Raw ginger root is at the heart of the new anti-seasickness treatment developed by a Blacktip Island scuba outfitter. (photo courtesy of Piers ‘Doc’ Plank)
A Blacktip Island business owner this week unveiled what he claims is a new cure for seasickness, dubbed the Barf Stopper, promising nausea relief for the island’s scuba divers and boaters.
“Ginger taken orally’s been known as a motion-sickness cure for years,” Bamboo You scuba outfitter owner Piers ‘Doc’ Plank said. “The Barf Stopper makes raw ginger as effective as possible. The key is fresh ginger root, soaked in a proprietary anti-nausea tonic, and administered as a suppository.
“In our trials, the effects of one bit of ginger lasted all day,” Plank said. “We had three months of rough weather to test it out, too, with a control group getting baby carrots. It’s drastic, but damned effective. And truly a game changer for a lot of boaters out there.”
Volunteer testers backed Plank’s claims.
“I used to get sick as a dog as soon as the boat got through the cut,” Edwin Chub said. “Now, with Doc’s new treatment, I haven’t gotten even the slightest bit queasy in the last two weeks, and we were diving in six-foot waves.
“It stings a bit at first, but it works,” Chub said. “I don’t know if it’s the ginger, or what they soak it in, but either way, it’s a miracle. And it sure doesn’t make me groggy. The only thing that made me wonder was some of the volunteers were a little too eager to try it.”
Some in the diving community questioned the treatment.
“What Doc’s doing isn’t prevention, it’s perversion,” Bill Fish said. “Of course people’re not getting sick—they’re too busy worrying about the root Doc stuffed up their rectums. And some of his test subjects are folks who never get seasick. But there’s ol’ Doc charging top dollar for his snake-oil remedy. There’s plenty of proven, over-the-counter cures out there. Why not just use one of them?”
Other divers agreed.
“I don’t care how effective this new method’s supposed to be, I’m sticking with my Dramamine. Taken orally,” Olive Beaugregory said. “Or just not going out on rough days. I mean, seasickness is bad, but Doc’s cure sounds worse than the ailment.”
Others embraced the new treatment.
“In rough weather on a rocking boat, it’s any port in the storm,” Joey Pompano said. “I’ll take my pills and chew the gum, as usual, but I’ll also put ginger wherever Doc tells me to put it. You can’t be too careful.”
Barf Stoppers are manufactured fresh daily and available exclusively at the Bamboo You boutique and can be staff- or self-administered.
The Blacktip Times 