Seasick or queasy on the water?

Stugeron (cinnarizine)

This antihistamine can be bought from pharmacies to treat travel sickness - read on for advice on its use, warnings and side effects. This is not the only solution provided in this blog entry.  No guarantee is implied nor is my expertise on the subject.  Try canadapharmacyonline.com

What is Stugeron used for?

• Relieving nausea, vomiting, attacks of dizziness or spinning sensations (vertigo) and sensations of ringing or other noise in the ears (tinnitus).

How does Stugeron work?

Stugeron tablets contain 15mg cinnarizine as the active ingredient. Cinnarizine is an antihistamine medicine that works in the brain. It prevents an area of the brain called the vomiting centre from receiving nerve messages sent from the vestibular apparatus in the inner ear.

The vestibular apparatus provides continual feedback to the brain about our body position. When something disturbs this, such as movement of the head when travelling by boat or car, nerve signals are sent from the vestibular apparatus to the vomiting centre in the brain. This can cause sensations such as nausea, dizziness or spinning sensations (vertigo) and the reflex of vomiting.

Cinnarizine works by blocking histamine and muscarinic receptors in the vomiting centre in the brain. This prevents the vomiting centre from receiving nerve messages from the vestibular apparatus. In turn, this prevents disturbances in the middle ear from activating the vomiting centre and causing nausea, vertigo and vomiting. 

Compazine (prochlorperazine) 

5, 10 or 25 mg. suppositories (not oral) have, in my opinion, proven to be the most effective prescription anti-nausea and anti-anxiety medication that causes the least drowsiness. As anxiety can cause nausea and since Compazine treats both it is an important drug to carry aboard. Suppositories are far more effective than tablets once vomiting has started.

Transderm Scopolamine 

1.5 mg. patches may work when no other drug does, but one MUST first test this drug out on land as documented side effects can be severe. Avoid using for more than three days. Scopalamine is also available in tablet form (Scopace 0.4 mg.) but this is much less effective once vomiting has started.

This is what my wife takes and it does stop the seasickness - done, gone.  The side effects with her are drowsiness  and lethargy.  On real pleasant days this gives me time at the helm with no interruptions.  On bad sea days it means she is below in the aft quarter berth in a state of mellow tranquility. Study this effect before you use in any longer term basis as one of the other methods may be best.


CAUTION! With any drug, prescription or over the counter, there are published side effects.