. Yum! If you can't get your hands on ginger directly you can scour the ships coffers for Ginger Tea or ask a waiter for extra ginger for your fish or meat.
6. Seaband - I didn't use this remedy because I had the Transderm SCOP. However I have a friend who swears by this. I think they are available at Target or Walmart. My impression of it is they use acupressure to combat seasickness. That's easy, non-intrusive and worth a try.
DAN TRAVELASSIST
It's almost impossible to prepare for every type of emergency but I do think it's a good idea to try and think about the "what ifs."
Last year during our walking safari trip in Zambia we were advised by our safari group leader to think about purchasing DAN TravelAssist insurance which provides emergency medical assistance. For $55.00 for a family membership (my husband and myself - $35.00 for an individual membership.) We thought it was probably a pretty good idea in case we had a problem and needed evacuation. DAN TravelAssist provides you with up to $100,000 of evacuation assistance coverage. This benefit is effective for both diving and non-diving medical emergencies (Ok...that's cool!) Evacuation coverage begins when you travel on a trip at least 50 miles from home. The ONLY stipulation is that you MUST call DAN's phone number to make evacuation arrangements. Wow! We were pretty sure we would never need this insurance but dang, since a trip only 50 miles from home isn't a big stretch we thought, what the heck. So we got it.
Bottom line is one day after a safari my husband was jumping off the back of a jeep and he felt a sharp pain in his abdomen. After a very uncomfortable afternoon and evening, he was pretty certain that he had a hernia. We couldn't have been in a worse location. Our safari camp was pretty remote from any modern hospital. I talked to the camp manager and she made transportation arrangements for us to travel about 2 hours via jeep to another camp where a travelling doctor was willing to check my husband's condition. We felt a million times better knowing that we had the DAN insurance. Bottom line is the doctor checked him out and gave him some instructions on how to mitigate any further damage and in the end we didn't need the evacuation. Still, it was a real comfort knowing we had been prepared and it only cost $55.00 per year.
On our Antarctica trip during a shore expedition - mid-level exertion - there was a woman (late 60's) who was climbing a hill to view the penguins and had a stroke. The medical team on our expedition noticed her distress and jumped into action. They called for the ship's doctor who came to her side immediately. While they were doing that, they made preparations to evacuate her from the site and take her back to the ship where she could be made more comfortable. The expedition ended shortly after her evacuation and our captain made arrangements to take her
Last year during our walking safari trip in Zambia we were advised by our safari group leader to think about purchasing DAN TravelAssist insurance which provides emergency medical assistance. For $55.00 for a family membership (my husband and myself - $35.00 for an individual membership.) We thought it was probably a pretty good idea in case we had a problem and needed evacuation. DAN TravelAssist provides you with up to $100,000 of evacuation assistance coverage. This benefit is effective for both diving and non-diving medical emergencies (Ok...that's cool!) Evacuation coverage begins when you travel on a trip at least 50 miles from home. The ONLY stipulation is that you MUST call DAN's phone number to make evacuation arrangements. Wow! We were pretty sure we would never need this insurance but dang, since a trip only 50 miles from home isn't a big stretch we thought, what the heck. So we got it.
Bottom line is one day after a safari my husband was jumping off the back of a jeep and he felt a sharp pain in his abdomen. After a very uncomfortable afternoon and evening, he was pretty certain that he had a hernia. We couldn't have been in a worse location. Our safari camp was pretty remote from any modern hospital. I talked to the camp manager and she made transportation arrangements for us to travel about 2 hours via jeep to another camp where a travelling doctor was willing to check my husband's condition. We felt a million times better knowing that we had the DAN insurance. Bottom line is the doctor checked him out and gave him some instructions on how to mitigate any further damage and in the end we didn't need the evacuation. Still, it was a real comfort knowing we had been prepared and it only cost $55.00 per year.
On our Antarctica trip during a shore expedition - mid-level exertion - there was a woman (late 60's) who was climbing a hill to view the penguins and had a stroke. The medical team on our expedition noticed her distress and jumped into action. They called for the ship's doctor who came to her side immediately. While they were doing that, they made preparations to evacuate her from the site and take her back to the ship where she could be made more comfortable. The expedition ended shortly after her evacuation and our captain made arrangements to take her