A Warning on the Scop Patch

Popping for Tuna Sport Fish Panama Island Lodge

Trust me, no one wants to get seasick. If you’ve ever suffered from mal de mer, you know how miserable it can be. That’s why we’ve used the Scopolamine patch on all of our offshore trips. The only side effect that I’ve been aware of has been a bit of cottonmouth, which is a fair tradeoff to avoid yelling “ralph” over the side of the boat.

That’s why we advise all of our fellow travelers on our hosted trips to bring the patch. We’ve had a few who’ve resisted, either because they have a medical conflict or because they don’t think they need it. Most follow our advice. That included most of the anglers on our January 2025 trip to Panama. Two of them, however, suffered from new side effects – dizziness and clumsiness. One of them took a little spill in the boat. Fortunately he’d brought some over-the-counter medication to take its place. Neither of them suffered any issues the rest of the trip.

I suppose the point of this is to consult your physician before getting the patch for the first time, rather than going through some sort of impersonal third party telemedicine. The second takeaway is that if you think you might get sick, or that it’s going to be rough (or both), bring a backup plan – Dramamine, a relief band or some other preventative.

One other note about this trip: I applied the patch on Saturday night, before a half day of fishing on Sunday and then four full days from Monday to Thursday. It’s supposed to last 72 hours, which meant I should’ve changed it out Tuesday night. I forgot. On Wednesday we fished in calm water, then had to make a 90 minute run back to the island. I felt fine all day, then fell asleep in an awkward position (lying on cushions across the bow of the boat) on the way back. When we arrived at the lodge, I woke up, felt queasy, and deposited an offering to the fish gods over the side of the boat. Then I immediately felt better. I’m not sure if it was the “expired” patch or something else, but that night I applied a new one. I’m not taking chances anymore.

Don’t miss out on the trip of a lifetime just because you think you might get sick. Even if you’re prone to motion sickness, there are ways to prevent it.

Scopolamine Transdermal Patch
Over the counter seasickness remedies
 
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