Travel

Back on Land: Minding Mysterious Maladies After Your Cruise

Cruises continue to grow in popularity, and it is easy to understand why, as you can visit many different countries and enjoy some different cultural and culinary experiences, in a short space of time.

However, as personal injury lawyers Slater & Gordon will confirm, there are plenty of regular incidents both during your cruise, and also when you return home, that can cause you to seek some medical assistance and treatment.

Motion sickness

Sea sickness is a common complaint about people who take to the water in any vessel.

Cruise ships are huge boats which are designed to make you feel as comfortable as possible while on board, and they are designed with stabilisers that greatly reduce the swaying motion that you would feel when travelling in a smaller boat.

Despite their best efforts to provide you with a smooth journey on the open seas, there is inevitably going to be some feeling of constant motion, which your body will adjust to try and compensate for this feeling.

Land Sickness

Seasickness can be very unpleasant for some while actually on a cruise ship, and it occurs as a result of your inner ear and eyes, detecting the subtle motion of the vessel and sending confusing signals to your brain, which results in a nauseous feeling.

Sea Sickness can last a few hours or a few days, depending on how you react. But if the dizziness, vomiting, feelings of fatigue and headaches, persist beyond your holiday and continue when you are on dry land, it could be that you have land sickness or Mal de Debarquement syndrome.

In the most severe documented cases of this syndrome, some people have subsequently experienced dizziness and a persistent rocking sensation for decades after, as their brain seems incapable of readjusting.

Experts are still working on trying to find a total cure for this condition and at the moment, there are only drugs to lessen the effects available, which is not good news if this happens to you.

Stomach pains

As anyone who has been on a cruise ship will confirm, it is very easy to overindulge with so much food and drink on offer, and then there are the trips to local restaurants and the temptation to sample local cuisine, when you go ashore.

This can play havoc with your stomach, meaning you could get a bout of colic, as a result of your bowels being stretched trying to cope with too much or unfamiliar foods.

Some people have been known to develop irritable bowel syndrome after a foreign trip, so if you get any persisting pain after you return from your holiday, get it checked out by your doctor.

The threat of malaria

Many tropical destinations are undeniably beautiful, but they can also be a hotbed of potential diseases, with malaria being a particularly dangerous threat.

If you are experiencing flu-like symptoms after your trip and are running a temperature of over 38.5C, you should get yourself check over by a doctor, as it could be more than just a cold.

Tell the doctor where you have been, so that the prospect of malaria can be investigated and hopefully eliminated, but definitely don’t discount any symptoms as just a cold, because malaria can be very serious.

Cruise holidays are a great way of seeing the world, but you also need to be aware of some of the issues that your adventures might expose you to.

Jacob Burrows has worked in the travel industry since his twenties. Covering various roles, from holiday rep to cruise ship entertainer he has seen, and heard many a story! He writes for various travel blogs sharing advice and memories.

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