By Karen Kier
ONU Professor of Clinical Pharmacy

Cruisin’ was released by Motown Records on August 20, 1979, and would hit number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States.  The song was sung by Smokey Robinson and he wrote the lyrics with fellow Miracles member Marv Tarplin. The song was a bigger hit in New Zealand, where it hit #1.  The lyrics never indicate how one is cruising along, whether it be in a car, a boat or another form of transportation. 

Many individuals suffer from motion sickness when cruising in a car, plane, boat, or other transportation. It is estimated that 1 out of every 4 adults in the United States has some form of motion sickness.  Of the 65 million individuals, about 10% suffer the most severe form.  Several prescriptions and over the counter products are available in the U.S. to help reduce the symptoms of motion sickness. 

It has been over 40 years since a new prescription drug has been FDA-approved for motion sickness. The last drug was a scopolamine patch (Transderm Scop®) worn behind the ear, and it was approved in 1979. On December 30, 2025, the FDA approved tradipitant (Nereus®) for motion sickness in adults. 

Tradipitant works differently than other drugs available on the market, including both over the counter and prescription medications.  Besides the prescription scopolamine patch, over the counter remedies include ginger, acupressure bands, meclizine (Bonine®), dimenhydrinate (Dramamine®), and diphenhydramine (Benadryl®). 

Meclizine, dimenhydrinate, and diphenhydramine all work as antihistamines with anticholinergic effects to reduce motion sickness.  The scopolamine patch also works by anticholinergic properties.  These drugs can have some significant side effects including sleepiness, dizziness, dry mouth and blurred vision.  

Tradipitant’s mechanism of action is as a NK-1 receptor antagonist, which blocks the motion sickness nausea signal from getting to the brain.  It essentially keeps the brain from realizing the nausea and vomiting signals as a result of motion sickness. There are other NK-1 receptor antagonists on the market, but they are FDA-approved for nausea and vomiting related to chemotherapy or postsurgical treatment. 

Interestingly, tradipitant clinical studies were done as real-world trials. Two studies were completed evaluating how well the drug worked in individuals with a history of motion sickness.  In one of the studies published in Frontiers in Neurology on March 4, 2025, 365 participants were put on 34 different boats between November 2021 and April 2023 and sent out on the coastal waters off the United States shorelines.  As with any ocean voyage, the weather and water conditions did vary between the boats and the different trips. 

For the study, the individuals were randomized to three different regimens.  One group received 85mg of tradipitant, a second group was given 170mg of tradipitant, and the third group received no treatment in the form of a placebo pill.  The study results showed a significant reduction in nausea and vomiting in the active drug groups compared to no treatment with placebo.  About 15-20% of the drug groups experienced nausea and vomiting, while the placebo group was closer to 38-45%.  

Tradipitant is not a treatment for active motion sickness, but is meant to be given prior to travel to prevent it from occurring.  The oral tablet of either 85mg or 170mg needs to be taken 1 hour before travel on an empty stomach.  This means at least 1 hour prior to eating or 2 hours after completing a meal.  So, timing of the dose with food and traveling is important!

This new drug does have some sleepiness or tiredness associated with it, which is common with the other drugs for motion sickness.  Tradipitant has less drowsiness than the over the counter medications available.  No one should be driving a car or a boat when taking any of these medications.  Tradipitant should not be combined with any other drugs used for motion sickness, because there can be a significant increase in the side effects. Alcohol should be avoided for all of these medications (avoid the all you can drink alcohol packages on cruise ships). 

This new motion sickness drug could have some significant advantages related to less side effects than older agents and better tolerated without the anticholinergic effects of dry mouth, dizziness, and blurred vision.  Tradipitant is not available in pharmacies quite yet, but should be coming in the next few months. 

Cruise to your healthcare provider for more information on managing motion sickness.