Medicine for the prevention of sickness,
Kimite-patch, requires the best of care
Its Side Effects - Hallucination, Drowsiness, Dry mouth, Blurred Vision, and Dilation of the Pupiles

Recently, the demand for a medicine to prevent motion sickness has increased greatly as it is the season for school field trips and family excursions. Kimite-patch, produced by Myoungmoon Pharmaceutical Co., is most commonly used by consumers because it is easy to use and easily accessible.

The main ingredient of any motion sickness prevention medicine is Scopolamine. It is used to prevent the nausea and vomiting caused by motion sickness and comes as a patch to be placed on skin behind ears.

Unfortunately, its side effects are highly severe, the most common being drowsiness, dry mouth, blurred vision, and dilation of the pupils. Some people may even experience disorientation and confusion. If used for more than three successive days, some patients may experience withdrawal symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, headache, and dizziness. 

For this reason, the Korean Consumer Agency has announced that consumers should be careful when using this product and stop using it as soon as any abnormal symptoms occur. It has been reported that 13 consumer damage cases involving this product have already been reported directly to the CISS (Consumer Injury Surveillance System) this year.

To make matters worse, the medicine is an over-the-counter drug (i.e., a doctor's prescription is not needed). For this reason, the side effects are often observed not only in children but also among adults. There should be an opportunity in the future to enact a new regulation for medicine that will require doctors’ prescriptions based on the Korea Food and Drug Administration’s new enactment draft. It is essential that use of this product requires a doctor's prescription for purchase.

The KCA has announced consumer safety alerts and warned consumers to take off their ‘Kimite-patch’ if they experience any strange feelings such as hallucinations, derangement, or short-term dementia. Also, since consumer damage cases have been reported without distinction of age, it is urgent that the medicine be prohibited as an over-the-counter product. For the development of consumer health and safety, the KCA will suggest to the Korea Food and Drug Administration that consumers should only be able to purchase the motion sickness prevention medicine ‘Kimite-patch’ with a doctor's permission.