Air queasy pax?

woodchucker

woodchucker

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woodchucker
I just bought some Bonine today... hoping my wife or one younger daughter (14) will try. My 17-year-old daughter basically resisted the urge to drug her, and insisted on studying the drug effects before willingly taking. I told her I would slip legal drugs into her illegal cocktail. Well, she knows I was joking because the girl is as straight as an arrow, and when I told her that the eye-roll would have brought down MH370 all by itself. She insisted that she would NOT take any drug without research. Damn kid (this is the kid who made it once around the pattern and said thanks but no thanks). My wife and younger daughter actually went on one flight each, from KSLC - KTVY and KPVU respectively. Well... any success with Bonine? Or prefer Dramamine? Duct tape? I have this brand new PPL and my family has gone AWOL! And don't bend y'r wing spars. If they don't wanna fly I'm not going to press the issue.

I'm a bit toasted (not from any recent sun - maybe too much tky?), but this question is basically: will Bonine help? Will sleep-inducing Dramamine help? Will duct tape help? Chloroform?

What physiological effects does this type of drug (Bonine) have? I will not be flying until next week, WX permitting. Warm before the storm here in Salt Lake.
 
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Have they actually flown with you yet? Have they already been airsick?

Fly them before 11:00am or in the evening. Pick the days carefully.

If I got airsick, but I don't, I would use Scopolamine patches (Rx). Cut them in half, effect lasts for days.
 
This could be "daddy's little hobby" like most of us.

My wife has zero interest in flying - ok, nearly zero - and she doesn't get sick in the airplane. Just board.

My only recommendation is not to push. After 9 years of solo flying (ok, minus my fellow aviation geeks) my wife is starting to see the airplane as transportation... but that is about it.
 
If airsickness is the issue, I'd recommend trying motion sickness wristbands. The pharmacies around here carry them, and they've worked for everybody I know that's tried them.
 
If you have never had Bonnie,your in for a surprise,side affects make you sleep and tired for most of a day. Some people just don't want to fly,in a little airplane.
 
Look for Quease Ease. No drugs. supposed to work really well according to a helicopter charter service I rode with recently.

Odds are that their discomfort isn't motion sickness as much as anxiety. You need to introduce them to flying in a way that eases their fear and find a way to help them enjoy it. Look for a local chapter of the Ninety-Nines and see if they offer a pinch-hitter course. Maybe let them go up with you and a high time instructor so they appreciate that you're capable. Everyone's factors are different. Good luck overcoming yours.

By the way, my wife was a reluctant flyer. One flight changed it. We made a short flight in very low conditions. I told my wife I needed her help to keep a power transmission line in sight and to call off any change in it's proximity to the airplane while I focused on flying (we were following the power lines home). We got back, did a couple of chores, and she asked if we could go back. She's never had a problem since.
 
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Try to get them involved, have the right seater fly a little, keep them occupied. Look for traffic etc, my middle son used to get seasick every time we fished, then we got him busy helping with the rods, bait etc and he never got sick again. :D
Also, the advice about flying when it's calm is great, bumpy is no good, especially for folks who already think they are going to be sick!!:eek:
 
Ever thought about the female situation? Not something any of us want to chat about I'm sure, but it's real. Even if I can manage to get her up during those times when she's feeling less than stellar, she will get queasy even though she usually doesn't.

I was outnumbered in the house growing up, and I'm still outnumbered now, so I just had to get used to it and get the timing down.

I've got one week per month I can get her in the air. Any other three, forget about it. It goes like this...

The "Incoming!" week, is time to get prepared. Then there is "THE" week, which is the time to move very cautiously as if you are the hunted. Then the "Outgoing" week where things begin to fade back to normal. The next week, all OK. Game on. Planes, trains, and automobiles.

Repeat cycle.
 
Have they flown at all yet? It might not be that they think they will get sick but rather anxiety of flying with a new pilot. My nephew came this weekend with his mom and dad. Nephew and his mom went flying with me and it was moms first time and she gets car sick. Didn't tell me until we were on the ground. Nephew loved it. The dad said no I'll stay on the ground and he says he loves to fly. Turned out later that night he don't want to fly with an inexperienced pilot. So we can see he values his life more.hahaha another sister in law hates commercial planes and thinks small planes just drop from the sky. In last nights conversation she threw down on me being inexperienced. It kind of hurt but hey they are the ones missing out not me. So...point being they might not fly with you until you get some hours under your belt.
 
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Bill Watson said:
Have they actually flown with you yet? Have they already been airsick?



Fly them before 11:00am or in the evening. Pick the days carefully.



If I got airsick, but I don't, I would use Scopolamine patches (Rx). Cut them in half, effect lasts for days.
Click to expand...


I tried them, they make me sick, strong stuff.
 
All three have flown... one at a time. The first was my wife, and it was a beautiful and smooth morning ride. She actually didn't complain at all until a few days later. Said she felt a tad bit nauseous. I think for her this hobby of mine will just be a form of transportation (not joy) for her. The second one up was my 14-year-old daughter. She is the thrill seeker, not shy to go on amusement park rides, etc. I do believe that was a menstrual cycle thing that day. She never admitted to anything, never said she felt any problem, but hasn't wanted to go up again. The third up was my 17-year-old daughter. Thrill seeking is not in her vocab. I wasn't planning on leaving the pattern with her at all, and sure enough on downwind, she requested to be back on the ground. I was so happy that she willingly went up and gave it a go. Afterwards she made a comment like: "while driving, when the car goes up over a bump, there is an expectation of a downward return motion. While flying, the bumps do not have that expected return motion." I found that to be an interesting comment. A friend of mine took one flight with another pilot in a small plane, and didn't want to go back up again. He likened flying to "ice skating" in the air.

I just find it interesting to hear the passenger side of why they don't like it.

For the most part, I realize I'm going to be on my own, but there will be times I may fly to visit family (sister is in Washington), and maybe one of the three would like to come along. That is my reason for asking about remedies. Maybe have them try taking half of a pill to see if it helps?

I've always wondered how motion sickness meds work. I used to be in the Navy and I know the pharmacy on the ship dispensed them like candy (especially in the Atlantic). I never needed it but a lot of others did.
 
simtech said:
Have they flown at all yet? It might not be that they think they will get sick but rather anxiety of flying with a new pilot. My nephew came this weekend with his mom and dad. Nephew and his mom went flying with me and it was moms first time and she gets car sick. Didn't tell me until we were on the ground. Nephew loved it. The dad said no I'll stay on the ground and he says he loves to fly. Turned out later that night he don't want to fly with an inexperienced pilot. So we can see he values his life more.hahaha another sister in law hates commercial planes and thinks small planes just drop from the sky. In last nights conversation she threw down on me being inexperienced. It kind of hurt but hey they are the ones missing out not me. So...point being they might not fly with you until you get some hours under your belt.
Click to expand...

Did you tell her that at one time ALL pilots were at your experience level?

My wife loves to fly with me when I can take her, only problem is...
vomit-smiley-024.gif


She just sits in her seat with her head down and eyes closed, sleeping mostly. I have done everything to get her head out of the plane, even faking a heart attack, but no, head down and eyes closed is the only way she will travel. And she has no anxiety about flying in a small plane, she does the same thing when we fly commercial lines.

And she only gets airsick while in the pattern for landing no matter the size of the plane.

Funny part on traveling commercial, after we take our seats she will ask me if I think the pilots have enough experience to be flying passengers...:rolleyes2:
 
Seeing all of these posts makes me realize how lucky I am! My wife LOVES flying... in fact, she has pushed me back into it 3 times, and additionally just started her own private lessons.

Flying is not for everyone... I mean, she couldn't drag me screaming into a mall. I'm not a golfer, fisherman, or hunter.
 
Logical thing to do would be to trade them in on a new family....

In reality....that would cost you the price of a pressurized single.

So what's your solution??....get ur pressurized single...visit your sister and tell the wife n kids to drive.;)
 
woodchucker said:
I just bought some Bonine today... hoping my wife or one younger daughter (14) will try. My 17-year-old daughter basically resisted the urge to drug her, and insisted on studying the drug effects before willingly taking. I told her I would slip legal drugs into her illegal cocktail. Well, she knows I was joking because the girl is as straight as an arrow, and when I told her that the eye-roll would have brought down MH370 all by itself. She insisted that she would NOT take any drug without research. Damn kid (this is the kid who made it once around the pattern and said thanks but no thanks). My wife and younger daughter actually went on one flight each, from KSLC - KTVY and KPVU respectively. Well... any success with Bonine? Or prefer Dramamine? Duct tape? I have this brand new PPL and my family has gone AWOL! And don't bend y'r wing spars. If they don't wanna fly I'm not going to press the issue.

I'm a bit toasted (not from any recent sun - maybe too much tky?), but this question is basically: will Bonine help? Will sleep-inducing Dramamine help? Will duct tape help? Chloroform?

What physiological effects does this type of drug (Bonine) have? I will not be flying until next week, WX permitting. Warm before the storm here in Salt Lake.
Click to expand...

Drinking ginger-ale can help. On occasion, if I've eaten particular foods (like pizza or anything with a lot of diary products) or haven't eaten at all, I'll start feeling queasy. I've always gotten back on the ground before actually getting sick though. Slowly sipping down a cup of g-ale helped with my airsickness.
 
My wife uses them they are called sea-bands, she is yet to get sick. Even on our cruises, she uses them while I am totally nauseous. I take Dramamine on the cruises now or the patch.
Sea bands work great for my wife and we have been through some rough skies!

MauleSkinner said:
If airsickness is the issue, I'd recommend trying motion sickness wristbands. The pharmacies around here carry them, and they've worked for everybody I know that's tried them.
Click to expand...
 
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/motion-sickness-treatment/

Scopolamine (Brand name "scop"). It is prescription and NOT approved for pilots but it works very well for airplane pax (and on cars, buses, boats, roller coasters and in third world taxis too - which is where I've used it). It does not cause drowsiness but does cause dry mouth - a common symptom of anticholinergic meds - something I'll take over barfing or drowsiness any day. I've found the dry mouth thing is tolerable.

The Scientific American article mentions drowsiness but that is rare. Non-drowsiness and effective anti-vertigo are actually the big benefits of scop.

Both Bonine (meclizine) and Dramamine (dimenhydrinate) are antihistamines, which means they both cause significant drowsiness.

My wife (a Pharm.D. clinical pharmacy specialist) uses a scop patch on every XC in our airplane. She takes it off when we arrive and the dry-mouth thing goes away within a day. She puts on a new patch for the trip back. Individual patches last up to 3 or 4 days.

They take some time to become effective, though. So they wouldn't work for an impromptu flight of less than several hours notice.

As far as their willingness to fly... that is a whole other issue and probably has more to do with overall anxiety about small aircraft than it does with sickness. Just my $0.01.


.
 
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Yes, Bonine and Dramamine both cause drowsiness but that is usually the only major side effect. Some sensitive individuals are not necessarily limited to one side effect.

A good trick for using these drowsy drugs is to load up the night before so that the drowsiness wears off during the sleep phase while the benefits can be reaped the day after with maybe 1 extra pill.

FWIW, one natural sickness suppressant is ginger. Many airport FBOs and offices have bowls with ginger candy. Or a ginger drink helps too, though not in the same high concentration. And the ramifications of drinking a lot of ginger ale before a flight are pretty clear to all of us, I think. :)
 
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