Linda Hardy
Mal de Debarquement Syndrome
Danube Princess - April 2005
Linda Hardy
Submission Date: August 12, 2007
Event Date: April 2005
Cruise Bruise: Mal de Debarquement Syndrome
Bruise Location: Passau,Germany
Age: 62
Home Town: Denton
Cruise Line: Peter Deilmann River Cruises
Ship: Danube Princess
Details:
Linda Hardy has come to Cruise Bruise to tell her story, in hopes of letting the cruising public know about a risk each and everyone of them takes, each time they cruise. It is a little publicized condition, and Cruise Bruise agrees, it needs to be told so the cruising public knows an additional risk cruising presents.
In April of 2005, I flew from the USA to Germany and I took a Danube
River Cruise. We left from Passau, Germany boated down to Budhapest, Hungary and returned to Passau 7 days later.
I shared a room with two friends . They slept in couch type beds while I slept in a bed that pulled down from the wall. On the other side of the wall was what I believe to be an engine room of some type.
There was a constant vibration, particularly when we were going through the locks.
I complained after the first night but was told there were no other rooms available.
We were the last room in the hall.
It is a chronic type of vertigo. It is a terrible feeling and has diminished the quality of my life in drastic ways. I am certain this syndrome was a direct result of the cruise and I would give anything to have never gone on that boat.
The Danube Princess, or as it is known in German, Donauprinzessin, has 94 cabins carrying 198 passengers. The ship was built in 1983 and completely refurbished in 2004.
Mal de Debarquement Syndrome (MdDS), or in english "disembarkment syndrome" is a rare balance disorder that most often develops following an ocean cruise, other type of water travel, or motion experience. MdDS persists for months to years. Common symptoms include a persistent sensation of motion such as rocking, swaying, and/or bobbing. This sensation of motion is often associated with fatigue, difficulty maintaining balance, and difficulty concentrating (impaired cognitive function).
Sailing in a cabin that is in the end of a ship, where more motion is felt, or in rough seas, places passengers in danger of becoming afflicted with this condition, even on a large cruise ship. Sleeping in an upper bunk, where the motion of the ship is more easily felt, especially in rough seas, increases the risk even more. With more people cruising, the numbers of MdDS are increasing, and becoming more common.
There is a video from another Cruise Bruise story that explains this condition. The video is HERE
A support group for MdDS sufferers is HERE
More MdDS cases are here
Mal de Debarquement Syndrome (MdDS) is a rare balance disorder that most often develops following an ocean cruise, other type of water travel, or motion experience. MdDS persists for months to years. Common symptoms include a persistent sensation of motion such as rocking, swaying, and/or bobbing. This sensation of motion is often associated with fatigue, difficulty maintaining balance, and difficulty concentrating (impaired cognitive function).
Symptoms of MdDS include persistent sensation of motion, imbalance, fatigue, sensitivity to light, headaches, migraine headaches, dizziness, nausea, confusion, memory loss, ear pain, anxiety, and depression.
At the end of the cruise we took a van to Prague. It was then I first noticed a feeling of movement or vibration similar to that of the boat.
I have never
recovered and have been diagnosed with a vestibular disorder called Mal de
Debarquement at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.
Symptoms are rated on a severity scale as follows:
1-2 Sensation of rocking/bobbing/swaying is almost imperceptible. Most often noticed while walking but may also be recognized while sitting, standing or lying down. Can usually perform routine daily functions without the need for rest periods.
3-4 Rocking/bobbing/swaying sensation is almost constant but can function fairly well with occasional rest periods. The sensation of rocking/bobbing/swaying may include the perception of movement along either a horizontal or vertical axis. The floor seems to move when walking (as if walking on a suspension bridge, water bed, or trampoline). Altered balance. Cannot remain standing in a fixed position with eyes closed.
5-6 Rocking/bobbing/swaying intensity is increased. Accompanied by difficulty in concentration and/or mental confusion (impaired cognitive function). Most routine tasks become difficult to accomplish. Require periods of rest. May stumble when walking.
7-8 Rocking/bobbing/swaying is more severe and noticeable while walking, standing, or sitting. Associated with considerable fatigue. Increased loss of concentration and/or mental confusion. Balance is affected (bump into objects when walking; clumsy in handling objects; may drop things).
9-10 Rocking/bobbing/swaying is extremely severe. Balance is very poor. Require support for walking and standing (have to hold onto walls). Significant mental confusion. Impaired ability to speak. Remain in bed most of the day.
Treatment
While there is no known cure for Mal de Debarquement Syndrome (MdDS), some success in managing symptoms has been realized with medications and vestibular rehabilitation.
Most anticholinergeric medications that work for other forms of dizziness and motion sickness, such as meclizine or scopolamine, are not effective in either treatment or prevention of MdDS.
