Combat the Motion Sickness (Phenergan)

Member Name: wendybull

Product:	Phenergan
Date:	23/11/06 (2794 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Works

Disadvantages: /

Phenergan is an over the counter or prescribed medicine that has several uses. It can be used for travel sickness and this has been the main reason I have used it repeatedly over the years, but also for allergic reactions such as hay fever or hives and as a mild sedative.

I was first introduced to Phenergan through work colleagues. My son was about 9 months old at the time and I was struggling to keep my eyes open at work as my son did not sleep through the night and I was exhausted.

A number of other mum’s in the office suggested I get some Phenergan and occasionally give my son a spoonful before bed, as it is a mild sedative and would give me a full nights sleep every so often to re-charge my batteries. I was a little dubious and fearful of giving my son a sedative just so I could sleep through the night, but eventually I battled with my conscience and went to the chemist. Thankfully, at this point I was turned away as they do not sell this over the counter or on prescription if you are intending on using it for a child under 2 years old, as it is not suitable for them.

I didn’t bother trying to obtain this again for another year and a bit, and by this point my son was suffering terribly from car sickness. At times we could just travel 5 minutes down the road and he would throw up. After a few experiences of this we decided it was best to travel everywhere with a bowl on his lap.

I had a trip to my sisters coming up and as it was quite a long drive I really didn’t want my son suffering any more than he had to and I looked through all the travel sickness remedies about. I struck tablets off the list, as there was no way he would chew them, even the fruity ones. I had tried wristbands with pressure points and they had made no difference so I was relieved when I finally remembered that Phenergan was a travel sickness preventative and spoke to my health visitor about it.

She got a prescription from the doctor for me although by this time my son was over 2 and I could have got it over the counter and we got the bottle from the pharmacy. Before handing it over she warned me of the effects – drowsiness! I was mildly excited at the thought of my son maybe sleeping through the night following a legitimate dosage of this travel sickness remedy.

Phenergan comes in a 100ml bottle and the first thing to say is it is very difficult to open. It has a childproof cap on it but even so once you have pushed down and got over the initial clicks it is still very hard to get right off.

The medicine itself doesn’t really have a smell but does have a slight orange taste to it and my son certainly had no problem taking the dosage. It is however very, very sticky if you get it on your hands or anywhere else. Having no colour to speak of it will not stain clothes if it gets knocked at all during the spoon to mouth movement!

The first time we used this was for the journey we had coming to my sisters. Reading from the instructions on the box I had to give him one 5ml spoonful (dose varies depending on age) the night BEFORE the journey. I thought this was odd as I assumed it would be out of his system by the time we came to drive the following day, however it does say you can repeat this dosage again after 6-8 hours and knowing the severity of his car sickness I gave him another spoonful in the morning. The journey was event free. I gave him his bowl to hold anyway but there was no point in the ride that I thought he was looking pale or he had gone too quiet. These were the classic signs I looked for usually in order to make sure he had the bowl in time but I had to say I was really impressed with this.

We used it countless times over the course of the next two years and it worked for about 90% of the time. There was the occasional journey that he still threw up, but we never quite put total confidence in it and he always still held his bowl so we were at least saved the cleaning up process, but overall as a travel sickness preventative I was impressed and began to rely on it for longer, planned journeys. It was annoying that it had to be taken the night before because if you forgot or went on a spontaneous car ride there was nothing else you could do, although I would still give a dose of it in the morning before leaving and hope for the best.

It doesn’t end there though. My son was still not sleeping through the night at this point and I had given up with all the techniques to get him to do so. As I had the bottle at home it was too much of a temptation not to give it a try as a mild sedative. It had worked so well as a travel sickness preventative and my son had no adverse reactions to it, so I decided to give it a go. This time he was meant to have 3-4 spoonfuls as a single night time dose and I gave this to him while he was in the bath. I felt guilty as he swallowed the liquid, but it’s not as if this is not meant as a short term sedative.

That night I slept the whole night through with no disturbance and no crying toddler to deal with. I woke in the morning and flew up the stairs to make sure he was OK. There he was sleeping like a baby, and he woke a few minutes later in his bed for the first time ever I think! I felt like a new woman and he was the happiest he had been for a long time, as he was not all niggly from being so tired.

I was too scared to give it to him again the next night and he woke as usual, so there was nothing lingering in his system. I did however use it occasionally after that as a sedative, when I was extremely tired and eventually he started to sleep through on his own so I had no need to use it. I must add though that this must not be given for more than 7 consecutive nights.

Thankfully now he has grown out of travel sickness and has been sleeping through the night for about three years! Phenergan is a distant memory in this house now as his sister sleeps through now and has thankfully never suffered car sickness. The bottle I pulled from the back of the cupboard for this review will be binned now as it only lasts for a month after the top has been open.

Overall, I do highly recommend Phenergan. I have not experienced the results based on an allergy, but certainly for travel sickness and as a sedative for over two years old, I would use it again if needed. It’s not just for kids and adults can benefit too, although it is recommended to use tablets instead of syrup and also it is more important to be aware of the drowsiness it can cause in adults, as you are more likely to be doing something potentially dangerous like driving.


I would like to finish by saying that this is a review based entirely on my personal experience with Phenergan after consulting with my health professional. Please seek proper medical help before taking this and always read the instructions inside the packaging before starting dosage, as there are some side effects that you should be aware of.

Phenergan is NOT suitable for children under 2 in any circumstances nor is it suitable for diabetics.

Summary: RECOMMENDED FOR OVER 2's.