A while ago I attended a presentation about medical issues on
small boats at sea. The speaker was a medical officer responsible for
the care of merchant marine cadets. At one point in the presentation
he mentioned that one of the side effects of Scopolamine ( he may have
included other medicines as well though I took special note of
Scopolamine) is urine retention. The drug causes swelling of the
membranes in the urinary tract, and in acute cases can cause the
complete shut off of flow. No mention was made of the prostrate and
so I understood that this could happen to all of us. An acute case
would not only be extremely uncomfortable but could be life
threatening. I do not use Scopolamine and was not aware of this, and
judging from the reaction of the audience most of them were unaware as
well. The other day during a conversation on the docks this came up
again, with the same result. I figured perhaps I should mention it
here. The officer suggested that a boat's medical kit should include
a 16' French catheter. A friend has suggested that in an emergency,
one could perhaps make a catheter by stripping the covering from an
electrical wire but I doubt it, and I'm squirming even as I write this.
The officer also said he has had some success by starting a drug
regimen for the crew three days before a trip, ( not necessarily for
Scopolamine but any medicine you choose to use) that there has been
less seasickness among the crew and the side effects seem to wear off
by sailing time.
Wishing everyone smooth seas.
Craig Tern #1519
small boats at sea. The speaker was a medical officer responsible for
the care of merchant marine cadets. At one point in the presentation
he mentioned that one of the side effects of Scopolamine ( he may have
included other medicines as well though I took special note of
Scopolamine) is urine retention. The drug causes swelling of the
membranes in the urinary tract, and in acute cases can cause the
complete shut off of flow. No mention was made of the prostrate and
so I understood that this could happen to all of us. An acute case
would not only be extremely uncomfortable but could be life
threatening. I do not use Scopolamine and was not aware of this, and
judging from the reaction of the audience most of them were unaware as
well. The other day during a conversation on the docks this came up
again, with the same result. I figured perhaps I should mention it
here. The officer suggested that a boat's medical kit should include
a 16' French catheter. A friend has suggested that in an emergency,
one could perhaps make a catheter by stripping the covering from an
electrical wire but I doubt it, and I'm squirming even as I write this.
The officer also said he has had some success by starting a drug
regimen for the crew three days before a trip, ( not necessarily for
Scopolamine but any medicine you choose to use) that there has been
less seasickness among the crew and the side effects seem to wear off
by sailing time.
Wishing everyone smooth seas.
Craig Tern #1519