Scopolamine Patch Side Effects: Blurred Vision at Sea

In short

At sea, the text on my iPhone went fuzzy, and nobody else on board had the problem. The cause was my scopolamine patch for seasickness: its side effects can include blurred vision, short-term memory loss and hallucinations. I even introduced myself twice in one evening to a crew member I had spent five days with. On a day off I removed the patch, and my eyes recovered. In Antigua I switched to pressure point bracelets.

Something wasn’t right. The text on my iPhone screen was fuzzy. I asked other people if they could see properly after spending time at sea. For them, there was no problem.

Dr. Google became my friend.

Scopolamine Side Effects: Was I Losing My Mind?

I determined that scopolamine side effects can be nasty including blurred vision, short-term memory loss and hallucinations. This may explain why I introduced myself to a member of our crew twice in the same evening. This is someone who I have spent a full 5 days with.

Yesterday was a lay day — a day off. I removed the scopolamine patch and my eyes have now recovered.

Alternatives to Scopolamine

A broad list of seasickness remedies include:

In the short term, I am sailing without scopolamine.

• Dramamine
• Fresh air and Staring at the horizon
• Ginger
• Meclizine
• Pressure-point bracelets (Sea Bands)
• Stugeron (Cinnarizine)

In Antigua, I am relying on pressure point bracelets as that is what is availabe short term. Let’s hope they work.

Next in the story →Medical Provisioning for Cruising: A Year’s Supply of Medication—Then What?

← Previous: Travelling with a Severe Tree Nut Allergy: Our Son’s StoryPart of Before We Moved Aboard · 113 posts →