Ski sickness

A snowHead

The son of a friend of mine has been suffering increasing in recent years with a feeling of sickness on the slopes which can get so bad that he actually throws up on the piste. He is ok in the resort but it starts as soon as he gets on the slopes. It happens in both good and bad weather.

In previous years it has been manageable and has subsided after a day or two but it was so bad on a trip to Flaine this year that he was unable to ski for practically the entire four days. It ended up being a very disappointing waste of time and money. He has tried both travel and altitude sickness medication, keeping hydrated etc but all not much use. He is 27, a good skier with about eight trips under his belt, including high altitude resorts such as Tignes and VT. He is otherwise fit and in good health.

After this last trip, he is now thinking his skiing days are over. Has anyone had any experience of this and perhaps can offer some advice.

A snowHead

A couple of thoughts. I’d be getting medical advice on this. But as similar things go, I used to get triggered with similar problems a lot myself in cars/coaches/planes/ferries when younger, including my mid-twenties. It could be really bad and recovery sometimes took days. Those things subsided a lot later, and generally weren’t problems in mid-life. At 70, I’m still left with a seasickness problem, and a full whiteout can give me serious problems when skiing but it doesn’t stop me! I put it down to a proneness to motion sickness. By ‘travel medication’ presumably anti-motion-sickness stuff is meant?

Another thing I’ve had was an inner ear infection I was previously unaware of, which left me with similar effects. Drugs sorted that out in a day or so and I’ve been fine since.

I’m no medic, but could it be a form of motion sickness or inner ear problem that some other medication or treatment might help with?

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

I'm one of the people who have had this in bad weather.

I came to the conclusion that it was basically motion sickness likely caused because in bad conditions I was staring ahead or down and couldn't see the horizon, just a uniform white which confuses the brain. It was once so ill it took a full day to recover but it normally lasted an hour or two. I solved it by consciously looking up and around then picking out fixed items such as trees, I also now use tinted goggles which help pick out differences in the snow so it's not just all white. So... is he spending too much time looking down at the snow rather than around at the horizon ?

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chrisbristol, thread with same title from 2018:
https://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?t=139372&highlight=sickness

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

They do say most motion sickness is often a problem with the brain getting different messages from your vision and balance which causes an automatic “I must have eaten something bad, get rid of it” reaction.

So, I agree with others here. He should probably get his balance checked and maybe his sight too, including trying different colour lenses as there might be some sort of unusual visual disturbances that could be causing this (and I guess a brain check too as some of this could cerebral).

You'll need to Register first of course.

As well as getting checked to make sure he's fit and well it's worth trying wearing anti sickness bands, like SeaBands. I wear them all the time when skiing as all sorts of different weather conditions make my head spin so I can't tell up from down and feel awful. My wonky bands keep me on an even keel and I wouldn't go out without them!

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

Maybe altitude sickness, esp high up in Tignes or VT? I've had it a couple of times and it can take a few days to acclimatise. Maybe try some lower resorts? Just a thought...

After all it is free

Flaine is not exactly high by comparison to other resorts, so doesn't really fit the altitude scenario. Friend of ours had similar experience as@Fat George with an inner ear problem having come straight from a diving trip to the Alps.

If this wasn't a problem for him before, and assuming that there are no alcohol or recreational drugs involved, then I'd really go talk to a doctor. Not unheard of for this kind of thing to be heart related.

Thanks everyone for all the advice, I will pass it on.

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Hmm. I think I'd want to get to the bottom of it. The NHS will probably not be a lot of help. I'd insist on a referral to a specialist (you have to pay...) and they'll likely work out out. There aren't that many parameters which could be causing it.

Be careful with companies like Boots who sell "homeopathic" stuff as "travel sickness" medication - if using stuff like that, make sure it's actually got something in it other than sugar.

Does it happen on dry ski slopes/ indoor snow?
How about snow shoeing?
Is skiing in a forest different from open slopes? Blue sky days versus cloudy?

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Mr P and I went a month trip to Antarctica from NZ involving multiple days at sea in the Southern Ocean. I suffer dreadful seasickness (barf+++!...it was my honeymoon, Mr P's idea....... He has been forgiven). What finally worker for me were Scopoderm patches-worn behind the ear for a day at a time as I recall . I had tried everything else on the recommended list but was wary of the patches because of what I had read about possible side effects. However, loads of my fellow travellers were using them, and they worked 100% for me-no nausea at all and no side effects, in circumstances where I had previously just stayed lying down in our cabin for days on end. In NZ you can buy them over the counter, but you can't get them in the UK without a prescription. https://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements/scopolamine-transdermal-route/proper-use/drg-20072848?p=1. Might be worth seeing if your friend can go the prescription route if no other medical cause can explain his difficulties.

snow reports

I take loads of medication, but don't react badly to it - and have NO allergies. But after using those Scopoderm patches one of my pupils became huge - the difference was bizarre. I didn't link it to Scopoderm - I rang my excellent optician and with a few questions, he'd nailed it.

I sail a lot and certainly am not immune to sea sickness. When I think it will be rough, and I have to be able to function, not just take to my bunk, I take cinnarizine (Stugeron), starting with a low dose 36 hours in advance. It's pretty good, helps a lot, but is certainly not fool-proof. And you DO have to keep taking it every 8 hours. Though the recommended 2 tablet is too much for a lightweight adult.

If proper (not homeopathic) motion sickness medication, taken regularly, doesn't help this person, then the problem is probably not motion sickness.

You know it makes sense.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

A snowHead

@Richard_Sideways, Hahaha!
Attached is a pic of how the water came out of our bathroom tap when it was a tad bumpy-turn your laptop or tablet so that the water looks vertical.

First night and the ship's inclinometer recorded a maximum roll of 50 degrees-I slid foot first out of bed. I felt like the sand in an egg timer being endlessly turned over. But the motion of the ship was not consistent, which made the nausea (and consequent chundering) even worse. Stugeron had always been fine for me for your average channel crossing, but this was on another level and it just didn't work.

Our lovely french tour leader said we were lucky as in the entire month we had not encountered any Southern Ocean storms. I asked what that would have been like. His reply; "we poot ze mattresses on ze floor and feed you sandwiches". Shocked

It was both and awful and an amazing trip. Thankfully, the memory holds onto the amazing bits and has largely blanked out the godawful parts.

A snowHead

@chrisbristol,
Does he wear a helmet that covers the ears? I found that my balance was adversely affected by wearing a helmet & cutting holes in the earpieces improved things, not wearing a helmet at all was even better.
Wearing fully wrap around sunnies instead of goggles might help too.
I had a bout of Menieres disease of the inner ear caused by an allergic reaction to Carlsberg lager (among some others) no joke! But I found that anything that isolated my vision & hearing from my surroundings would make things worse, possibly explaining why he was ok in resort & not on the slopes?

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

@chrisbristol, he might suffer from positional vertigo as I sometimes find this brought on when not being able to properly judge where I am in relation to my movement. What helps immensely is a prescription drug called cyclizine 50mg. If his doc thinks he has this problem or general motion sickness they can issue it and it’s the one he should ask for

It is much stronger? And better than over the counter meds in my experience and my nausea goes away with it. So much so I can even manage not ridicolous rollercoasters when we went to Florida last year.

Primary uses include control of nausea, vomiting and dizziness associated with motion sickness, vertigo and post-operatively following administration of general anesthesia and opioids.

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Altitude sickness is prob best approached by not going high to soon. Maybe needing a day are resort altitude, then going up a bit higher the 2nd day, 3rd, etc.
Breathing exercises may help to maximise the amount of oxygen being taken in.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Thanks all for your suggestions, I will pass them on. Unfortunately he is not attempting to ski this season due to other commitments.

Help!!

Ski sickness

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