No matter how tough you might be, there’s nothing that removes all traces of said toughness like motion sickness. Being unable to function simply because a bus or train slightly rocked back and forth for a few minutes, or because you had to sit in a sports car’s bucket seats, is extremely inconvenient, and a problem that can be quite difficult to avoid. Thankfully, with a prototype chewing gum, science is here to help you preserve that tough facade, and to also keep your lunch in your stomach when you have to take a train.
The gum, with research being presented at an annual meeting of the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists, delivers medication through the cheek, which results in faster absorption, thus helping to clear up motion sickness sooner than, say, a pill or a behind-the-ear patch.
The absorption speed of the gum was tested on a sensory panel, and scientists didn’t forget that gum is a thing people have to taste, and kept track of the gum’s bitterness and also how easy it was to chew. Lead researcher Mohsen Sadatrezaei noted that though delivery through the cheek results in faster absorption, one of the biggest issues with a gum delivery method is that it’s often difficult to mask the generally poor-tasting medicine.
As previously mentioned, the gum is only in prototype stages, but the research team is optimistic. All we can do about it for the time being, however, is continue taking a pill while simultaneously wearing the patch, and praying that, please, just this once, have it work before we get on that plane.
(via Science Daily)
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