Plasters behind ears??

[ncat]

Might sound a silly question :rolleyes: but, I've always meant to ask what the heck the plasters were behind loads of peoples ears I saw on the Oasis? Nicotine patches????:confused::confused:

[Paul65]

Motion sickness medication patches.

[izzyvet]

Drug called scopolamine. Can have some side effects, but generally very effective at relieving/preventing motion sickness. Great for people who can't remember to take a pill, but plain ol' meclizine has been very safe and effective for me. (I prescribe it to dogs all the time for motion sickness)

[LESLIEKURZ]

The patches are the reason my hubby and I are able to cruise. Haha. They are Transderm Scop and as the other posters said are for motion sickness.

[JerseyGem]

Since you have used the word "plasters" (rather than bandaid or patch), I'm assuming you're from the UK (or one of her former colonies, but not the USA!). This seasickness medication was not available in the UK as of several years ago (my last experience on Cunard, where I ended up in the infirmary after using it). It has some nasty side effects (blurred vision leading to blindness, dehydration leading to kidney failure, etc) which is why it's not permitted for use as a seasickness med by your government (or at least was not permitted at one time). Those side effects, if they develop, usually go away once the patch is removed, although with longterm use, they could be permanent.

 

Needless to say, I don't recommend them, but other cruisers use them without any problems.

[lady_cruiser]

We are the same way. If it were not for the "behind the ear patches" we would not be able to cruise. We have been on cruises so bad that people in our group were thrown (or rolled :p) out of their beds. And thanks to these little dime size patches we never got sick.

 

The key to not over-medicating is to make sure that after the third day, when you change your patch for a new one, you place the new patch on the opposite ear. That is the first thing my doctor told me when we prescribed these miracle thingies for me.

[Mack2]

Since you have used the word "plasters" (rather than bandaid or patch), I'm assuming you're from the UK (or one of her former colonies, but not the USA!). This seasickness medication was not available in the UK as of several years ago (my last experience on Cunard, where I ended up in the infirmary after using it). It has some nasty side effects (blurred vision leading to blindness, dehydration leading to kidney failure, etc) which is why it's not permitted for use as a seasickness med by your government (or at least was not permitted at one time). Those side effects, if they develop, usually go away once the patch is removed, although with longterm use, they could be permanent.

 

Needless to say, I don't recommend them, but other cruisers use them without any problems.

 

Scopolamine is an anti-cholinergic medication.

ALL anti-cholinergics have the same side effect profile... they're old, old medicines.

 

The side effects have a well known toxidrome reflecting their properties.

"Hot as a Hare, Dry as a Bone, Red as a Beet, Mad as a Hatter, Blind as a Bat"

 

These side effects can be seen with any OVERDOSE of the anti-cholingergic drugs. But some of these side effects are what people use them for.

 

A drug like Atropine... which causes blurred vision, and pupil dilation... is what opthamologists use to dilate the eyes before an examination. Atropine was the first anti-cholinergic.

 

Benadryl (diphenhydramine) is another anti-cholinergic drug... people use it as an anti-histamine as it treats runny noses (and sneezing, coughing, etc)... all anti-histamine drugs are anti-cholinergics. Even Allegra and Claritin.

 

Gravol (in the EU) and Dramamine (diphenhydrinate)... motion sickness... that's an anti-cholinergic... so is Bonine (meclizine)... Bonine for Kids (cyclizine)... and Transderm Scop (scopolamine)

 

 

While these drugs have the same side effect profile... you'd probably first have an arrythmia before experiencing anything else.... and the claims of kidney failure and permanent blindness are way overstated.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toxidrome#Anticholinergic_toxidrome

 

 

edit:

I remember back in the mid-90s, there was a manufacturer shortage of the Transderm Scop patches... and there was a pharmacy alert that went around my state and the surrounding states desperately asking if anyone had any patches that were not dispensed.

There was a child with some sort of cerebal palsy that depended on the patches for something... and without the patches, the kid's life was in danger. I forget what the medical necessity was... whether it was too much mucus production or what... It was neat, a couple of pharmacists compounded a cream that the parents could apply to the child that contained the scopolamine... and that compound recipe made it's rounds through the professional journals.