Stugeron 15 Tablets – 15

Effective prevention of travel sickness

How does it work?

Stugeron tablets contain the active ingredient cinnarizine, which is a type of medicine called an antihistamine. (NB. Cinnarizine is also available without a brand name, ie as the generic medicine.) Cinnarizine is used to control travel sickness and the symptoms of inner ear disorders such as Meniere’s disease.

Vomiting is controlled by an area of the brain called the vomiting centre. The vomiting centre is responsible for causing feelings of sickness (nausea) and for the vomiting reflex. It is activated when it receives nerve messages from the vestibular apparatus in the middle ear.

The vestibular apparatus provides continual feedback to the brain about our body position. When something disturbs the vestibular apparatus, such movement of the head when travelling by boat or car, nerve signals are sent from the vestibular apparatus to the vomiting centre. This can cause sensations such as nausea, dizziness or spinning sensations (vertigo) and the reflex of vomiting.

Cinnarizine works by blocking histamine and muscarinic receptors in the vomiting centre in the brain. This prevents the vomiting centre from receiving nerve messages from the vestibular apparatus. In turn, this prevents disturbances in the middle ear from activating the vomiting centre and causing nausea, vertigo and vomiting.

What is it used for?

• Preventing and treating motion sickness
• Relieving nausea, vomiting, attacks of dizziness or spinning sensations (vertigo) and sensations of ringing or other noise in the ears (tinnitus) associated with Meniere’s disease and other middle ear disorders.

Warning!

• This medicine may cause drowsiness. If affected do not drive or operate machinery. Alcohol should be avoided.
• If you find this medicine upsets your stomach, taking it with or after food may help.
• If you are due to have any skin prick tests to diagnose allergies you should stop taking this medicine at least 48 hours before the tests. This is because antihistamines can prevent or lessen the skin reactions that indicate an allergy, and so can make the test results unreliable.

Use with caution in

• Decreased kidney function
• Decreased liver function
• Parkinson’s disease.

Not to be used in

• Children under five years of age
• Hereditary blood disorders called porphyrias
• Pregnancy
• Breastfeeding
• Rare hereditary problems of fructose or galactose intolerance, Lapp lactase deficiency, glucose-galactose malabsorption or sucrase-isomaltase insufficiency (Stugeron tablets contain lactose and sucrose).

This medicine should not be used if you are allergic to one or any of its ingredients. Please inform your doctor or pharmacist if you have previously experienced such an allergy.

If you feel you have experienced an allergic reaction, stop using this medicine and inform your doctor or pharmacist immediately.

Pregnancy and Breastfeeding

Certain medicines should not be used during pregnancy or breastfeeding. However, other medicines may be safely used in pregnancy or breastfeeding providing the benefits to the mother outweigh the risks to the unborn baby. Always inform your doctor if you are pregnant or planning a pregnancy, before using any medicine.

• The safety of this medicine when used during pregnancy has not been established. It is not recommended for use by pregnant women. Seek medical advice from your doctor.
• It is not known if this medicine passes into breast milk. It is not recommended for mothers who are breastfeeding. Consult your doctor for further advice.

Label warnings

• This medication may cause drowsiness. If affected do not drive or operate machinery. Avoid alcoholic drink.

Side effects

Medicines and their possible side effects can affect individual people in different ways. The following are some of the side effects that are known to be associated with this medicine. Because a side effect is stated here, it does not mean that all people using this medicine will experience that or any side effect.

• Drowsiness
• Disturbances of the gut such as diarrhoea, constipation, nausea, vomiting or abdominal pain
• Headache
• Dry mouth
• Sweating
• Weight gain (rarely with long-term use)
• Abnormal movements of the hands, legs, face, neck and tongue, eg tremor, twitching, rigidity (rarely with long-term use, mostly in elderly people – stop taking this medicine and consult your doctor if this occurs)
• Skin reactions (very rarely with long-term use)
• Jaundice (very rarely with long-term use)

The side effects listed above may not include all of the side effects reported by the drug’s manufacturer.

For more information about any other possible risks associated with this medicine, please read the information provided with the medicine or consult your doctor or pharmacist.

How can this medicine affect other medicines?

It is important to tell your doctor or pharmacist what medicines you are already taking, including those bought without a prescription and herbal medicines, before you start treatment with this medicine. Similarly, check with your doctor or pharmacist before taking any new medicines while taking this one, to ensure that the combination is safe.

There may be an increased risk of drowsiness if this medicine is taken with any of the following (which can also cause drowsiness):

• alcohol
• antipsychotics, eg chlorpromazine
• benzodiazepines, eg diazepam, temazepam
• sedating antihistamines, eg chlorphenamine, promethazine
• sleeping tablets, eg zopiclone
• strong opioid painkillers, eg morphine, codeine
• tricyclic antidepressants, eg amitriptyline.