How Kwells help to prevent or relieve travel sickness
Ever wondered how travel sickness tablets work to prevent or relieve motion sickness?
Before we head into the science bit let’s explore the condition a little more.
Motion sickness is the general term for the symptoms we might experience as a result of moving.1
Depending how you’re travelling you may call it car sickness, seasickness or airsickness.
VR gaming sickness is a relatively new term that’s used to describe the symptoms that some people get while, you’ve guessed it, VR gaming.
This time it isn’t physical movement that can cause motion sickness symptoms but the movement of the virtual environment within VR gaming headsets. Find out more about VR gaming sickness.
However you package it up, it’s unpleasant, sometimes awkward – there’s nothing worse than a wave of travel sickness in front of fellow ferry or plane passengers – and can be distressing, particularly for children.
It can even make some of us anxious about travelling if it happens on a regular basis.
Symptoms of motion sickness can vary from person to person, but they can include headache and nausea, being sick, sweating, an increase in saliva, feeling cold and going pale.2
It’s caused by a sensory mismatch between the eyes and inner ear – the eyes sense you’re stationary while the inner ear senses movement.2
Those conflicting messages cause confusion in the brain which then triggers the symptoms we associate with travel sickness.2
When it comes to preventing travel sickness there are several things you can try, including eating a light carb-based food such as cereal before a journey and if you’re travelling by car focus on the road ahead if possible.2
Try to minimise motion by sitting in the front of a car, in the middle of a boat – preferably on deck – or over the wing of a plane.2
Travel sickness remedies
If you’ve tried every travel sickness self-help tip in the book and feel you need further help and advice, speak to a pharmacist about an over-the-counter travel sickness remedy such as hyoscine hydrobromide.
Hyoscine hydrobromide is the active ingredient in Kwells3 Adults Travel Sickness 300 microgram tablets and Kwells Kids Travel Sickness 150 microgram tablets and is mainly used to prevent travel sickness4.
It can also be used to reduce the amount of saliva in your mouth.4
It blocks a naturally occurring chemical in parts of the brain and nervous system called acetylcholine4 – a neurotransmitter which among other actions contracts smooth muscles and dilates blood vessels5.
For travel sickness hyoscine hydrobromide is understood to temporarily block messages from the inner ear to the part of the brain that controls vomiting.4
It reduces the effect of movement on the balance organs of the inner ear and the nerves responsible for nausea.3
Tablets containing hyoscine hydrobromide, such as Kwells, can be taken up to 20-30 minutes before a journey or at the onset of sickness for the fast and effective prevention and control of travel sickness3.
Cinnarizine is another active ingredient used travel sickness medicines.6
It’s known as a drowsy, or sedating, antihistamine and it’s also used to stop dizziness and sickness caused by inner ear problems.6
Cinnarizine blocks the effects of histamine in the brain to reduce symptoms of travel sickness.
However, it works gradually and can take up to four hours from the time you take the tablet for it to reach its full effect.6
References:
1 https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/motion-sickness/#:~:text=Motion%20sickness%20is%20feeling%20sick,it%20or%20relieve%20the%20symptoms
2 https://patient.info/travel-and-vaccinations/health-advice-for-travel-abroad/motion-travel-sickness
3 https://www.medicines.org.uk/emc/product/11746/pil#gref
4 https://www.nhs.uk/medicines/hyoscine-hydrobromide/
5 https://www.britannica.com/science/acetylcholine
6 https://www.nhs.uk/medicines/cinnarizine/
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Short trips or big adventures, you can help end the misery and unhappiness of travel sickness.
Kwells 300 microgram tablets and Kwells Kids 150 microgram tablets are used for the fast and effective prevention and control of travel sickness.
- Contains Hyoscine Hydrobromide
- Helps prevent travel sickness
- 12 tablets
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Kwells 300 microgram tablets. For the prevention of travel sickness, suitable for adults and children aged 10+. Contains Hyoscine Hydrobromide 300 microgram. Kwells Kids 150 microgram tablets. For the prevention of travel sickness, suitable for children aged 4+. Contains Hyoscine Hydrobromide 150 microgram. Always read the label