Tuesday, June 12, 2007

Mal de Débarquement


Rock The Boat

(As recorded by The Hues Corporation)
WALLY HOLMES

So I'd like to know where you got the notion
Said I'd like to know where you got the notion


To rock the boat
Don't rock the boat baby
Rock the boat

Don't tip the boat over
Rock the boat
Don't rock the boat baby
Rock the boat.

Continuing on the topic of nausea and songs from the 70's, the New York Times has an article on mal de débarquement, or "reverse seasickness":

When Seasickness Persists After a Return to Solid Ground

By ELIZABETH SVOBODA
Published: June 12, 2007

. . .

"Landsickness" or "reverse seasickness" is familiar to many people who have taken long cruises -- once the body has become accustomed to constant motion, the vestibular system, which controls balance, usually takes a few hours or days to acclimate to being on land again. But in patients like Mrs. Josselyn, who suffer from what is known as mal de débarquement, or debarkation sickness, the brain never seems to readapt.

Their symptoms, which include dizziness, nausea and a persistent feeling of rocking from side to side, can continue for decades after the fateful voyage that initiates them...

. . .

After years of treating patients and mulling over individual case histories, Dr. [Timothy C.] Hain has formulated a broad theory of what causes the condition, with the help of Charles Oman, an aeronautics engineer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and head of the motion-sickness program at NASA.

"A very sophisticated way of dealing with your environment is to form an internal model of it in your brain," Dr. Hain said. "A boat is a perfect place for this kind of internal model to form. It's rocking back and forth, and it gets into a rhythm that you start to be able to predict."

Sufferers of mal de débarquement, Dr. Hain theorizes, form internal models of the boat that are very accurate — so accurate, in fact, that they typically suffer very little seasickness or uneasiness while on board. "They’re the ones who are walking around the boat and having a great time," he said. "But when they get off, they don’t give up their internal models very easily." The disconnect between the entrenched internal model and the person’s actual surroundings, he believes, is what spawns the disease’s disorienting symptoms.


The Hues Corporation - Rock The Boat (1974)

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7 Comments:

At June 26, 2007 2:16 PM, Blogger BeaTeach said...

This is a serious debilitating syndrome that changes your life forever!!

 
At June 26, 2007 2:34 PM, Blogger The Neurocritic said...

I didn't mean to imply otherwise. It sounds like a horrible condition.

 
At December 31, 2007 5:48 PM, Blogger Catherine said...

I was terrified that it would last forever. It lasted for two and a half weeks, and I truly believe that acupuncture helped me get back to normal. You lose complete control of your body, your mind. I am so thankful for my health right now.

 
At January 02, 2008 8:23 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

It has been a week and a half for me. I so hope this goes away. It's affecting my exercise program, driving, my thought process at work and even my hand writing.

 
At January 03, 2008 11:09 AM, Blogger Catherine said...

try acupuncture. I felt terrible, and was even having panic attacks. Then I tried acupuncture and the next day I was better, after almost two weeks. After my second session the symptoms were gone completely.

 
At March 02, 2010 6:34 AM, Blogger M. said...

I have had this condition for two years. A neuro Dr. told me that is happens mostly in women between 35 and 50 who have migraines. I was 43when I went on a cruise. Now I am on the boat all the time. Dr's say there is nothing that can help me. so I just live with it.

 
At August 17, 2010 9:13 PM, Blogger Unknown said...

I've had MDDS for over five weeks, after taking an 11 day cruise. I feel alone with this condition since so many people have never heard of it. I was prescribed dramamine, which had not effect. A couple of days ago, I had an MRI. I'm sure what have is MDDS and I'm very fearful that I won't receive any treatment and that this will never go away. Any help would be most appreciated!
-Kristine

 

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