Online Motion Sickness Treatment and Patch Prescriptions
Motion sickness can ruin a trip you have already paid for, and it has to be treated before you travel rather than after you feel sick. If drugstore tablets have not worked for you, or you need the prescription patch before a cruise or a long flight, you do not need a clinic visit to get it. With Your Doctors Online (YDO), you can speak with a board-certified doctor from home 24/7, who can review your symptoms and medical history and send a motion sickness patch prescription to the pharmacy you choose when it is medically appropriate.
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I get badly seasick and I have a cruise next week. Can you help?
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Prescription
- Scopolamine patch 1 mg
- Apply behind one ear at least 4 hours before travel
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What are the treatment options for motion sickness?
Motion sickness is usually prevented with medicine taken before you travel. Over-the-counter options (Dimenhydrinate and Meclizine) can help with nausea and dizziness, while prescription treatment may be considered when symptoms are stronger or other options are not enough.
Your doctor can help you choose the right treatment based on how severe your symptoms are, how long you’ll be traveling, and your health history.
What motion sickness patches and medications can we prescribe online?
The right medication depends on how long you will be in motion, how strong the motion is and what else you take.
Anticholinergic
Antihistamine
NK-1 blocker
What is motion sickness, and what causes it?
Motion sickness happens when your brain receives conflicting movement signals. Your inner ear senses the vehicle moving, while your eyes, fixed on a book or a phone, report that nothing is moving. Your brain reacts to that mismatch, resulting in nausea, sweating, and dizziness.
Almost anyone can get motion sickness if the motion is strong enough. It is most common between the ages of 7 and 12 and becomes less common through adult life. Women report it more often than men, and genetics accounts for 55 to 70 percent of the difference between people. You are also more likely to get it if you have migraines or a history of vertigo or inner-ear problems.
Common triggers include:
- Cars, buses, trains, planes, and boats
- Reading or using a phone while in motion
- Amusement park rides
- Virtual reality headsets, simulators, and some video games
What are the symptoms of motion sickness?
Motion sickness can build gradually, so noticing the early signs may help you manage it before it becomes severe.
- Early signs: Feeling unusually warm, yawning, sweating, looking pale, or producing more saliva than usual
- As it worsens: Dizziness, headache, trouble concentrating, loss of appetite, and increased sensitivity to smells
- Later symptoms: Nausea, retching, and vomiting
Some people mainly feel very tired or drowsy without becoming nauseous. Headache and eye strain are also more common when using virtual reality headsets or simulators.
How does the scopolamine patch work?
The scopolamine patch helps prevent motion sickness by blocking the signals from your inner ear that can trigger nausea and vomiting. It needs to be used before you travel.
- Apply it before traveling: Place one patch on the hairless skin behind your ear at least 4 hours before you need it.
- One patch lasts up to 3 days: It can provide protection for up to 72 hours.
- Do not cut the patch: Use one patch at a time and follow the prescribed instructions.
- Wash your hands after using it: Scopolamine can affect your eyes if you touch them after handling the patch.
- Remove it when you no longer need it: Fold the used patch with the sticky sides together and throw it away safely.
Dry mouth, dry eyes, and drowsiness are common side effects. Scopolamine is generally used in adults and may not be suitable if you have certain eye conditions or trouble urinating.
How do you prevent motion sickness?
Motion sickness can not be completely prevented as it depends on the body type and how it responds to triggers. However, it can be somewhat prevented in following ways:
- Taking the window seat that allows air to pass when traveling.
- Sit in the front of the car or bus, where there is less motion.
- Avoid smoking or alcohol consumption when moving, traveling, or riding a bicycle or any vehicle to eliminate the probability of motion sickness.
- Eat small chunks of food more frequently or not at all. Eating fat-rich or fuller meals at once can also upset the stomach and result in vomiting.
FAQs about motion sickness
Why do people pass out on rides?
Passing out on a ride is not motion sickness. Fainting (syncope) is a brief loss of consciousness caused by a drop in blood flow to the brain, and around a ride the usual triggers are standing in a queue in the heat, fear, pain, or riding after skipping food and fluids. Motion sickness can make you feel very unwell, but it does not cause you to lose consciousness. Call 911 if someone who has fainted does not come round within a couple of minutes, or faints with chest pain, a pounding or irregular heartbeat, trouble speaking, vision problems or weakness in a limb.
How long do motion sickness symptoms last?
Symptoms ease once the motion stops. For most people the nausea fades within a few hours, though tiredness and a slightly off-balance feeling can outlast it. A rocking or swaying sensation after getting off a boat is normal and usually settles within a few hours. If that rocking feeling carries on for weeks, it is a separate condition called mal de debarquement syndrome, and it needs a vestibular specialist rather than motion sickness medication.
What are the side effects of common motion sickness treatment?
Drowsiness is the most common side effect of motion sickness medication. Promethazine is the most sedating, Dimenhydrinate and Meclizine come next, and the scopolamine patch is the least sedating of the older options. The patch is more likely than the tablets to cause a dry mouth and dry eyes. Tradipitant caused drowsiness in 6 to 12 percent of people in its trials, depending on the dose. The patch is not used in anyone with angle-closure glaucoma, and a doctor will check first if you have trouble urinating from an enlarged prostate. Do not drive until you know how a medication affects you.
Does Zofran work for motion sickness?
No. Ondansetron (Zofran) is a strong anti-nausea medication, but it acts on a pathway that has nothing to do with balance, so it does not prevent motion sickness. Its FDA label covers nausea and vomiting from chemotherapy, radiation and surgery, and motion sickness is not on it. A doctor can review your history and send an online prescription for a medication that is approved for motion sickness instead.
How can I effectively treat car sickness and enjoy road trips without discomfort?
Car sickness responds to the same treatments as any other motion sickness, and the free ones work well in a car. Sit in the front, look at the road ahead instead of your phone, keep your head against the headrest, and get some air on your face. If that is not enough, over-the-counter Dimenhydrinate or Meclizine taken about two hours before you leave covers a normal drive, and a scopolamine patch suits a long road trip better because one patch lasts three days. Cyclizine still shows up in older advice, but no FDA-approved cyclizine product is sold here, so no US pharmacy can fill it.
How can baby motion sickness be treated to ensure a pleasant experience for infants during travel?
Babies under two rarely get motion sickness at all, and the medications used for it are not suitable for them. Promethazine must not be given to a child under two because of the risk of fatal breathing problems, scopolamine patches can cause confusion and hallucinations in children, and over-sedating a small child with an antihistamine is dangerous. Acupressure wristbands do not help either, in children or adults, because trials put them level with placebo. If a baby is vomiting in the car, the cause is usually something other than the motion, and it is worth having checked. For children aged six to twelve, a chewable Dimenhydrinate made for children can be given one to two hours before travel at a child’s dose, and a doctor should confirm the dose against anything else your child takes. Try a test dose at home first, because some children become agitated rather than sleepy on antihistamines.
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