Anti Seasick Pills

[Seajet]

Pete,

I get a major sickness snag - usually on shore thankfully, CVS which has me turning myself inside out ultra violently every couple of minutes for at least 2 days & the night, no relief.

I've tried every anti sickness thing going inc injections - nohing seems to really work inc Bucastem, but this is really serious sickness - in fact the only slight relief is soluble solpadeine to calm the body down a bit.

At least I don't get seasick though !

 

[LadyInBed]

bottles of mineral water with a teat to suck

Beware of cheap artificial substitutes I say!

 

[Sybarite]

I don't think so, but I'm no pharmacist. (I did do chemistry at university for a couple of years, but was never any good at organic... ) Stugeron is Cinnarizine. According to http://www.drugs.com/international/mercalm.html Mercalm contains Dimenhydrinate. I'm pretty sure they are not the same.



The active ingredient in Scopoderm is scopalamine. From http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/travel-health/medicines/kwells.html:



So, scopoderm, kwells, travelcalm and JoyRides all use the same active ingredient (but with a different way of administering it, in the case of the patches).



Here goes for starters. Others can add/amend as I'm no pharmacist and this is just from internet research. (I therefore disclaim all liability... blah, blah...)

Scopoderm, Kwells, Travelcalm and JoyRides: Hyoscine hydrobromide (aka scopolamine).
Stugeron: Cinnarizine
Mercalm, Dramamine: Dimenhydrinate

Thanks. I was mixing my comparisons.

For the chemists :

MERCALM : pathologies pour lesquelles il peut-être prescrit • Mal des transports
Classe thérapeutique Allergologie Gastro-Entéro-Hépatologie
Principes actifs Dimenhydrinate , Caféine
Excipients Comprimé nu : Lactose, Cellulose microcristalline (E460), Amidon de maïs, Silice (E551), Comprimé pelliculé : Hypromellose (E464), Lactose, Macrogol, Titane dioxyde (E171), Macrogol

STUGERON (E)-1-(Diphenylmethyl)-4-(3-phenylprop-2-enyl)piperazine Cinnarizine (trade names Stugeron, Stunarone, R5) is a drug derivative of piperazine, and characterized as an antihistamine and a calcium channel blocker

SCOPODERM (–)-(S)-3-Hydroxy-2-phenylpropionic acid (1R,2R,4S,7S,9S)-9-methyl-3-oxa-9-azatricyclo[3.3.1.02,4]non-7-yl ester Scopolamine (USAN), also known as levo-duboisine and hyoscine, sold as Scopoderm, is a tropane alkaloid drug with muscarinic antagonist effects. It is among the secondary metabolites of plants from Solanaceae (nightshade) family of plants, such as henbane, jimson weed (Datura), angel's trumpets (Brugmansia), and corkwood (Duboisia).[4][5] Scopolamine exerts its effects by acting as a competitive antagonist at muscarinic acetylcholine receptors, specifically M1 receptors; it is thus classified as an anticholinergic, antimuscarinic drug. (See the article on the parasympathetic nervous system for details of this physiology.)

Its use in medicine is relatively limited, with its chief uses being in the treatment of motion sickness and postoperative nausea and vomiting.[2][6][7]

Scopolamine is named after the plant genus Scopolia.[5] The name "hyoscine" is from the scientific name for henbane, Hyoscyamus niger.[

In Brittany naval doctors provide de-sensitizing courses which train you to accommodate movement which does not correspond to what the eye sees.

 

[Angele]

The name "hyoscine" is from the scientific name for henbane, Hyoscyamus niger.

Apparently:

In 2008, celebrity chef Antony Worrall Thompson recommended henbane as a "tasty addition to salads" in the August 2008 issue of Healthy and Organic Living magazine. He subsequently said he had made an error, confusing the herb with fat hen, a member of the spinach family. He apologized, and the magazine sent subscribers an urgent message stating that henbane "is a very toxic plant and should never be eaten"

Isn't it interesting how it can be poisonous in one form, but yet used to extract a beneficial drug?

Also, henbane should not be confused with wolfsbane - extremely poisonous, but invaluable when it comes to fending off vampires.

 

[prv]

In Brittany naval doctors provide de-sensitizing courses which train you to accommodate movement which does not correspond to what the eye sees.

I saw a documentary a while ago where they were doing similar things for RAF aircrew. Strapping them into a chair and whirling them all over the place.

Pete

 

[BigEmUp]

The boots stuff gets my vote for not so serious sea sickness. It's the one I try first on crew and nearly always does the trick and will enable symptoms to be reduced so a full dose of Sturgeron can he held down if someone really needs it. I will sometimes have a half pill of Travelcalm (so a full pill of Joy Rides) on my first day at sea to help me get my sea legs.

 

[Sailfree]

Thanks Sybarite its Mercalm that has the caffine to counter the drousy effect

 

[capnsensible]

Haircut for the weekend, Sir?

I think that point was a bit lost! Oh well, has. Er. Stimulated some useful discussion and it seems hypos cine is in short supply.

Cheers all.

 

[alan_d]

Hyoscine is hyoscine is hyoscine (except in the US where it is called scopolamine), so if it suits you buy the cheapest. There is no advantage in paying a premium for a trade-name such as Kwells. For the same reason you should buy supermarket own-name aspirin or paracetamol (acetaminophen in the US) rather than something with the same constituent but a fancy name.

 

[JumbleDuck]

SWMBo swears by the Scopoderm patches, the only remedy that works for her.

Unavailable since last spring. Nobody seems to know when or if they will be back. Damn. It's the only stuff which works for me too.

 

[prv]

Here's another one to add to the list: promethazine teoclate. It's what the anti-seasickness pills in my MCA-approved "Cat C" first-aid kit apparently contain. Never taken any, don't really know anything about it. Wikipedia says it's another antihistamine.

Must say, if you look any of these drugs up on Wikipedia, they all seem to be used for a bewildering array of things besides motion sickness.

Pete

 

[Zagato]

Stugeron has got me through passages I would have otherwise been badly sea sick but ultimately in rough conditions in a 3hour passage it doesn't work and they make you feel rough/tired but it's better than sea sickness. I have just read Guy Grieves book 'Sea Legs' and the only thing that helped his misery around the Caribbean were prescribed skin patches posted from the UK. His wife tried a skin patch but it more or less knocked her out.

I now limit myself to 2-3 hour passages single handed when it's rough. I have tried 4 times to get past Gosport from Chi harbour but it's no good even with Stugeron and spending a day prior to the sail messing about in the estuary trying to get some sea legs - sailing in calmer conditions a day before your main trip and a night on board really helps though.

Apparently If you can eat a cracker after three days without a drink you know you are passed sea sickness and will be OK - I look foward to that day...

 

[Seajet]

Zagato,

if I was in that position knowing I might suffer on tomorrows' trip, the nervous apprehension alone might well make me sick; Catch 22.

Maybe a sedative rather than sickness pill might help ? During my sickness episodes on shore ( has happened on my boat singlehanded leaving me stuck in ports ) I can't even keep sips of water down, but as soon as I can I have soluble Solpadeine which seems to be the best as a surprisingly effective sedative.

 

[awol]

Hyoscine is hyoscine is hyoscine (except in the US where it is called scopolamine), so if it suits you buy the cheapest. There is no advantage in paying a premium for a trade-name such as Kwells. For the same reason you should buy supermarket own-name aspirin or paracetamol (acetaminophen in the US) rather than something with the same constituent but a fancy name.

Except that Stugeron (ask your chemist for packets of 100) is much cheaper than BP Cinnarazine - nae idea why.

 

[Hambler Rambler]

I have a friend who finds Stugeron very drowsy so sounds like Dramamine might be worth a shot

Any opinions about the Original/Less Drowsy/Chewable formulas?

Reading their website it seems that the Original and Chewable types need to be re-dosed every 4-6 hours but the 'Less Drowsy' ones seem to last for 24 hrs?? Seems quite advantageous?

I know it is considered unstylish to reply to one's own posts, but:

Had anyone tried Dramamine Less Drowsy (Also known as Bonine) which contains Meclizine as opposed to normal Dramamine which contains Dimenhydrinate?

If so where do you get it? There is some advertised on Amazon but it seems to be so absurdly cheap that I am suspicious of it (£1.60 for 8 tablets is v cheap compared to other Dramamine products)

 

[Pearldiver]

Dramamine

I know it is considered unstylish to reply to one's own posts, but:

Had anyone tried Dramamine Less Drowsy (Also known as Bonine) which contains Meclizine as opposed to normal Dramamine which contains Dimenhydrinate?

If so where do you get it? There is some advertised on Amazon but it seems to be so absurdly cheap that I am suspicious of it (£1.60 for 8 tablets is v cheap compared to other Dramamine products)

I haven't tried the "Less Drowsy" formula, just the "original" from Amazon. I did try a version that I got in Gran Canaria which was dimenhydrinate with caffeine. I can't say I noticed any difference - neither seems to make me drowsy, but of course you may find differently.
Cheers

 

[capnsensible]

Once vomiting starts, the best remedy can be applied by suppository.

Introducing this topic can be enough to enable a cure simply by talking.......