Nausea

[ToeKick]

I thought this would be a more common problem, so I did a search but didn't come up with anything.

Anyway, when I ride in the back of the ambo I get car sick, really car sick. Like by the time we're at the hospital it's everything I can do not vomit all over the place.

Not only that, it's a lingering sickness. Basically, one call and I'm shot for the day. Thankfully, I'm only volunteer right now, but this is something I really want to do.

Does anyone have experience with this? Will this go away if I ride more often? I know I could take Dramamine, but that stuff totally knocks me out.

 

[TransportJockey]

I have that problem when I'm riding as box troll. I found that A/C helps. So does, of all things, ginger altoids. When I'm working on a patient in the back I'm fine, it's just when I'm stuck riding third in the back all day I get sickish

 

[DesertMedic66]

If I'm not driving or in the front seat then I get like that. I'll start shaking and everything. Doesn't matter if there is a patient or not. I can't read while driving or anything like that. A/C does help me. But also I have found out that Dramamine motion sickness pills help alot. For me it's a night and day difference.

 

[Shishkabob]

Zofran!

 

[lampnyter]

I get sick if i look at the ground while moving so it can be hard for me to write. Air and water seems to help me.

 

[MrBrown]

Come work with Brown, Brown needs somebody to drive, problem solved

 

[abckidsmom]

Any kind of ginger works on my nausea. My favorite is the kind that comes with sushi, so I get extra of that whenever I'm at a nice grocery store.

Nausea is what decides for me when I'm done with EMS during a pregnancy. I have gotten all the way to puking in the back of the truck during my last three pregnancies. Awkward.

Cool air, looking out the front window (a little hard to pay attention to the patient that way!), and having a sick patient help me. Seems that when I'm busy doing work, my brain doesn't have time to do the carsick thing.

 

[Icenine]

I take ginger root capsules everyday I work. Once at breakfast, once at dinner. A partner drinks ginger root tea w/ breakfast and capsules at dinner.

Dramamine is good at preventing vomiting but doesn't help my actual nausea

 

[Nerd13]

I'm not sure what kind of rigs you work in but try all of your different seating options. Airway probably won't work for you if you have a pt and it's usually the hardest to tolerate anyway. You may want to try sitting in the CPR seat if you have one in your rig. It's a little different sensation for me. When I first started I had a little nausea sitting in the airway seat coming home from long IFTs or calls. It's dissipated now that I've been doing it for awhile. Whatever you can do to orient yourself to the direction of travel will probably help but do the best you can. Maybe it will work itself out with time.

 

[firetender]

It's not about holding it!

Anyway, when I ride in the back of the ambo I get car sick, really car sick. Like by the time we're at the hospital it's everything I can do not vomit all over the place.

Not only that, it's a lingering sickness. Basically, one call and I'm shot for the day.

If it's that bad, you need to get experience and MAYBE it will go away after you try every remedy in the book. But if it's THAT bad, then maybe you should try to get experience on something that FEELS like an ambulance, but isn't handling live patients.

...that's it; a hearse!

(I couldn't pass up the crack, no offense meant.)

But, hey, I'm not kidding, you need to be honest with yourself. We get lots of rides that last longer than you can hold your puke. Don't do anything to compromise patient care OR your partners OR your obligations to your shift.

 

[katgrl2003]

I can't read while driving

I certainly hope not!

 

[DesertMedic66]

I certainly hope not!

Haha. You got me there. The whole one knee on the steering wheel and only looking up at the road is too much for me

 

[Nimrod_BasketCase]

I watch 19 Kids and Counting sometimes and pretty much the whole family gets motion sickness. So when they travel they were these bands on their wrist that prevent motion sickness that helps them alot. None of them get sick. I don't know where you get them or anything, but they may help you too.

 

[lampnyter]

I watch 19 Kids and Counting sometimes and pretty much the whole family gets motion sickness. So when they travel they were these bands on their wrist that prevent motion sickness that helps them alot. None of them get sick. I don't know where you get them or anything, but they may help you too.

Ive used those before! I forgot where i got them but they did seem to help.

 

[mcdonl]

bad, then maybe you should try to get experience on something that FEELS like an ambulance, but isn't handling live patients.

...that's it; a hearse!

haha... my service chief always says he has been doing this so long his first ambulance was a shared hearse....

OP, a good friend of mine works for a city but volunteers for a small town. He can only drive because more then a 10 minute ride and he is sick. It never went away, and if the call is bad enough he deals with it.

 

[bigbaldguy]

They have those bands at bed bath and beyond

 

[katgrl2003]

They have those bands at bed bath and beyond

Ok, is it just me, or is it a little weird to see someone with the screenname bigbaldguy talking about bed bath and beyond?

 

[ffemt8978]

Ok, is it just me, or is it a little weird to see someone with the screenname bigbaldguy talking about bed bath and beyond?

Especially when his avatar is Bull from Night Court.

 

[bfog99]

I used to get motion sick too. Never to the point of actually vomiting, but that is besides the point. The more I rode, the more I got used to it. It can still hit me sometimes but not near as severe.

I have tried Zofran, but I have found that it does little good for motion sickness. (Especially when open water fishing...)

I never tried the ginger products or bracelet. I just gave it time and it slowly went away. Good Luck!

 

[18G]

There are different neurotransmitters responsible for the transmission of nausea to the brain and different meds yield better efficacy depending on which neurotransmitter is responsible for the nausea . In the case of motion sickness, histamine plays a dominant role so taking an antihistamine before your shift will probably help a lot.

Dramamine (meclizine) is an antihistamine that you can buy over the counter at like Wal-Mart. When I have nausea I get more relief from the Dramamine then I do Benedryl. Benedryl makes most people really tired so I wouldn't recommend that for your problem.

It's also recommended that you get the med onboard before your exposed to the stimuli that causes your nausea.

Zofran targets serotonin so probably wouldn't be real effective on motion sickness. People assume antiemetics work the same for all nausea causes. Not so.