Can I take tablets for motion sickness if I have glaucoma?

03/12/2018

Motion sickness, also known as kinetosis, is an unpleasant feeling of instability accompanied by digestion issues and other symptoms such as yawning, nausea, cold sweat, paleness and even vomiting. Travel sickness normally happens to people with a certain predisposition towards it.

It occurs due to abrupt and external movements, like those caused by a car accelerating and braking, a boat or a plane. Motion sickness is really a balance disorder (related to the small organ in the inner ear).

The people most affected by motion sickness while travelling may benefit from using certain medication to prevent or mitigate the effects. In this case, treatment involves using antiemetic drugs.

These medications, usually recommended in the pharmacy, have a good efficacy-risk relationship. However, patients with certain kinds of diseases like angle-closure glaucoma, prostate adenoma, obstructive intestinal or urinary diseases, or heart arrhythmia, should avoid taking this type of medication, as their anticholinergic activity may aggravate or complicate these processes. If you have any queries about the type of glaucoma you have, consult your ophthalmologist before taking this type of tablet for motion sickness.

Dra. Marta Mármol