Difference between patch and Dramamine

[dairyou]

Hello Everyone,

I went to the Dr. and got a perscription for the patch. I have tried Dramamine before and this last time ginger pills. The ginger pills I felt were better than the Dramamine. Going on the 14 day and don't want to be seasick again.

Can some tell me the difference between the two? Is the patch just a stronger dosage of Dramamine. People who used both, did you see a difference?

Thanks Everyone,
Deb

 

[Vanvmom]

A pharmacist told me today that the only option for kids is dramamine. Hubby and I hve never experienced sea-sickness, but wanted to be prepared in case the kids do. Anyone have any experience with seasick kids?

 

[dairyou]

Hey Wendy!

Danny got a little sea sick when we first got on the cruise. Later he had so much fun he forgot that he was sea sick!

I'm the one who misses out on the first night of dinner because of it

Deb

 

[JSCTRico4]

Consider the wristbands with the pressure point. Have lot's of uncles that are fishermen, and they suggested it. We took some with us on last 7 day, but, never needed them. We picked them up at Long's for like 6 or 7 bucks. It may be a non medicinial option for kids. Hopefully you won't need anything!

 

[HooKooDooKu]

Because even "Less Drowsy Formula" of Dramamine left me feeling too drowsy, I asked my Dr. about alternatives and he prescribed the patch. We used them on our recent 14 day cruise and I felt like they did indeed leave me feeling less drowsy than the Dramamine.

You still need to consult with your Dr. The patches are designed to only be worn three days at a time and can have side-effects. While I personally didn't experience any obvious side-effects, DW had the side-effect of dilating her eyes after wearing the 2nd patch for the full three days. The effects wore off after a nights sleep.

 

[Billinaz]

The meclazine (Bonine) worked for us and our kids and it was less drowsy than the Dramamine.......

The patch is:

Generic Name: scopolamine

 

[Honu]

Dramamine and other oral meds do not work well enough for me, so I don't step onboard any boat or ship without a patch on. I actually need to wear a patch on each side, most of the time. The patch is not a stronger version of Dramamine, but it can have the same side effects as oral antiemetics (drowsy, drymouth). It's not too bad though as I can wear 2 patches and still function. Some people do report dizziness/vertigo, so you must try the patch out on dry land before you go.

The reason people get blurry vision, as reported by HooKooDooKu, is that the patch medicine has gotten into their eyes and dilated them. The best way to nix this cross contamination is to put a circle bandaid or I like to cut the sticky part from a flexible fabric bandaid and place it completely over the patch. Wash your hands between applying the patch and the bandaid to prevent the medicine from getting onto the bandaid, then onto your hands and then onto your face/eyes. It's common to rub your face or eyes when you're a little drowsy, and that is a side effect. The bandaid also helps the patch stay on in the water. If you don't cover the patch, bring some reading/magnifying glasses, chances are you will need them.

Put the patch on the night before you board and you don't want to remove the patch until the cruise is over and you are off the ship. There is usually quite a bit on motion on the way back to port. That combined with a reduction of medicine is a really, really ugly combo.

I also have a ReliefBand, but I use it to supplement the patches when needed. It seems to work. Pressure Bands, Ginger & Green Apples don't work for me at all.

Good luck.

 

[barkley]

i've only used the otc patch-but that gave me terrible dry mouth and alot of congestion (like a realy bad case of hay fever congestion). i would be concerned relying on the patch (otc or prescription) on a cruise if i had not used it before-besides any side affects it may cause many people can get an alergic reaction (rash type) from patch type meds, something i would'nt want to deal with on vacation.

i do use dramamine and it seems to work well (if fact i keep it on hand at home because i had a doctor at the er reccommend it once when i the flu had me so sick i dehydrated myself, he said to think of as immodium for your stomach). but i have to say, that having been on a disney cruise during a hurricane-they must have the best stabelizers in the world. the water and wind was baaaaaaaad, but the only time i felt a bit ill was when i looked out the windows and saw how high the waves were-we felt very little movement on the boat.

 

[HooKooDooKu]

The meclazine (Bonine) worked for us and our kids and it was less drowsy than the Dramamine.......

25mg of meclazine is the active ingredient for both Bonine AND the "Less Drowsy Formula" Dramamine. Original Formula Dramamine uses something else.

It's been so long since I've ever used "original" formula Dramamine that I'm not sure I've ever used it. For the last several years if I've needed something for motion sickness, I've used the "Less Drowsy Formula" Dramamine and still found the level of drowsyness to be unacceptable. When I went looking for something that wouldn't make me so drowsy, Bonine was suggested. But since it has the same active ingredient as the "Less Drowsy" Dramamine, I could only assume that it was poor advice and the person was comparing "Oringinall formula" Dramamine to Bonine, and people seem to still be making this mistake.


Before our resent 14 day cruise, I asked my doctor about something that would make me less drowsy and he recomended the patch. There was still a level of drowsyness but it was less than what I've experienced with 25mg of meclazine.

 

[HooKooDooKu]

i've only used the otc patch-but that gave me terrible dry mouth and alot of congestion (like a realy bad case of hay fever congestion). i would be concerned relying on the patch (otc or prescription) on a cruise if i had not used it before-besides any side affects it may cause many people can get an alergic reaction (rash type) from patch type meds, something i would'nt want to deal with on vacation.

i do use dramamine and it seems to work well (if fact i keep it on hand at home because i had a doctor at the er reccommend it once when i the flu had me so sick i dehydrated myself, he said to think of as immodium for your stomach). but i have to say, that having been on a disney cruise during a hurricane-they must have the best stabelizers in the world. the water and wind was baaaaaaaad, but the only time i felt a bit ill was when i looked out the windows and saw how high the waves were-we felt very little movement on the boat.

When using the patch, we ARE talking about a perscription medication, so the chances of side-effects are higher. So barkley is right, you don't want to get on a ship with the patch and nothing for a backup should you have a reaction.

In our case, I didn't see any ill effects from the patch. DW on the other hand had her eye's dialated for a day after she used a patch for the max 72 hour period suggested for wearing them.

 

[dairyou]

The patch my doctor gave me needs to be changed every 3 days she said. So she gave me 6 of them to last 14 days. Are there different variations of the patch?

Deb

 

[Honu]

The patch my doctor gave me needs to be changed every 3 days she said. So she gave me 6 of them to last 14 days. Are there different variations of the patch?

Deb

The patches are all the same. Put the patch on the night before you go. On the third night, put a new patch on the other side and leave the old patch on until the morning. This will keep the dosing more consistant.

 

[airtime247]

I've used both Dramamine and the patch (not at the same time though ) and both worked great for me. The only side effect the patch left me with was the worst dry-mouth the day I put the patch on which was every third day.

If you use the patch, try to put it higher behind your ear unless your hair covers it as it showed up in nearly all our pictures.

-steve

 

[bonnielynn]

Can you drink with any of the above mentioned medicines? I wanted to get the wine package.

 

[Honu]

Can you drink with any of the above mentioned medicines? I wanted to get the wine package.

You can drink with the patch and with Dramamine, but it should be done in moderation and with caution. Personally, I don't and wouldn't. Feeling good onboard is more important to me than having a cocktail.

 

[Hanover]

I found that when I took bonine on a Carnival cruise in Nov. 2004, I ended up vomitting in the middle of the night, waking up right out of sleep, because it wore off. I should have made sure I took it closer to when I fell asleep to make it last longer. I used the patch on a 4 day Wonder cruise in February 2005 and had a very dry mouth/nose the first day.When I changed it after day three (switched to the other ear) my eyes were so blurry that I couldn't read any small print...navigators, dinner menu, etc. ) I didn't rub my eyes at all, and my husband placed it on for me, so I know that I didn't rub the medication into my eyes. I think it's just one of the side effects you have to weigh and to me I would rather have blurry eyes than running to the bathroom in the middle of the night. My sister gets even more seasick than I do and she ended up taking her patch off because her mouth/nose was too dry and said she felt much better. I was too afraid to take it off and try myself. We did bring both bonine and dramamine for my husband and kids just in case they felt ill but they never needed them. I was very worried about our younger son being sick the entire time because he gets very ill on small boats, but he was completely fine the entire cruise. Our pediatrician said to half a dramamine in case our 4 year old and 7 year old needed it. Someone else (on a previous thread) children's dr. suggested eating green apples and they said it worked well.

 

[AlexandNessa]

I've gotten to the point that I only use the patch when I have to. Despite putting the circle band-aid over the patch, I still suffer from some dilated pupils and blurred vision. I think this is because I have a tendency to push my hair behind my ears all the time. Also, the patch gave me the worst dry mouth I've ever had -- to the point where I couldn't even swallow a bon voyage sip of champagne. The dry mouth never mitigated for me, so I gave up on the patch.

I now stick to Bonine, which works better for me for some reason than Dramamine.