SEAS OF UNEASE; SEASICKNESS BANE OF MANY AN OCEANGOER.

Byline: Jeremy Bagott Latitude 34

Sherman Oaks boater Chris Morton recalls a psychology professor he had in college. The man loved sailing but always spent the first day seasick, so he sailed on three-day weekends.

Once ``he lashed a movie camera to the bow of his boat and filmed the rolling, pitching ocean,'' said Morton. ``Later, he brought students into a classroom, sat them in chairs and ran the film. Strictly from visual input, a certain number became sick.''

Morton, 53, said paper and pencil tests later revealed the artistic students were more prone to becoming seasick.

``Essentially, it looked as if certain people magnified their sensory input, whereas others minimized it.''

Susceptibility to seasickness varies greatly from one person to the next, and there is much that medical science does not know. Tests have shown that all humans can be made motion-sick. The one thing observers do tend to agree on is the importance of prevention.

``Of course, the only sure-fire prevention,'' said Dr. Earnest Campbell, a Gulf Coast dive physician, ``is not to go out on the water.''

But the problem about experimenting with preventatives is that once you commit, you can wind up sick if the medicine doesn't have the desired effect. Or sick if it does.

Max Lynn, a boater from Santa Barbara, began wondering why his wife was hallucinating during a sailboat race to Cabo several years ago. ``After the second day and some pretty serious problems,'' said Lynn, ``the light bulb finally turned on, and we had her (scopolamine) patch removed. It took another day for the effects to diminish.''

Such stories have prompted New York City sailor Jared Sherman to brief crew members on his medicated state before leaving the dock: ``I make a point to warn everyone on the boat, `I'm on drugs. I may have a heart attack. I may become a raving hallucinating psychopath, but I will not be seasick.' ''

If you are plagued by seasickness, consider the following:

Lord Nelson was a wretched seaman. He disgorged aboard ship from ensign to admiral. He was overwhelmingly ill during the Battle of Trafalgar, his defining moment.

Roman orator Cicero, having fled Rome aboard a merchant ship to escape execution, chose to risk having his head cut off rather than spend another miserable day sick at sea. The Roman government later obliged him.

Although rarely fatal, its symptoms, combined with the rigors of being at sea, can be dangerous. And this completely ignores the emotional punishment.

``Getting seasick,'' said Fred Carvajal of West Hills, ``is like opening a present at Christmas and finding nothing inside. You have your friends and your kids out there for a special day on the water and then suddenly you're sick.''

Before World War II, the most common seasick medications were powerful sedatives, which had the unwelcome effect of incapacitating the user - not a good thing for a gunner's mate or bridge officer.

Today's over-the-counter drugs are a big step forward: Dramamine (dimenhydrinate), Bonine and Dramamine II (meclizine), the antihistamine Benadryl (diphenhydramine) and Peptobismal have all been used to varying degrees of success.

Interactions and side-effects increase with prescription medications like Dilantin, primarily an epilepsy drug; scopolamine; Phenergan; and cinnarizine, developed to fight Parkinson's disease and not yet available in the United States.

The latter, said Campbell, based in Orange Beach, Ala., has been proved effective, but unfortunately can bring on cerebral palsy-like tremors in some people.

Scopolamine has been found particularly effective in tests by NASA, but it is known to have side effects, which vary greatly according to the individual. It may be dangerous to sufferers of prostate ailments, pregnant women and to those with glaucoma. Check with your doctor.

``You have to walk a little tightrope with scopolamine,'' said Campbell. ``It's the best thing we have in this country for seasickness, but people have to find their own dosage.''

Campbell recommends that the user experiment adhering only one-quarter of a ``patch'' of the transdermal scopolamine several days before a voyage.

Ginger has shown itself to be of some value against motion sickness. In a double-blind study, about a gram was found helpful. Dosing the night before is recommended. In Danish naval cadets, a gram of ginger lessened vomiting and cold sweating. Testing by NASA found a reduction in vomiting and sweating with ginger, but no reduction in nausea and vertigo.

Ginger can be consumed in a tablet or powder, or even eaten as ginger snaps or in pickled form.

Other oddities include the nei-kuan bracelet, an elastic manacle with a small plastic nub that presses a spot between the flexor tendons. Honey, vitamin B6, catnip and even a tablespoon or two of bitters (the Italian bitters Fernet Branca is said to be the best.)

Beyond remedies and symptoms is seasickness' stigma.

``I've seen deckhands aboard fishing boats mock seasick fishermen,'' said Carvajal. ``I've seen situations where fellow fishermen were the only ones helping out a sick fishermen.''

The observation is not uncommon, but skippers and those in the industry see it otherwise.

``Captains in the sport-fishing industry would like to see all passengers take seasickness preventatives,'' said Katrina Rutkauskas at H&M Landing, a San Diego-based party-boat operator. ``You're on the open ocean; it's going to be rough out there even on the calmest day,'' said Rutkauskas.

``Once you're sick, it's all over.''

In your ear

The receptors predict sensory signals based on data from three looped canals located in the inner ear.

Inside the canals are tiny hairs, fluid and an air bubble in each: the body's answer to the carpenter's level. On terra firma, there's little or no deviation between what the brain anticipates will happen and what actually happens. On a rolling sea, a conflict arises between what the brain expects and what the inner ear is telling it.

CAPTION(S):

photo, box

PHOTO (color) no caption (sick woman)

Photo: Tina Gerson/Staff Photographer

Illustration: Roger W. Vargo/Staff

BOX: In your ear (see text)