(HealthDayNews) -- If you're going sailing and plan to use scopolamine patches to help fight seasickness, be sure you pack enough for the whole trip. That advice comes from Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics.
A study was conducted on a small boat during rough weather with 49 sailors who had a history of motion sickness. One group was given scopolamine patches, and the other got placebo patches.
As they set sail, the sailors with the scopolamine patches were having a fine time in spite of the heavy seas, while the sailors with the placebo patches were trying not to vomit into the wind.
By the third day, the sailors with the placebo patches had adapted to the motion of the boat and everybody was equally happy. On the same day, the sailors with the real patches were told to take them off.
By the sixth day, the sailors who had worn the scopolamine patches were all seasick. It had taken three days for the drug to leave their systems. It seems the drug had prevented them from getting seasick, but it also kept them from adapting to the rocking motion of the boat.
