Seasick patch vs. Bonine

Hello all,

I usually use seasick bands around my wrists in the past but this time I don't want to be bothered wearing them the whole time. I was thinking about trying Bonine or maybe the patch that I see everyone always walking around with. What is your experience with these? Thanks!

For me.....I could not use the patch! It caused very, very severe dry mouth and blurred vision.

If I need anything I will keep my Bonine, that I take "as needed".

Try Ginger Capsules. Air Force Pilots use them for motion sickness. No side effects. Will not make you drowsy etc.

I take Bonine every night and start a couple of days before embarking. This gives you time to adjust to it and sleep off the biggest part of it. As long as I do that, I'm good to go. When I've not taken it, I'm miserable. A generic version is incredible cheap on Amazon.

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Check with your doctor before deciding. I believe you will need a prescription in any case for the Scopolamine patch.

I was not fond of the patch, alcohol tends to intensify the side-effects.

Bonnie made me incredibly drowsy.

Ginger seems to be quite popular. Diabetics should become aware of the effects of ginger on their blood sugar levels.

I like eating crystallized ginger. DH used to take bonine, but he developed jaw pain on one cruise, and the doctor advised him not to take it ever again. He had to go to a physical therapist when we got back home. We tried the patch on our first cruise, but it made DH loopy.

I developed some very unpleasant side effects after only 2 days on the patch. I'll never use them again.

I've found that Bonine, taken every night at bedtime, works for me. Taking it this way, I have no problems with daytime drowsiness. Waiting until you're feeling seasick before taking it is not likely to be as effective. It works best as a preventative.

Ginger did nothing for me, aside from tasting good.

Before using the ReliefBand, my DW used to take Bonine, starting a day before.

Bonine (Meclizine Hcl) vs Transderm Scop (the Patch). Its really quite simple. The Patch is more effective, but has many more potential side effects (some quite nasty). Bonine is a drug that has been around for a long time with the advantage of only needing 1 per day. The major side effect is that it makes some folks sleepy, but if you take it before bed that helps mitigate that problem. But you do need to take Meclizine before you get sick. The cruise lines really like Bonine and either give it out free (at Guest Relations) or usually have it for sale in the shops (its a lot cheaper to just buy it in the US).

As to Transderm Scop (DW and I have a history with these patches) the most common side effect is just a dry mouth. But DW found out that after about 2 day she was unable to read (her favorite pastime) because the Patch was blurring her vision (another pretty common side effect). But the best Patch store we heard came from a cruise ship physician on HAL. He told us how one night, the cleaning staff found an elderly woman wandering the corridors....and she was totally naked! The woman was having a combination of sleep walking and severe hallucinations (both side effects from the patch). When I used the Patch it just gave me a funny felling.....i.e. I just never felt right.

Suffice it to say that you will not find cruise ship physicians giving out the Patch (which is a prescription drug in the US).

Hank

I had the blurred vision from the patch...have taken Bonnine last 2 cruises and it's been fine...I can't ride in a car without getting sick and Bonine takes care of it.

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In the end each persons experience may be different then what you might experience.

Read the side effects for each one. Discuss with your doctor as the doctor would have to prescribe the patch anyway.

They each have positives and for some negatives.

Keep in mind that with Bonine you don't use it throughout the cruise. You could but I would not recommend that. You use it if you think you will be getting seasick.

Keith

Dramamine now makes a ginger non drowsy. Although I don't have trouble on cruises, it's the flights to and from. On our last cruise, I gave one to a friend and she said it was the only thing that had helped her.

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Will never use the Scop patch again unless it's for post surgery - makes me extremely loopy, the worst case of cotton mouth ever and I will sleep for a good two day after applying. And god forbid you ever touch it and then rub your eyes after!

I am extremely prone to motion sickness and chewing two 25 mg meclizine tabs a day does the trick for me, As to those that say you can only take it prior to getting sick, that is incorrect - this anti-emetic will work after you suffer the effects of sea sickness but it may take an hour or so......

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We use Bonine for the first couple of days and then we're fine (that's when we start forgetting to take them and realize we're okay). We haven't had any side effects from it and have never succumbed to sea sickness. We take the extras home for our dog who gets carsick on long car rides.

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I used the patches behind my ears. Also took a ginger capsule every day.

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The "problem" with oral meds and sea sickness is keeping them inside long enough for them to work. +1 for chewables . . .

The "problem" with oral meds and sea sickness is keeping them inside long enough for them to work. +1 for chewables . . .

And meclizine tabs are quite small.....

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Again the key is to prevent seasicknesd before it happens. If you wait until you are feeling it, it us too late. Been there. Done that. Got the t-shirt. I have done my fair share of hugging the porcelain throne due to seasicknesd because I didn't take Bonine the night before. If I take it every evening, I'm good to go and everyone around me is green.

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The "problem" with oral meds and sea sickness is keeping them inside long enough for them to work. +1 for chewables . . .

And that is why we made it clear, in our earlier post, that one needs to take Bonine (Meclizine) before getting sick :). In fact, DW will usually take a Bonine at bed time...the night before we board a ship. She then will continue for 2 or 3 days (we are on some cruises for over 60 days) until she has some level of comfort. She then stops taking anything, unless we are told to expect rough weather....or if the ship starts rocking and rolling.

Hank

We are cruising the Antarctica on an expedition ship in Feb and I am very worried about a rough crossing. I will take the advice above and if need be there is a doctor onboard. :( :)

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And meclizine tabs are quite small.....

 

 

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Size doesn't necessarily matter in pharmacokinetics. Chewing does matter.

We are cruising the Antarctica on an expedition ship in Feb and I am very worried about a rough crossing. I will take the advice above and if need be there is a doctor onboard. :( :)

 

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If you can get phenergan suppositories prescribed or OTC in Oz, you can avoid a jab.

Size doesn't necessarily matter in pharmacokinetics. Chewing does matter.

My point is that if you are experiencing motion sickness, it's easier to chew a small tablet than to try and swallow a larger one

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OK, that's a point. Key is to get the active ingredient to stay in the body long enough to to have a sufficient amount absorbed. Chewing helps that a bit. Bonnie come in chewable and non-chewable. But either way it has to stay in the stomach for a few hours and you might not have that long if actively seasick.

Costco has a generic in 100 pill bottles, sold in a 2 pack for about $10. I start taking them the day before and 2 days after. More than 20 cruises and no problems.