Prescription required
Avomine
Travel sickness
- Strengths:
- 25mg
- Indicative price:
- £8.09
GetMeds Online
Travel sickness
Nausea and dizziness caused by motion during travel.
This guide is general health information about Travel sickness. It is not personal medical advice and does not replace an assessment by your GP or pharmacist. Any treatment is only supplied after a consultation is reviewed by a UK prescriber at our partner pharmacy.
In short
Travel sickness (motion sickness) happens when your inner ear, eyes and body send your brain mixed signals about movement, causing nausea and dizziness. Tablets work far better if taken before you travel rather than after you already feel sick.
- Best time to take tablets
- 1–2 hours before you set off
- Main medicines used
- Sedating antihistamines and hyoscine
- Most affected
- Children aged 2–12 and pregnant women
- Main downside
- Can make you drowsy — don't drive
Overview
Travel sickness happens when the balance signals from your eyes and inner ear disagree. Medicines work best taken before the journey rather than once you feel unwell.
Common symptoms
- Nausea during travel
- Dizziness
- Cold sweats
What causes it
- Mismatch between what your eyes see and what your inner ear senses
- Reading or looking at screens while moving
- More common in children and during pregnancy
What you can do yourself
- Look at the horizon and sit where movement is least
- Keep fresh air moving and avoid heavy meals before travel
- Break up long journeys
What you'll be asked
- 1What sets it off, what kind of journey you're taking and how long it lasts, and what's worked (or not) before
- 2Your age, and whether you're pregnant or breastfeeding
- 3Whether you have glaucoma, prostate problems, difficulty passing urine, or epilepsy
- 4Whether you'll need to drive or do anything requiring full alertness during or after the journey
How it is usually treated
Hyoscine or an antihistamine such as cinnarizine is taken before the journey. Both can cause drowsiness, so do not drive after taking them.
Promethazine teoclate 25 mg
An antihistamine tablet taken the night before, or 1–2 hours before travelling. It lasts a long time but can make you quite sleepy.
Hyoscine hydrobromide
Works quickly, taken about 30 minutes before travel. It can cause a dry mouth and blurred vision.
Things you can do without medicine
Face forward, look at the horizon, sit where movement is felt least (such as over the wing of a plane or in the middle of a boat), get fresh air, and avoid reading or heavy meals before travelling.
Doses shown are indicative. Any treatment is chosen by the prescriber at our partner pharmacy based on your answers.
Follow-up and reviews
- See how you get on during your first journey, and adjust when you take the tablet next time rather than the amount
- Check how drowsy you feel before driving on your way home
- If you feel dizzy (vertigo) even when you're not travelling, that's not travel sickness — get it checked
Safety and who should avoid it
- These tablets can make you very drowsy — avoid driving, alcohol and other sedating medicines
- They can worsen certain types of glaucoma and make it harder to pass urine
- Take extra care in older people, as they can cause confusion and increase the risk of falls
- Check age limits for children, and ask for advice if you're pregnant
Get urgent help if you notice
- Dizziness, hearing loss or ringing in the ears that happens even when you're not travelling
- Headache together with vomiting, double vision or unsteadiness
- Any of these symptoms following a bang to the head
Call 999 for an emergency, or NHS 111 for urgent advice.
When to see a doctor
- Dizziness or vertigo that happens when you are not travelling
- Hearing loss or ringing in the ears
- Persistent vomiting and dehydration
Treatments you can request
General sale — no questions
Hyoscine hydrobromide 300mcg tablets
Travel sickness
- Strengths:
- 300mcg
- Indicative price:
- £3.29
Pharmacy medicine (P)
Cinnarizine 15mg tablets
Travel sickness and dizziness
- Strengths:
- 15mg
- Indicative price:
- £4.49
Common questions
- When should I take it?
- Usually 30 minutes to two hours before you travel — after symptoms start it works far less well.
- Can children use it?
- Some products are licensed for children; always check the age on the leaflet.