I’ve read a number of stories about people getting sick in the choppy open water of an Ironman and throwing up. Has anyone ever taken anti-nausea pills before hand? Would they have a negative effect on you in terms of dehydration or anything? In other words, is there any reason not to take them as a precaution? Thanks.
Most anti-emetics make you very tired/lethargic so I would not advise this as there is a bit of work to do after the swim warmup of an IM!
I do. I get very bad motion sickness (like sick in car, plane, and elevator) and before every swim, I take 2 “less drowsy” dramamine half hour before. A week before, I also take 550mg ginger root capsules two times a day.
I do not feel any ill effects of drowsiness or anything, but one thing I do get is a little dry mouth toward the end of the swim.
Does it work? For me, if the swim is very bad, I won’t make it no matter what without feeling motion sickness. At Silverman, I DNF’ed on the swim. The conditions were so bad for me, the medicine and ginger didn’t help. However, at IMAZ, I didn’t feel any sickness but it was way calmer.
Ginger can be helpful as well as the non-drowsy Dramamine (labeled as Dramamine 2, same med also sold as Bonine.
Most importantly, don’t forget one thing – try it in one or (preferably) more training sessions first to see what the effect is on YOU. Never try anything – equipment, clothing, nutrition, medication – for the first time in a race.
I have had that motion sickness issue before and have thought about using something like Dramamine. However, I was unable to find any research on this type of medication on exercise performance, heat stress etc… It is basically an anti histamine so you would think there would be something. Anybody out there have any info or have been able to dig up something?
Mike
Have you tried ear plugs? They wont’ cure motion sickness but they can help by eliminating the water in/out of your ears. if you’ve ever had your ears flushed out by the doctor you know that you can get pretty seasick standing still in a doctor’s office. Benedryl also helps and you may be able to get more feedback on it being used as part of an athletic event (since it is used to treat stings and allergies).
I am not a doctor nor did I stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.
My brother gets it real bad, he took some dramamine prior to the IMF 01’ swim and still ended up chumming before he finished his first loop… glad I was in front of him…
Note to self – Be careful whom you draft behind on the swim.
ginger, ginger, ginger
this is what the longtime swimmers in San Francisco Bay take every time they do a long swim.
Helps settle the stomach and reduce nausea,
Warms you up a bit,
Provides some energy (like a mild caffeinated effect for some), and
Is an anti-inflammatory.
You can pop ginger pills, or drink hot ginger tea from a thermos, or both.
Ginger tea.
Should you be taking ginger for a week before the race or so or just right before the race?
As far as I know, it’s just before the race, but I’m not expert in that area.
Ginger has been shown in randomized control trials to reduce nausea in pregnant women. Can’t say the same for most of the prescription medications used in pregnancy.
So, there is good reason it should work for other causes of nausea, though I am unaware of any randomized control trials in triathletes. 
i use those patches ou put behind your ear when we’re fishing and don’t seem to get tired. maybe try those.
I use those wrist bands that have a pea sized button imbedded in them. The buttons are oriented on your wrist such that pressure is applied to a nerve some how some way that eliminates motion sickness. They are amazing. Some genious figured this out.