Do Sea Bands work?

[DisneyDog]

We are heading down to Orlando in one month, and we will be going to Universal as well as WDW. I really, really want to be able to go on the rides at WWHP, but I get motion sickness. I have been doing some research and I am going to try both Bonine and Sea Bands. I tend to get sleepy from antihistimines, so I am skeptical about the Bonine, and I am skeptical about the Sea Bands in general. Although, I have read a lot of good reviews. Have any of you used Sea Bands (or Bonine) to get relief from motion sickness at theme parks? I would love to hear from you!

[TheVBs]

We used Sea Bands for our DD11 when she was little with mixed results. Not sure if they were unreliable or if we just didn't reliably get them in the right position each time. A few years ago we tried Bonine and it works great! It's non-drowsy by the way, not like the other one which I can't remember the name of. I even tried Bonine for a couple of days on our last Disney trips and I didn't get sleepy. Hope this helps!

[Janmac]

My niece is also prone to motion sickness. She tried the Sea Bands one trip and they worked, but did need to be positioned just right.

Currently tho, she uses Dramamine - a quarter tablet. A full tablet puts her to sleep. She takes the quarter tablet maybe 30 minutes before going to the parks. She carries some with her to take again, in a few hours.

She still avoids any spinning rides, like the Teacups, but otherwise she's good to go.

She has not tried Bonine.

Jan

[MNNHFLTX]

Tried Sea Bands years ago when I was suffering terrible morning sickness--they did nothing for me.

I would go the Bonine route, as previously suggested, as it doesn't cause drowsiness as much as Dramamine does. And you can buy candied ginger and start taking it a few days before the trip. Ginger really does help with nausea and motion sickness.

[garymacd]

I have never used them, never needed them but my oldest does. She really doesn't have much luck with it, so we have come up with a couple alternatives.

Gravol now makes a ginger-based pill that has worked well for lots of people. (Have you ever felt really gassy after eating your Thanksgiving turkey? Try sprinkling some ground ginger inside the carcass, on the outside and in the stuffing. Works great!)

The other thing that works really well for her is hypnosis. My wife and daughter went to a hypnotist to help with some issues like concentration and pain management. They both had pretty good results with it. The hypnotist gave them each a code word to use to put themselves in a super-relaxed state where they can work through the issues, one of which was motion sickness.

That was a number of years ago and the post-hypnotic suggestion is still there. I accidentally said the code word in the car one day and my beloved wife nearly slid off the seat! The things she said about my parents!

[Wolf]

I use them and they work for me, I can't promise its legit tho because I tend to be abit more of a placebo person, but I put them on when I see Mom get the sparkle in her eye that lets me know shes about to drag me onto something I'll scream myself hoarse on, or on the bus to Hollywood Studios lol I also wear them on the plane cause I get super panickey on flights and it seems to help me cope alittle. Good luck!!! I need to find that Ginger pill, what is it called @GaryMac??

[DisneyDog]

Thank you all! I am going to give Bonine a test run, but I'm also going to try the ginger. The guys at Myth Busters said that it actually works well. I definitely trust them if they have tested it.

[barnaby]

I have tried the Sea Bands with no luck on fishing trips. I end up taking a Dramamine.

I now get motion sick on attractions (stinks getting old), so I am looking to try out something non-drowsy too. I think I'll give Bonine a try for my upcoming trip. Dramamine works, but makes me sluggish.

[HollyB]

I use the Sea Bands in the car because I tend to get motion sick and they work great. I can actually read in the car if I wear them. The trick is the positioning. On the Disney Cruise we went on, they were helpful on normal seas. The one day with heavy swells, I still felt a little ill, but I think it would have been worse without the Sea Bands. So my take would be, helpful for normal sorts of motions, maybe not so helpful for wild extremes of motion (like roller coasters).

[Gator]

They work for my wife, but they don't work for me. I guess it's hit and miss.

[DisneyDog]

Well, I may have solved at least part of the mystery as to why I have been getting motion sickness so often these days...seems my eyeglass lens prescription was wrong! I got new lenses the end of last week and that has helped me quite a bit. I had been getting car sick a lot, especially at night, and I was so worried that this would translate to sickness on rides. I may still get sick on the rides, but at least my car sickness has been cut down! Anti-glare lenses have also made a big difference.

I do have ginger pills and candy that I will bring on the trip. Not so sure I'm going to try the seabands or OTC medications, as I fear I will get sleepy. Everything seems to knock me out. I am going in just 20 days (!) and I guess I will take my chances with the Ginger. Thanks all!

[Mgcamp]

A lot of things like this work more from the power of suggestion rather than the power of science or medicine. If you want to believe they work you are likely to convince yourself that they do. If you want to try just put elastic bands around your wrist it will be just as effective (or ineffective) and you can put the $10 they charge towards a t-shirt or a butter beer.

[meldan98]

My dad has motion sickness due to some of his medications and is a frequent cruiser and goes to Disneyland with us. He frequently gets ill on most rides and has tried ginger and sea bands, but found that he has had the most sucess with the small patches worn behind the earlobe. With those, he has cruised to Hawaii and has kept up with my 8 year old riding everything at Disneyland multiple times.

[mickeyman42]

just to throw in my 2 cents, as a pharmacist I can tell you that there is no medical reason to believe that seabands do anything, they don't. if they worked for you then its because you wanted them to work, ie power of suggestion/placebo effect. however if you felt it worked, great i mean whether they do anything or not as long as you do not feel nauseated does it really matter how it worked? not in my book it doesn't. anytime you can get relief without taking a medication is great!

[Disney Doll]

I tried them for morning sickness with my second pregnancy. Heck, I tried everything. I didn't notice any difference.